Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Please follow the links below to learn more about the Because I am a Girl cause initiated by Plan International:
http://becauseiamagirl.ca/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_AQA1xb4Is&feature=youtu.be
http://plan-international.org/

The climb to the top can be littered with missteps and hidden snags, canyons even, which may cause a person to feel like they're going nowhere and like for every step forward they're taking about 10 back. Certain people may become intentional road blocks along the journey as well; individuals who want to see you fail and keep you down in those hidden canyons. To those naysayers and prickly individuals who believe they are entitled to be the thorns in your side, simply say "Well done. It is because of you that I am even more fired up to succeed." Kill 'em with kindness. No one is ever in the wrong when emitting a sweet strength that is fueled by pure determination.

The main character of my upcoming novel, The Tantalizing Tale of a Bitter Sweetheart, is initially not a woman who is hungry for success. She allows her fear of failure to keep her in a perpetually boring routine which closes the door to any new and exciting challenges.

Her initial circumstance and attitude is clear from the following excerpts:

"...but let’s face it I’m at rock bottom with S.O.S. carved in the sand and flare guns blazing."

"The dream was perfection, and waking to a reality that can only be described as the exact opposite of perfection, is highly undesirable, yet this similar feeling each morning as I come to, has been my lot in life and just continues perpetually."

"Pleasure and management really do NOT go together, in my world anyhow. I have quite a laissez faire management style as I completely dislike and flee from confrontation. I suppose that’s the reason I’ve had 5 different places of work in the past 2 years. If there was Guinness Book of Records for the most job placement switches by a medical office administrator, I would have the title, hands down."

Portia has a number of encounters and experiences which ignite a desire to make a change and to want to step out of her comfort zone. Some of the toughest trials remain ahead:

I dreamed the most horrible dreams all night that have me questioning my future once again and have left me completely unmotivated to even be going to Paris, the city of my dreams and on the morning I’m set to depart for it. In the most vivid dream I was swimming under water and couldn’t find an escape to the surface. I just kept swimming and swimming, suffocating in the murky water. Finally I looked up to see an escape. I fluttered up as fast as I could manage only to see Ms. Lewis’ face grimacing down at me. She then let out a cackle which was  followed by immediate darkness as I realized she had blocked the passage completely. I woke up gasping for air and dripping with sweat. My mind was racing, recalling the dream and I simply could not go back to sleep for fear that I would revisit the action of the dream exactly where I had left off. 

/This time her fear has a positive effect on her. The advice of friends and her lunatic therapist cause Portia to push on, but not without difficulties:

"I stare at the words while gripping the paper tight within my sweaty palms.  I re-read the letter over and over until my vision becomes blurred and my head feels cloudy. I feel as if my body is absolutely frozen and I want to laugh at the ridiculousness of this woman but the light-heartedness which I would love to view this circumstance with is being hijacked by a chill that keeps running up my spine upon reading and re-reading the words 'You are an insignificant piece of dust' and 'Be warned'. "

"It has crossed my mind to make Nina aware of the letter I received while she was sucking all of the oxygen out of the room in a deep sleep, but I just couldn’t see how it would appease the situation any. Knowing Nina, she’d march right up to Liv and rip her extensions clear out of her hair without a second thought, if I enlightened her to the situation. I decide to keep the recent events to myself and carry on in my determination to use success as my weapon of choice."

Though the trials and negative interactions experienced along the way towards her end goal are unpleasant and overwhelming, the sweetness felt when that goal is achieved makes those circumstances fade away.

"The venue is sparkling with what appears to be waterfalls of white twinkle lights, cascading from all sides. As I peer up through the triangular shaped glass roof, dusk is setting in and the faint appearance of stars in the sky are peeking through to become the natural back drop of this fateful event. ....This is a dream; I’m living a truly magnificent dream."

Face your fears and shine!

Follow me on Twitter: Jessica Ashley@jessicaashm and don't forget to support the success of young girls and women by following the links at the top of the blog.

Jessica Ashley