The Inspiring Life Of . . .

Maddie West

A girl named Maggie was born to old parents. Maggie grew up happy, social, and funny! The most important people in her life were: her BFF Britney, who she met when she was two; her aunt; her mom and her dad (of course!). Maggie had so many friends in preschool that sadly she had to leave most of them then come kindergarden and that's where she met most of her friends. She was good friends with on girl named, Kiki who was a great friend at first but then started to bully Maggie through the years. Maggie had many friends that would protect kindergarden through 5th grade. Yeah she was bullied up until fifth grade and it was on and off bullying. In first grade Maggie was not as talkative as before and stuck with a small crowd. In second grade she was very shy and developed a social anxiety disorder. In 3rd grade she had a few close friends but the social anxiety disorder was gradually getting worse. In 4th grade Maggie did not talk with any of her friends and one of her close friends went to another school. Meanwhile this whole time her very best friend Britney had always been going to another school and if Britney was there she likely wouldn't get bullied. Maggie's grades were down 3rd grade- 5th grade. In 5th grade finally the bullying was resolved after so many years and believe it or not Maggie and her bully Kiki were friends! Kiki was extremely nice and obviously went through puberty early :D because she matured a lot. Maggie's close friends still didn't trust Kiki after all those years of bullying. One thing that didn't change was Maggie's social anxiety. In the summer of 5th grade Maggie's beloved aunt died who was one of the closest people to her. This made Maggie even more depressed but her best friend Britney was with her through everything. Maggie moved schools in 6th grade to go to an intensive studies program (bad idea) where she had great teachers but got bad grades. Maggie was still very shy and developed total social anxiety when in school and this effected her everything: the way she walked, the way she talked, how she presented herself, her grades, and most importantly her self esteem. In late fifth grade she was diagnosed with SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder). She still had a few close friends from kindergarden who always stood by her although she was afraid to talk to them in school and they formed friendships with other people. The good thing was NO ONE bullied her. No one did they accepted the fact that she was shy and it was also a very diverse school and a very diverse neighborhood thankfully. Maybe once or twice she would hear a rumor but her friends ALWAYS stood up for her even Kiki. These were all her close friends who knew what she'd been through ever since kindergarden. In 6th grade her grades were bad and it wasn't a great year when it came to her anxiety issues. The 6th grade summer was alright even though she was very embarassed from a situation that happened where a kid from her school saw that she was talking openly and loudly to her friends. She felt horrible after. In 7th grade all these kids from different schools were coming to form a new middle school. In the first days or weeks of seventh grade she tried her best to act confident when in school and seem approachable however that faded and she went back to being anxious and reserved in school for the rest of the year. Her friends were very supportive though and she was open to tell them about what anxiety she had. Towards the end of the year Maggie decided to make a change and talk with more people. They way she acted around people didn't change she was still extremely self conscious. She switched therapists because the one she was previously working with didn't help her much. By then she had three adorable cats two she adopted over the years and one kitten that she got from a friend. Her grades were As' and Bs' in 7th grade as well! She missed a lot of school though due to her anxiety. Things improved. Maggie had high intelligence but was still very shy around people but not as shy when spoken to. The summer went by fast and at the beginning of 8th grade she tried to remain confident in school but it just didn't work out. She was already taking pills for her anxiety but they didn't work like magic! She was also diagnosed for a bit of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). The school was very concerned for her and she went to a 9:00 to 3:00 Monday - Friday for two weeks. It helped a lot and Maggie started to take new medications. She then was also diagnosed with a bit of aspergers. She talked way more with people in school like everyday and it didn't take much effort however she talked with people in a low shy voice different from the loud and open voice she would use around her close friends. The thing that was still there though was her anxiety around people in school she would constantly coward when around people and she just couldn't help it- it was a habit to her. Every time a negative or self conscious thought came to her head she would repeat it over and over and over again due to her OCD. (If you don't know what Aspergers, OCD, or social anxiety is look it up!) She still talked plenty with people just not most boys (however she did have crushes on a few boys :D).

