“I want to open a beauty salon someday, mom: doing hair, painting nails, putting make-up, giving people the look they desire, making them happy” – I told my mom. I remember my mom saying: “I glad you want to make people beautiful, but you can do greater than that, hon!” In my mom’s eyes, I grow up as a frivolous, juvenile daughter, well, comparing to my older sister; I was doing my hair while my sister is studying, buying silly stuffs while she is saving money for books. Like most girls, I want to live in my own “Barbie world” and I see nothing wrong with that. I enjoy it. I cherish it. In that world, astonishingly, I have learnt a lot, especially from a tiny bottle of nail polish.
There is no doubt that nail polish has become best friend with most ladies around the world, from all ages. It makes millions of girls happy, satisfied, and confident. With different colors, different shades, different patterns, every girl feels better about herself with perfectly painted nails that express her personality. However, this little bottle of liquid paint does not only serve beauty purposes, but it also has variable practical uses. Once, it helped me stop a run on my pantyhose and kept me from an epic embarrassment. I also usually glue things with nail polish. It lasts longer, and even stronger than some glue, plus, it smells better than most of the glue I found. What else can nail polish do? Prevent a rusty screw, stiffen thread, plug a leak, repair frayed shoe laces, touch up chipped glasses, and with a special kind of nail polish, we can even make some of the objects glow in the dark. Most surprisingly, nail polish can even cure a wart. Nail polish is a remedy? Who could have thought? It is tiny, but mighty!

Consequently, nail polish has fostered in me a love for developing diverse interests. I would fantasize about being multi – talented like that. I would love to be an architect to the souls, building aspiration. I would love to be a cook, serving knowledge. I would love to be a doctor, who heals. But most of all, I would love to be a teacher, whose roles combines all of the above. I once wanted to be a biologist, an engineer, a doctor but then I realize if I am a teacher, I could bring to the world many more scientists, engineers, doctors. When I was eight I want to beautify people; now that I am eight-teen I still do. This time more ambitiously, I want to beautify every aspect of a individual: the soul, the body, the mind.

I have never been to Haiti, the poorest country in the world, but I, myself, have witnessed the same destitute and privation, struggling to earn livings and striving for food. I did not have to go in Somalia, the most dangerous nation, where “poverty makes thieves”, to experience conflicts, impasse, and desperation; they are, in fact, around me every day. I wish I can paint colors to the world, giving the wretched lives near me the happiness like does nail polish; I wish I can heal their wounded souls. I wish my choice of my career would make a different, even a tiny bit.

Albeit how many people see nail polish as a no-utilitarian thing, I look at with appreciation. It has taught me to live with passions, dreams, and purposes. Otherwise, I will get dry just like a long-time-unused nail polish. It has reminded me that people always remove the ugly paintwork to put on better-looking one, so try hard, improve, cultivate, be dynamic, and do not let any remover or anybody wash away your mark. And perhaps the most important lesson I have learnt from it is not to see things the way they are, see things the way I am.