I Believe in Fortune Cookies

Although it seems impossible that an inch-long strip of paper housed in a dessert can be the basis for a life credo, my fortunes (from 16 years of dedication towards Chinese takeout) are. The collection started far before I had any problems at all. My life was a happy little bubble of friendly rituals; Saturday-night sleepovers at my doting grandparents’ house, ballet classes three times a week, my beautiful, organized room, and the tight bond my sister, Heather, and I shared. That all ended when my grandmother ended her eleventh and last year of life after being diagnosed with Leukemia. My grief-stricken grandfather came to live with us, more specifically in my room. I began sharing a room with my sister, who has many gifts and talents, but no knack for neatness. This quickly began to drive a wedge between us, and Heather became a sister, not a best friend. My dad took an out of town job and my family was perpetually stressed Monday through Friday when he wasn’t there. A year after my grandmother died, my grandfather died as well. Soon after, my last support system left. My friends became distant, noting my introverted and moody behavior as “weird”. Just when everyone I depended on seemed to be leaving or giving up on me, I got the fortune “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”.

Fast forward to middle school. I was still collecting fortunes, taking them more seriously now, and progressed to dancing ten hours a week. It was everything I knew, that is until Heather was diagnosed with hip displacia after extreme pain during classes. The problem is, hip displacia is genetic– genetic, and an X-ray confirmed that I had it too. It would be just a while before I would be unable to dance as well. The night I realized that the pain was too bad to continue perusing dance, I opened my cookie and read, “You can be successful in anything you put your mind to”. When paint under my fingernails replaced blisters on my feet, I began to believe in optimism and the ability to change and grow and I became serious about art.

I really do not believe that every fortune that you will open will mean something to you. Most will not. Fortunes are complete coincidences, not fate. Out of over 300 fortunes in my collection, only two have meant anything to me. But I do believe in letting yourself be surprised. It’s easier to dismiss the idea that out the huge variety of fortunes out there you’ll get something completely pointless than it is to place faith in the small chance that you will get the one that you need at that moment. More than anything, I believe in that slight chance you will. Most importantly, I will also believe in the hope that fortune cookies symbolize. Like life, a fortune is only what you choose to take from it. I now believe in optimism and I believe in strength in myself. I believe in lessons learned from the most humble of origins. And for those other 298 fortunes, I believe in the laughter from adding the phrase “in bed” at the end of it. I believe in fortune cookies.