The Barista

BASED ON A TRUE STORY …...

Ones upon a time, in the bustling city of Colombo, there was a young lady named Mia working as the Barista of a City Hotel. She was wonderful in style and graceful in her personality to shine as a Barista but deep inside the very corners of her mind, there was a little artist who loved painting. She saw the world as a beautiful piece of art drawn peacefully and cheerfully. She saw her passion in painting, but never did she let the inner painter come up due to the fear of rejection. “People will laugh at me. People will think that I’m stupid or else people won’t understand the meaning of what my heart says through my drawings”. She argued with herself. All these arguments made sure to keep all her beautiful paintings locked away in the closet.

However, one shiny day in the month of July, as Mia was serving lattes to her guests, her eyes accidently caught up with a poster of an art exhibition which was going to be hosted by the hotel. It was for the local emerging artists and Mia’s heart skipped a beat. “Your time has come to shine Mia, just go for it”. That was what her inner artist said shouting out loud. BUT just a minute.  “It would be a terrifying thing if the paints inflect my feelings. People will laugh at me. Judge me. I might lose my job also.” Something bad inside her told that it was not the right time to take such a risk.

However, she was not ready to give up at the first place. She stayed up in the hotel for a little bit more time after work, dusted off her canvases and started taking the pencil around the canvas with the enthusiasm she had forgotten to enjoy for years. She didn’t feel how the time flew but the dawn of the next beautiful day had already gifted her with a beautiful piece of art. The painting was a reflection of her soul and deep feelings. It was a story of love, life, and her deep emotions. Simply a picture of her life. An untold story to be unfolded.

The deadline of the exhibition came to the doorstep and all she had to do was give it to the organizing committee. Then again, the fear of rejection and criticism went all over her head and unfortunately like all her paintings, this beautiful masterpiece also ended up behind her closet.

However, the nature and God are such beautiful things. No matter what happens, if the universe wants to make something done, it always creates the path.  One of her friends who works for the organizing committee had accidentally seen her drawing and submitted it for review on behalf of her.

Days passed and the day of the art exhibition came. The banquet hall was filled with excitement and enthusiasm and so as with critics. Hundreds of people have gathered in the hall to witness and experience the art exhibition. After finishing the morning shift, Mia also joined with hesitation and the frustration of not submitting her golden masterpiece.

Mia’s heart raced as she walked along the corridor with hundreds of paintings, but little did, she knew that her steps taking her to the most popular masterpiece of the exhibition. When she reached the most popular paintings section, she saw people were standing around a painting which looked very familiar to her, and it didn’t take a second for her to realize that it was her painting and the people around the painting were discussing the depth and emotion in the piece. Mis’s art has already touched the hearts of the audience and it has become one the most popular art piece of that day. She finally uncovered the hidden talent and the cornered artist within her who she underestimates for such a long time. It finally became the turning point that gave her the opportunity to discover herself, to unlock the next chapter of her life.

Her journey from Barista to artist would never have been a reality, if not for the first step she took to bring her emotions back to the world with her piece of art and the good friend who helped her to take it to the world.

Just as she found her true calling which painted the canvas of her life, find your path by giving your full potential without giving up. Give it a try. Worst come to worst, you will end up nothing but with a great experience which no one could easily get and that will worth more than winning the game.