When It All Adds Up

Mia Jay sat in front of a large makeup mirror in her dressing room while the makeup artist did a work of art on her face. Today, she was making her first TV appearance, singing at an award show that was being broadcasted live. She had done many shows, so although she was prepared, she was very nervous. Mia Jay thought about all of the things she had been through leading up to this point. She had almost given up on her dream of singing. The makeup artist interrupted her thoughts by saying, “Mia lift your head up just a little. Perfect” she then said, “So how are feeling girl, you nervous? Excited? Ready?” They laughed. Mia responded “All of the above, but really, I’m just grateful for this opportunity.” The makeup artist smiled and responded, “I know that’s right girl. It seems like you just came out of nowhere, and now all I hear is you all over the radio. I’m glad to be able to see you from the beginning. You are going to go so far.” Mia smiled. For the first time in her life, Mia felt like she had arrived at the place where she was supposed to be. Out of everything that she had been through, she could finally say that it was all worth it. So as she was getting her makeup done, Mia thought back to the last nine months leading up to this point.

Mia had just come in the house from doing an Open Mic Night. She was so happy. The crowd loved her and she gained the attention from one of the local promoters. He wanted to have her headline his next showcase. He was one of the most well-known promoters in the city, so to be on one of his showcases was an honor, but to be headlining it was a big deal. Mia walked in the house, excited to tell her sister about her performance, but the lights were off and her sister’s room door was closed. It was pretty late, so Mia figured her sister was asleep. Mia walked to her bedroom, cut on the light and on her bed she saw a piece of notebook paper. She took her shoes off and sat on the bed and noticed that the paper had writing on it. She picked the piece of paper up and saw that her sister had written her a note. The note read:

“Mia, what you said to me today hurt my feelings. I don’t think that

You should live here anymore. This is your 30 day notice to find

Somewhere else to go. I wish you the best with your music.”

Mia’s heart dropped. Before she left to go to the Open Mic Night, her and her sister had an argument. Mia was frustrated because after a couple of months of practicing, and doing vocal training, Mia was finally ready to do her first Open Mic night, and Mia’s sister wouldn’t come to support her. Mia used to sing all the time as a child, and into her early teen years. As she got older, she stopped singing, and settled for a job in the corporate world. Now that she was an adult, Mia badly wanted to pursue her dreams again. Prior to moving in with her sister, she had her own apartment. One day when she got home from work, there was a notice on the door from the landlord. The letter was notifying the residents that they were switching owners and that the rent would be raised in 60 days. Mia could barely afford the rent now and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to afford it when it went up in 60 days. Mia didn’t know what to do. During a phone conversation with her sister a few days after receiving the notice from her landlord, Mia mentioned what was going on and her sister offered for Mia to move in with her. Mia gladly accepted the invite, but she knew that she would start pursuing her dream again, now that she would have the extra money to invest in herself.

Now, two months later, she was sitting on her bed in her sister’s house, reading this letter. Mia walked to her sisters’ room door, knocked and said, “Draya, what is this letter about?” Draya opened the door and said, “You read it didn’t you?” Mia said, “You know I read it, but why are you doing this? I know we had a disagreement but I didn’t say anything that bad to make you want to kick me out. I don’t have anywhere to go!” Draya said, “Well that’s why I gave you 30 days. I’m not kicking you out, I’m giving you time to find somewhere else to go!” and Draya walked back in her room and closed and locked her door. Mia knew there was no need to argue with Draya, because she knew that Draya was serious, and her decision was final.

Thirty days had passed and Mia hadn’t found a place to stay, and Draya was still adamant about Mia leaving. Mia had applied to several apartment complexes, but everywhere that she could afford had a waiting list. She didn’t want to get a hotel, because she would need the money for her first month’s rent and deposit when an apartment became available. She knew about this truck stop that allowed Campers to sleep in their parking lot overnight. So with no other options, she decided to sleep in her car. Every day after leaving work, before going to the truck stop, she would go to a park, pull out her little black notebook and write about her day. When it would get dark, she would pull into the truck stops parking lot, climb into her back seat where she kept her pillow and blanket, lock her doors, and go to sleep. The next morning she would get up early to go to work, where she would wash up and get dressed in the bathroom.

