LaPlante 1

Madison LaPlante

Mrs. Jackie Burr, Instructor

English 2010, Section 4

8 March 2019

Vitality

Carelessly bellowing her favorite songs in her white Corolla and squeezing what is left of

her senior year-- nothing can stop her. She strolls down the halls, head high and shoulders

refusing to be weighed down by anything. Arms linked with her best friends, she takes on

another day with intentions to enjoy every second; to enjoy every compliment, smile, and laugh.

She catches the attention of everyone: boys, classmates, and teachers. Her radiant persona lights

up the auditorium stage every time she performs with dance company. Brynlee Lynn Sorensen: a

warrior of her own kind. Most stories of a warrior do not mention those who carry themselves

with constant positive energy; those that refuse to let their bad days best them. Her constant

resilience and persistence to staying positive everyday rubs off on everyone else. She gets by

with bad teachers by focusing on her friends instead. She turns someone’s malicious comment

into a joke and laughs it off. Her thought process is: why waste a day on a few bad moments?

Warriors can only take so much battering and bruising before being pushed to their

limits. Sometimes, it only takes one more ridiculous shift until twelve at night for Brynlee to be

at her maximum. One more demanding task from her boss, or one more sleepless night due to

long hours. That was all it took for her; employers taking it too far because of unset labor laws.

Not long ago, Brynlee experienced a time period of stressful things weighing her down.

Many are personal to her and I will not share them for the sake of her privacy. In the middle of
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her rough patch, Brynlee and I were driving and talking about her week that seemed to be

deteriorating by the hour. She received phone call amid this conversation from her mother and

learned that her grandfather suffered a heart attack; her stomach knotted. Just when it seemed

like it could not get more awful-- it got worse. Brynlee felt the tears start to form in her eyes, but

could not let this tear her down. She changed the subject to something lighter; to give herself a

moment to breathe. So easily she could have let these fester inside her and sent her spiraling, but

she knows it would not have gotten her anywhere. Instead, she persisted to smile through it and

put an end to her bad situation. It takes a plethora amount of strength to persevere when it can

seem never ending. Brynlee understood that sometimes there is not a solution to every problem--

at least not one to be dealt with alone. Occasionally, the best way to deal with trials is to let time

to take over, and if that does not work, having a reliable set of friends at your side always helps.

After a few weeks, her stresses were put to rest, and fortunately, her grandpa was recovering.

Majority of her stress resulted from work. She was being worked long hours on school

nights, and then was expected to get up at five-thirty in the morning for dance company practice

the next morning. Not only was her employers keeping her late, they were also holding her to

unrealistic expectations throughout her shifts. Even the most positive person I know was having

a hard time overlooking these laborious times, and I can picture an erratic person crumbling

under these same pressure. Labor laws affect not only me, my best friend, but every other teen

worker I have talked to directly as well, and I can only imagine how many other high schoolers

experience hardships at their jobs. There is too much stress on a young kid in the workforces that

state labor laws are doing nothing about. My stress from work keeps me from attending my first
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period the following day, because I am so exhausted. Brynlee still pushes through everything life

throws at her and finds a solution no matter what.

Many qualities a person can possess create jealousy in those who lack these said

characteristics. Confidence and happiness are the most sought after traits and many never fully

grasp it. Brynlee is one of those who carries these qualities-- not because she inherited it from a

parent-- but because she worked hard to train her behaviors. She did not magically change one

day; an angelic being did not trek down from the heavens and grace Brynlee with this trait. It

was a consistent practice that whenever something would happen to her, she would make the

choice to maintain a positive attitude. Earlier I stated that many tend to be jealous over these

qualities. It seems as nowadays, happiness and confidence are a rare trait. Though I do not like to

admit, I am very jealous of these qualities my best friend has. I believe this is why I enjoy

spending time with her, because being around such a happy person gives me a great feeling

inside. Being Brynlee’s best friend in general is wonderful, but she also makes me a better

person. Not only me does she positively influence me, but everyone around her as well.

Role models are not always prestiged old ladies with billions of dollars to their name.

Sometimes, it is the simple minded people who understand what is important. Happiness is what

is important to Brynlee. She always says, “if you’re not the most important person in your own

life, you’re doing something wrong.” For her, she strives to make herself happy and will do

whatever it may be to achieve a feeling of contentment. Brynlee knew that her job was no longer

something she enjoyed, and decided to quit. She did this not because the work was too hard, but

to take a small stand against the unfair regulations. Other days, she does not take as big of a jump

as quitting her job, but all she needs is to cuddle with her puppy, Maizey, and watch Shane
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Dawson conspiracy theories. She will tell me all the time, “that is not good for you, don’t do

that!” This statement can be said to lots of things in my life: boys, work, school, and more.

Brynlee wants what is best for me, and hopes that I make myself happy too. Being around her,

she will encourage me by being her normal, energetic self, and by telling me the important

advice I need to hear. Having someone like Brynlee around can make day to day life extremely

entertaining. She also is incredibly supportive, and I will cherish our friendship and the person

she is forever.