Project: A Dream Written in Water - Gifts Have Been Sent!

(Please expand the post for more details and their short background stories)

Even if you join after today, you'll still receive them as gift until the end of 30th of March. Once you join, send me a message so that i can send them quicker. Even if you don't send message, i will send them to you once i notice you've joined.

Hi everyone! Hope you guys are doing great!

As of now, mid-month surprise gift project "A Dream Written in Water" sims have been sent!

This project gift is seperate from the "Teen Band" themetic, which is coming at the end of this month.

• Tier 1 supporters received 1 gift: Sophia Galanis

• Tier 2 supporters received 3 gifts: Sophia Galanis + Mi Kyong An + Bo Zhou

• Tier 3 supporters received 5 gifts: Sophia Galanis + Mi Kyong An + Bo Zhou + Layla Crawford + Ufuk Yener

-Their short stories-

>> Sophia Galanis

Only child of a poor family, Sophia dedicated her entire youth to take care of her family. She wasn't at the age to work, but she always looked after her parents. She was a kid with a golden heart. But a golden heart is not enough to pay the bills. Her father was not working so her mother was working as the only source of income. Watching her mother crushing under expensive bills and rent, Sophia was devastated. She dropped the high school in her junior year and started to look for a job. She was dressing like she was going to school but everyday was a work day for her. If only her mother know... Sophia knew she couldn't take it and it would break her heart. So she kept it as a secret.

Sophia was working as a waitress. The job wasn't paying well but serving her classmates was the worst. They were pitying her, which made things worse for her. Before, she was watching her mother wasting her life away and now, as if looking in the mirror, she was watching herself wasting her life away.

Fast forward, Sohpia is 19 now. She couldn't find a permanent job. Living on a daily checks, unsure of her future... Lost her both parents... What was it all for?..

>> Mi Kyong An

Her dreams were impossible to catch, as it was chasing a loose kite. If someone told her that "Watching youtube all day, mimicing choreography from famous idols won't make you an idol", she wouldn't believe it. She would dive into waters without knowing how deep it goes. Maybe all she needed was to hit her nose to a hard surface. A few broken bones, perhaps, all she needed- to not throw away her whole future. She wasn't eating properly to stay in shape, dancing 24/7, singing, she wasn't even studying so that her classes won't get in the way.

She was pretty, maybe not so smart, but she was pretty popular. Whenever she entered to school field, everyone would watch her walk as if she was walking in slow motion. Like, the wind always caress her hair, the sunlight always hit her from the right angle. A true angel, they would say.

One audition after another, Mi Kyong An got rejected from every competition she attended. Ever since she was 9, she was attending multiple auditions, yet she was getting rejected from each and every one of them. What was her mistake? She was dedicating her whole life for this ideal. Who else would do such things like she did? She's 22 now and she's losing hope. Every jury learned her name by now. Whenever she steps onto the stage, they sigh like "you again hgngh..."

At one point, she felt like she failed at life and it was too late to start over. Now, she's performing small dances at local shop openings and reading books to elders at nursing home, getting paid by hour, barely making a living... But still, she's dressing pretty like she's an idol...

>> Bo Zhou

Have you made a calculator in your computer? And did that make you a great programmer? No? I didn't think so. But unfortunately, his parents did. They thought that spending so much time on his computer, making all the small quirky things makes him a prodigy. They've sent him to fancy schools, worked two jobs each day... But was this Bo Zhou's dream or his parents'?

He was truly trying. But not for himself, but for his parents. The idea of disappointing them was killing him. So he kept trying, eating himself inside out... Until he couldn't take it anymore. He quit the school and took the half of the money back that his parents paid for the school. He didn't pack, he didn't say his goodbyes... He just left the city, knowing he failed his parents. And for some time, his parents thought "my kid is at school, too busy to answer my calls."

>> Layla Crawford

Can money buy happiness? Sometimes yes but mostly, no. You can own any item from the shelf but after some time, knowing that you owned it finally, makes you question why were you desiring it in the first place...

Layla comes from a rich family. A silver spoon in her mouth, best of the private tutors, handful of maids... But her family were never in the picture. They were constantly working. Her mom was usually at the overseas, while her father was always locked in a room, trying to meet the deadlines for the newspaper he's working for; Layla was always alone in the giant prison, named house. She never felt at home.

For some time, she planned a life for herself and when she turned 25, decided to talk to her parents. They just laughed at her and mocked her about how she never worked a day in her life and she won't survive outside of their shadow. But Layla was determined, so she left the house. She stayed over a friend for a few months and found a job at a small book store. She managed to survive in the "wild" as her parents called it, but still, she had nowhere or noone to call home.

>> Ufuk Yener

Ufuk took over the diner their family been running for generations. After his father's passing, this was what their family was expecting him to do. A troubled childhood, he had no happy memories with his father. However, the pressure was heavy, he had to quit his job and start to manage the diner which worth no penny.

Before that, he was living a carefree life. Small friend group, his dog, noone to tell him what to do, an entertaining job that he loves. All gone away and he was sentenced to run the stupid diner. Why did he have to say yes? Why he couldn't say no? He was a grown man and he had every right to refuse. His father haunted him since he was a kid and now, he had to work 14 hours a day in that living, breathing reminder.

Everyone has a different understanding of "failing". For some, not being able to make a good meal and for some, not being successful on a test and for some, wasting their future away.

With these five characters above, i tried to give them a little background stories, maybe not so deep, but enough to tell different stories and understandings of failure. Maybe they will recover from that, maybe they will not. But if you were or are in the same shoe with any of them, please know that you are strong and you are not alone. You will never be alone. We have to challenge obstacles and find a way to overcome them. This is what makes us human. We can do it. :)