The shades were closed keeping the room dark. Peter knew that he should open them and let in the sunlight so he could begin the day, but he didn’t have the energy or willpower. Nothing had gone as expected the day before and he no longer wanted to spend the energy to begin a new day. He stared at the shades wondering if there was a way to disappear from the reality of the world for the rest of the day.

The irony of the situation hadn’t escaped her. She had taken years to sculpt the perfect persona with the perfect look that she shared on Instagram. She knew her hundreds of thousands of followers envied that life she showed and stayed engaged with her because they wanted that life too. The truth was that she wanted the perfect life she portrayed more than any of her fans. The fact was that despite all the perfection she shared on social media, her life was actually more of a mess than most.

Here’s the thing. She doesn’t have anything to prove, but she is going to anyway. That’s just her character. She knows she doesn’t have to, but she still will just to show you that she can. Doubt her more and she’ll prove she can again. We all already know this and you will too.

He ordered his regular breakfast. Two eggs sunnyside up, hash browns, and two strips of bacon. He continued to look at the menu wondering if this would be the day he added something new. This was also part of the routine. A few seconds of hesitation to see if something else would be added to the order before demuring and saying that would be all. It was the same exact meal that he had ordered every day for the past two years.