“And now, I’m proud to introduce this year’s valedictorian, Bella Raiden.”
Everyone in our group jumped to their feet, cheering and clapping for our girl. Bella didn’t let this embarrass her. No, she kept walking tall, heading for the podium with the most brilliant smile lighting her face.
“God, I’m nervous for her,” Clara whispered as the crowd quieted and we took our seats.
“She’s got this,” I told her proudly.
Bella looked out into the crowd, taking her time to take in everyone. Her eyes found mine, and they softened. They darted to her mother’s, softening further. Our girl adored us and always showed how much.
“Thank you, Principle Martin,” she began. She stared down at her notes in front of her, frowning, but she sat them aside before addressing the audience again. “I had a whole speech prepared, but once I came out here and saw all of you,” she motioned toward her classmates, “I knew it wasn’t right.” She laughed a little, gaining a few from the audience. “I knew what I had written down here,” she tapped her notes, “wouldn’t do any of you justice.
“We already know that today marks a very significant moment in our lives. I could go on and on about the future and the greatness that we can achieve, but that’s not the most important thing out there.
“I want to talk to you about decisions and how they can affect your future. It might be something as simple as choosing to grab a cup of coffee from a nearby café that serves so-so Mocha Lattes, rather than walking the extra four blocks to a café that serves amazing Mocha Lattes. Make the easier, safe decision and you’ll receive something average, mediocre. It’s not bad in any way, but it isn’t excellent. Make the more difficult decision, the longer one, the one that has crowded streets and construction going on, and you’ll get something that tastes like heaven in your mouth.
“These are the types of decisions that we’ll face in our near future. If you want an easier life, choose the path that’s easy, unencumbered. If you want an extraordinary life, you’re going to have to make the harder, tougher decisions. You’re going to have to do things that are uncomfortable, ones that test your limits, so you can grow to achieve things unimaginable.
“Take my family for example.” Her eyes found mine again, and they shined with pride. “Most of you know our history, thanks to this small town” – people chuckled at that – “but for the ones that don’t, I’ll tell you. My mother and father are not my biological parents.”
Clara’s breath hitched, so I pulled her closer. We never hid Bella’s past from her, though we kept specifics about Jon and Stacy to ourselves. Bella never needed to know that.
“My bio-parents died in a car crash not long after I was born. Mom, my bio-dad’s sister, didn’t know anything about me. She didn’t know I existed. She thought she was coming to Bliss to bury her brother, but when she got here, she found me.
“Mom had a life in Chicago – a good, prosperous life – but she never thought twice about leaving it to raise me in in this town. But in doing so, Mom chose the harder path. It would have been so much easier for her to leave me behind and go back to the life she had.
“However, if she had done that, she wouldn’t have found everything she was missing out on. Where her life was good in Chicago, it was a lonely, isolated one. In Bliss, she found Dad, she found a family that loves her…she found her true happiness and acceptance.
“Now look at them.” She held out her hand to us, her smile broad. “Look at all that happiness. Because of the decision she made, the one that brought on battle after battle, she is sitting with the family she never thought she’d have.
“You might not know this either, but Mom wasn’t supposed to have children. If she didn’t make that decision, she wouldn’t have Emmie or Mattie, not even Haden, Jessie, or little Lena. Look at the lives that one decision affected.
“And then there’s my father. My true Dad. He made the decision one day that I was his daughter, although, like Mom, it was a hard road to make this happen. I might not have his blood pumping through my veins, but I don’t feel that. I’m his no matter what, like the rest of my siblings. And I know with everything in me, I wouldn’t be standing here if it weren't for him and his determination and strength.
“This is what I want for my future. I want to take those harder roads, because I know that in doing so my gains and spoils will be so much grander. I will make the hard decision. I will get my true, glorious happiness, and I will fight for it, like they have fought for me.
“I challenge you, all of you in this graduating class, make each decision count. Go out into the world and make them worth it. Don’t make them for materialistic things like money or fame or glory. Make them for love, for truth, and for happiness. Thank you.”
The crowd roared as they got to their feet, applauding my little girl.
I leaned into and whispered into Clara’s ear. “We did well, darlin’.”
“Yeah, we did,” she agreed with tears staining her cheeks. “We so did.”
Bella’s gaze found ours again as she took her seat. She mouthed to Clara and me, “I love you.”
I placed my hand on my chest, over my heart, mouthing, “Always.”
Sexual abuse and molestation happens every day whether we like it or not. It could be your sister, your brother, your mother, your best friend, your children…anyone. And the same goes with the perpetrators.
I urge you to be active in the lives of the people around you, no matter who they are, and keep a look out for questionable behavior issues or any red flags that tell you something isn’t right. The impact that you could have on someone’s life could be huge, because even if it is just one experience or hundreds of them, sexual assault of any kind is something that you never get over. It is a scar on your soul that never goes away, the memories always close to mind.
If you know someone that is either going through something like this or you’ve gone through it yourself and never told anyone, go to www.rainn.org or call 800-656-HOPE (4673) and seek the help you need.
Thank you so much for reading Finding Bliss. Reviews are huge for every author, so please take a minute and leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads to tell us your thoughts.
For other books by Cassie Strickland, visit www.amazon.com/author/cassiestrickland.
To learn more about Cassie, please visit her online:
www.cassiestrickland.com
www.facebook.com/cassiesbooks
www.goodreads.com/cassiestrickland
She would love to hear from her fans!
Acknowledgments
I wanted to give a big thank you to the people that have helped me in getting Finding Bliss ready for publishing. There aren’t that many, but the ones that did help, you’re life savers.
First, obviously, are my husband, Matt, and my daughter, Evie. Thank you so much for putting up with me while I spent the long, grueling hours writing and editing. I couldn’t have done it without your patients or encouragement.
I owe a big, massive THANK YOU to Chelsea. Girl, without your input and help – and there has been a lot of it – I would have quit a long time ago. You’ve been rooting for me from day one, and I will never forget that. It means the world.
Thank you to Mom and Sallyann for being a new set of eyes to help proofreading. You have no idea how huge that was.
I also want to thank my fans. I do all of this for you.
About the Author
Cassie Strickland lives in East Texas with her husband, her daughter, and her Jack Russell terrier. With the support of her family and friends, she recently changed her career path to something new and exciting, something she loves to do – writing.
-moz-filter: grayscale(100%); -o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
Finding Bliss (Bliss #1) Page 53