Her friends encouraged her to just be herself in school and she was gradually trying to get over her severe anxiety around people. She continued to talk more with her friends however the anxiety wasn't completely gone yet. As the months went by in December she realized this anxiety around people can't take over her life. Her grades were good and she got to classes on time, talked with people, and never once missed school! She practiced every day getting over her anxiety around people and when to catch herself from trying to hide/cover herself from crowds. She finally started talking to boys in January and she got a boyfriend who was her crush! XD However she still had that anxiety left in her when she was around lots of people in school and she decided she'll probably never get over it. Though she did! That was towards the end of the year of 8th grade and she knew she would be ready for high school! She officially decided she wanted to be a screenwriter, author, lyricist, and singer/rapper. She took singing lessons ever since mid 8th grade and was gradually improving her voice around people and she started talking completely freely with everyone by her Freshman year! High school was tough but she got mostly good grades, focused more on her school work, made songs, wrote books and scripts. Her BFF Britney was a year older then her and still went to a totally different school but they still saw each other as often as they could and Maggie started writing scripts for movies and they made a few fairly professional films! Maggie had a boyfriend in her freshman year that she dated all through high school! Her BFF Britney went to an all girls' school so she didn't have a boyfriend YET. At 17 Maggie new how to drive and drove to her friends' houses (most friends from kindergarden!) and drove to her BFFs' house also when she got the chance (Britney was just so busy). In her Senior year she had already decided what colleges she would apply for and what she wanted to be. It's like her life was just giving her good times after all those hard times she went through kindergarden through 7th grade. She was extremely close with her boyfriend and they were basically inseparable. She also went to high school with one of her best friends, Angie that left in her school in 4th grade! The most important people in her life were by now her BFF Britney (still!), Angie, her boyfriend, and her grandmother. Her grandmother was 79 by now. One thing that always stayed with her ever since she got over her anxiety was her courage and that's why she also wanted to be something more important to her then being a writer or being famous which was being an activist for animal and human rights. She still had three wonderful cats that were all healthy. Her oldest cat Misty was 8 years old her other big fat cat Bunny was 7 years and young one Mansa was 5 years old. In the summer of Senior year she worked some charitable jobs and got in to Boston University! (A few of her other close friends got in their too!) Her and her boyfriend tried applying to the same colleges. He wanted to work in the technology field. He got in to a better university though and they went their separate ways. They had been very close for many years but that closeness started to fade in senior year. In the first months of college on a rainy day while in her dorm room Maggie got news from her mom that her grandmother died. They cried over the phone and she tried to get home as soon as possible. She went to the funeral and she was very depressed she wanted to go back to when she was so young go back all the way to kindergarden and change everything. Nothing was the same. She wished that she didn't date a guy yet, she wished that she didn't rush her career so much, she wished that she tried harder in school, she wished that she appreciated her family members more, she wished that her dad didn't have Aspergers (which she found out in 8th grade), she wished she hadn't been bullied from the start . . . She wanted to go back to kindergarden and relive it all and in a better way except the last few years were the best years of her life. She missed the little things she did when she was oh so young. She started her very own youtube channel in her freshman year of high school and presented herself to the world. She posted the old movies she made by herself and with her friends even going all the way back to 8th grade! Over the year she got A LOT of subscribers! She always posted videos on her singing and people enjoyed it and always suggested she quit college and make an album. She didn't want to quit college though and she didn't! She always was a member of many activist groups and spread to as many people as she could the cruelty that was going on in the world especially with animals! In her Freshman year she dated a guy who wanted to be a rapper and it was perfect she wanted to be a singer he wanted to be a rapper. They became extremely close and very loyal to each other. Maggie never cheated however HE did once (only once) and they still stayed together. She was getting more and more fame on youtube! Finally when she graduated she worked temporarily as a journalist, lived in New York City with her boyfriend (and two bffs Angie and Britney- yeah they are still here!) and started making her own album. The album was done in a short amount of time but there was a lot of effort put in to it. She made a music video from one of the songs and posted it on youtube and got hundreds of thousands of views! Some record companies even recognized her. Her boyfriend who was a little lower in fame got in to a good record company and they were both so busy with their lives they almost forgot about each other even though they lived together. At one point when they weren't do busy they took a vacation to Hawaii and he proposed to her. She said yes! They were engaged, both at the ages of 24. While engaged Maggie's song that she made in to a video became very famous. After still living the "normal" life she didn't even realize she was famous. She made a debut single with her fiance that went viral and they soon were both fairly well known in the U.S. It all happened so fast. Maggie still wrote scripts and books when she got the chance and her BFF Britney formed a production company and used some of her scripts in films. June 15 was when she finally got married to the love of her life and his name is, Janal. Meanwhile her two other BFFs' were happily married around the same time believe it or not! Maggie and Janal continued to make music and they soon became very famous. After their next albums they went on tour together. They were rich and had a nice house but gave a lot of the money to charities. By age 30 Maggie's father died of old age. She was very upset and kept it as secret as she could. She was so distracted in fame and money that she forgot what was really important to her which was the people and things she had from the very start. The anxiety from so many years before had always been with her in some way and it didn't deeply impact her life as it did before but she still had it. It was a remembrance of everything she'd been through. Her BFFs' production company became more well known over the years and Maggie continued writing scripts for it. Maggie also continued writing books. Many of the books became well known because after all she was famous. At age 33 she retired from making music she did everything she wanted to do she made four platinum albums, and taught the world about the cruelties going on and even stopped some bad issues. Her husband continued making music and he was very famous by then. They had two houses one in NYC and one in LA also two dogs and 3 cats ;) When Janal was 35 he retired from his music career to spend more time with his wife. He continued work as a music teacher. Shortly after he retired Maggie wrote a script that was made in to the best movie from Britney's production company they hired good actors and the movie was recognized on youtube and sold to some people which they made a lot of money from! The next script Maggie finished when she was 37 was made in to a movie part of the production company and was so good that it was played in theaters! Britney and Maggie got so much fame and money from it. It also received good reviews. At 40 her mother at the age of 108 died of old age her mother helped her though everything and got her through her toughest years she was always there but now . . . she was gone. She had a big funeral for her mother and many people were invited Maggie contacted all these people who knew her mother from when Maggie was in her very young years. Her mother had always been a lively and smart person in her life and her parents were to be remembered till' the end of Maggie's life. Her parents ashes were kept together and buried underneath the house in NYC and Maggie was to live in that house till' the end of her life. At 40 years old Janal and Maggie still living happily ever after continued living their lives the way it was. Maggie made a couple more scripts over the years and those scripts were made in to movies which some were very well known. Through their 50s they thrived even more. Britney's production company became more widespread and was thriving as well. As Maggie got older she wrote fewer scripts and by her late 50s' she retired from writing scripts and continued writing books. She did everything she dreamed of when it came to her screenwriting career. Janal was a well known professor in music and wrote a few books with the help of Maggie. Maggie retired early at the age of 60 for she had done everything she'd dreamed of. Janal still worked as professor until at the age of 64 he unexpectedly died from a sudden heart attack. Maggie was with Janal for a wonderful 40 years. She got more fame after his death and also wanted to be interviewed by the public but she just wanted to be left alone. She moved in with her BFF Britney and her husband. Britney comforted and protected her through anything her friendship with Britney was stronger they were both 65 and had known each other for 62 years of their life and I mean it! Maggie was living with her BFF for a year after Janal's death when Maggie started becoming weak she barely vacationed as much as she did or went out.

