She sits in the corner of the room. It’s New Years Eve and she should be out partying with her own friends, but wait they didn’t invite her. So here she is, with her mom at one of her parties.

Managing to steal a glass of wine she watches everyone from afar in hopes that she can see something interesting, in hopes that she will be noticed.

But she is not. On her lap is her red spiral bound journal. She flips to the last written on page. The thick black letters read, ‘New Years is a time for change.’ It’s not just her school assignment, it’s her life. She takes the long fountain pen with her pale thin fingers and begins to carve out the new person that she wants to become

Getting started is hard, but once she puts the pen down she realizes that she has written twelve pages of lists, of hopes and dreams, of things she loves and hates. On those pages is her etching of the girl inside, the girl she wants to be but is afraid to let the world see

“Time for the ball.” Mom says, but for her it’s already new year.