(Day 76/122 of the experiment)
I open my eyes and reach for my phone. A ton of notifications, comments on Facebook and Instagram, new followers, more than a hundred personal messages. Is this a dream? I open WhatsApp – there are messages only from people I know who have my phone number. Messages from Lili, Sveta, and Darina. Darina?
Hi, superstar! Congratulations on the release of your first video interview! Below I've attached the link to YouTube.
That's right! Today is the day our interview with Darina was released. And judging by the amount of attention, it turned out to be pretty good. Many people subscribed to my Instagram and started expressing their admiration – some liked my philosophy of "new" living (yes, it's no longer just an experiment, it's a whole philosophy now!), while others just commented on my good looks, but everyone was unanimous – not a single bad comment or remark.
Well, I think it's time to celebrate my triumph on YouTube! I create a group chat, adding Lili, Sveta, and Darina. We decide to spend the evening with coffee and cake at our favorite café.
When I arrived at the gym, I felt like a real star. Two girls asked to take photos with me, one said she loves my blog, and Max asked for an autograph for his wife.
After the workout, when I picked up my phone, two notifications caught my eye – a missed call from my parents and a message from Tristan.
Hi, Cinderella! Sorry to bother you again. But I just want to say that you're doing great, and I'm proud to know you. Kisses and I miss you so much. T.
I still haven’t replied to Tristan’s last message – whether it’s because I’m afraid to admit to myself and him that I’m waiting for his return, or because I'm scared that the magic will fade if I write about my thoughts. To that message, I responded with a heartfelt thank you.
While I have some time before meeting the girls, I call my parents via video call.
- Hi, daughter! Your dad, grandma, and I watched your interview – you’re such a clever girl! You say the right things! And you've changed so much – both outwardly and inwardly. It's clear that you’re working very hard on yourself. We’re proud of you and want to say we've always believed in you! – mom said, nearly in tears.
Then we spent about ten more minutes discussing the latest news, how everyone is doing, and I headed to the café.
The girls surprised me the most that day – they gave me an "Oscar" statuette with the inscription "Best Cinderella of Today" and a huge bouquet of chrysanthemums. Oh my God, how grateful I am for the people around me!
I came home in a very uplifted mood and spent another two hours responding to comments and chatting with my followers. Today was definitely my day – even better than my birthday.
(Day 77/122 of the experiment)
When I woke up, I sinfully thought that the whole story about the interview and my popularity was just a dream. But when I checked Instagram and saw an increase of five thousand followers and on YouTube, where the interview had already garnered 30 thousand views, I realized that all of this was happening for real.
Today, I plan to spend the whole day at my laptop – I will be organizing my first live and online training for women. I decided to have breakfast in the city, and after my run and morning practices, I headed to the big city.
I’m liking the rural life more and more. Right now – it’s warm and comfortable outside. So I didn’t wait for the bus and decided to walk. Of course, it will take me quite a while to get to the city center, but why not take a stroll for at least a couple of kilometers? There are, of course, its downsides to living in the countryside. For example, I try to do my grocery shopping for the week, so I’m not dependent on the grocery store that’s five kilometers from home. But it even disciplines you – you write up a sample menu that you will be cooking over the next five to seven days, buy the ingredients, and you don’t have to worry about what to cook for dinner.
I chose CANTUCCINI as my location – it has secluded tables where no one will disturb me, and it brings back pleasant memories associated with this city.
After four hours, a cup of coffee, and a small teapot of tea, my first training was ready. At least, its plan was. I decided that I wouldn’t share anything supernatural – just my experience and my life. I’ll honestly talk about how I mostly went with the flow and didn’t want much, with my primary motivation being a car. And then, when I started working on myself, I realized that the car was more of a byproduct than an end goal. Because the most important thing I have gained from this experiment is that I have taken my life into my own hands.
To confirm the correctness of my actions, I went live on Instagram, where I asked if such a training would be interesting – without promises of quick marriages for all participants, or recipes for losing 20 kg overnight, but simply in the form of my monologue followed by a dialogue with participants. All the viewers supported my idea and started asking about the price. This caught me off guard. I had thought through everything – from my own words and image to the training venue. Everything except the price. So I promised to announce the price tomorrow.
On my way home, I was immersed in thoughts about whether I should charge money for sharing my life story. After all, this is just my experience; it’s not some super-training on how to become happy.
I spent the whole evening watching videos of psychologists discussing whether one should charge for consultations and conducting self-development training.