Two months had passed and Mia was still sleeping in her car. Fortunately she was leaving for her company’s annual management training later that day, and she was excited about this training because she knew that for the next three days, she would get to sleep in a nice hotel paid for by the company. Mia worked for one of the largest management companies in the country. They had properties in 48 states. Every manager, their owners, the president, and executives would be at this meeting. This training was something all the managers looked forward to going to.

Mia drove to Maryland where they had their annual training every year and checked into the hotel. When she got in her room she immediately laid across the bed. She pulled her little black notebook from her purse and she wrote, “Today, I am thankful for the bed I get to sleep in for the next 3 days.” After freshening up, Mia went downstairs to the lobby where her company had set up a check in table. She checked in with HR, received her badge and the itinerary for the next few days. She noticed on the itinerary that they had a Karaoke night for the social gathering on Tuesday evening. Mia hadn’t sang since she did the Open Mic night. She ended up not doing the headline act for the showcase that the promoter had offered her, because her focus became finding somewhere to stay. She thought about participating in the Karaoke night, but she didn’t know if she was up to it. She had a lot on her mind, and the last thing she wanted to do was sing. After the second day of training was over, Mia was tired, and wanted to rest before going to the social hour that evening. She still hadn’t decided if she was going to participate in Karaoke, but for some reason it was weighing on her heavy to do it.

When she got to the social hour she noticed people going to the D-Jay booth to sign up for karaoke. She put her name on the list and went and sat at a table with some of her coworkers. She watched a few performers, mainly just people having fun, and then it was her turn. No one knew that she could sing, and Mia knew was getting ready to show out. From the moment she opened her mouth, the entire room went quiet. When she finished singing, the entire room was on their feet and applauding her. Her Regional Manager came over to her and said “I didn’t know you could sing!” the president also came over and commended her. She got so much recognition that night, and that made her feel good again.

The next day, it was time for the managers to check out and head back home. When Mia got to the lobby she noticed her Regional Manager, Carol, was standing at the front desk with a gentlemen and they were talking. She approached the desk to turn her room key in, and Carol turned and said, “Oh Mia! We were just talking about you and how wonderful you sang last night. This is James Brooks, CEO of Landing Luxury out of New York.” Mia shook his extended hand, and he said, “Mia your voice is so beautiful, it is an honor to meet you. What are you doing working as a property manager?” they laughed. He said, “I was just telling Carol that I would love to have you on my team. I have a luxury high rise apartment building in Atlanta that is need of a manager. If you’re willing to relocate, we will pay your relocation expenses and it also comes with one of our luxury apartments for the manager to live in, rent free if you’re interested?” Mia couldn’t believe he had just offered her a new job and an apartment all at the same time. Mia was ecstatic, and she immediately accepted.

While walking to her car, Mia felt like a weight had been lifted off of her. She was overjoyed and she knew that this was her new beginning. As she continued to walk toward her car, she heard a male voice calling her name. She turned around and noticed that the guy that just offered her a job was jogging towards her. When he caught up to her, he reached in his pocket and pulled out an envelope, handed it to her and said, “I don’t know why, but I just feel compelled to give this to you. Talk to you soon Mia” and he walked away. Mia looked confused for a second, but she held the envelope in her hand, and continued to walk to her car. She got in the car and put her bag in the back seat, and opened the envelope. Inside the envelope was a cashier’s check for $20,000.00, with a note that said, “Follow your dreams. –James”. Mia had to catch her breath, because she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She cried tears of joy the entire way back to Virginia.

Now here she was sitting in her own dressing room six months later, getting makeup done for her first television appearance. As soon as she got to Atlanta, she began performing at open mic nights, and now after months of doing shows, and recording songs in the studio, she finally made it to the big screen. The makeup artist finished her makeup and she began to get dressed. Someone came in the room and told her she had ten minutes before she would be on. She looked in the mirror to see how she looked, and smiled because she looked beautiful. As she walked out of her dressing room, and towards the stage she could hear the crowd screaming her name. She almost cried. This was her moment, and she was finally living her dream.