Chapter One

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From a young age, Gianna knew what she wanted in life because her parents instilled it into her

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From a young age, Gianna knew what she wanted in life because her parents instilled it into her. When was born into a family of passionate, dedicated, and successful black people, and it was expected that she grew to follow in their footsteps.

Set goals do the tasks that would lead to the goal, and successfully achieve that goal. That was what she was taught by her parents.

Her brothers and sister were eight and four years older than her so she was able to see them do the best they could and make their parents proud. When Giselle came first in her entire Senior year and was granted the Valedictorian title, their mother had the brightest smile on her face and their father brought them to the fanciest restaurant in town, to show his proudness.

Jahiem and Joshua got into Harvard Medical School just like their father did and her parents never stopped bragging about it. They were proud. Still are.

Gianna was left alone with her parents at the age of fourteen, having to live up to their expectations just like her siblings did. For her, it was always studying, getting good grades, and being the best poster child.

She wasn't able to go out with friends and only stayed after school for the Chess and Debate club that she was in. Her life was extremely boring, looking back at it. However, it was all in good intentions.

Her parents wanted to best for their children, every single one of them. She didn't know much about her parents' past, but she only knew of her father's side of the family and they were a bit overwhelming.

She was so focused on making her parents proud that she never had the chance to live life like a normal child. She was at science festivals, spending hours at her desk studying and making sure her GPA stayed at 4.0, just like her parents wanted.

Sadly, in her teenage years, she never once partied, have more than one friend, or even had a sleepover. 

Getting into Yale made her believe she could finally be free. But it was far from that. She was drowning in assignments and barely had time for herself. She began questioning if medicine was the field she wanted to go in, but no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't see herself pursuing anything else.

Becoming a Doctor was a must in Westbury household and her mind was conditioned that way.  From a young age, she had the dream of becoming a veterinarian after losing a very important animal in her life from something preventable.

So, as her parents wanted, she studies as hard as she could, maintained great grades, and graduated college earlier than her peers, which made her parents happy. That was the bright side of things, making her parents happy. 

Within two years, she passed both the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination and the State Licensing Exam. Her father gifted her a job at one of his most successful clinics.

Choosing San Francisco was a way for her to distance herself from her family and possibly break out of the shell she felt like she was trapped in.

I've never met a woman around my age who's so...introverted.

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