At 68 years old, living with her BFF for three years and being vegetarian ever since being a senior in college Maggie was weak and frail. She didn't eat much even though Britney was older then her Britney was still extremely lively and did anything to help Maggie healthy. Maggie refused to eat meat and she couldn't anyway after being vegetarian for so many years. She was vegetarian for the animals she knew all the animal cruelty going on in the world, she witnessed some of her favorite animals going extinct, she wrote a widely known book about ALL the animal cruelty when she was only 30. She said to Britney one winter night "I will die trying to stop all the horrible things going on in this world" Britney asked Maggie if she could put her words in to quotes and Maggie agreed. "I want people to know my words". But one thing that was more important to Maggie then anything was stopping bullying she remembered clearly everything she went through when being bullied and she didn't want that to happen to anyone else. Between the ages of 68 and 69 Maggie was doing everything she could even in her weak, frail body. She asked Britney to spread her words and change what she could.

You can often sense when someone is about to die if you are always with them like Britney was. Britney just got back from traveling to China for a month to protest humane killing of animals in fur farms as Maggie requested. On May 13, just about a couple days after Britney came back, Maggie died in her sleep at the age of 70. She died from weakness but Britney knew for a fact she didn't die of mental weakness. She was mentally stronger in her last years. Britney knowing Maggie for 68 years was devastated. She treasured everything she had from Maggie and had a whole room dedicated to Maggie her husband tried to comfort Britney as much as he could but she cried for a straight week.

Britney had a big funeral for Maggie it was in Maggie's hometown where she wanted to be left. Maggie asked for ashes. So many people came to the funeral more people then Britney even invited people she contacted contacted more people and in all there was up to 500 people. All people covered 5 acres of grassland. There was a big tent with food, books, songs, and scripts by Maggie. Thousands of more people could have come but Britney limited the number. Britney met people she didn't even know. She met people who went to Maggie's school kindergarden through 8th grade, she met Maggie's high school friends, college friends, some of her best fans, family, animal activists, etc. Everyone had a small story to tell about Maggie. Towards the end Britney made a speech she said "Maggie cared about people and animals. She was a loving person I knew her longer then anyone here I bet! For 68 years she was in my life and she changed me. I will never forget her for the rest of the years I live. She said to me when she was as young as 15 'Don't automatically hate someone if you don't know their story. I like someone then I learn their background before *tears, voice breaking* judging them *tears*'" Britney left the stage quickly and everyone cheered for her even though it was brief it meant a lot.

So that's the life. Some of it's true but most of it is false. The point is value your life and do everything you ever dreamed of doing and you will have an impact not only on yourself but others. I wish I was as valued as her when she passed.