People of Alabama: Mia Perry of Birmingham
By Tyneisha Carter
April 22, 2021
Mia Perry of Birmingham knows the importance of surrounding yourself with good people. (Tyneisha Carter / People of Alabama)
“My greatest achievement is surrounding myself with good people and overcoming a toxic mindset. Moving forward was a really good thing for me. Life has taught me that you gotta keep moving forward and obstacles are inevitable. You’re going to face things in life and you can’t expect it to be a breeze but, at the same time, I think that life has taught me that those hard times and that adversity really give life its beauty. I really see it in a different light because of that. Every person in this world is going to struggle and the longer you live, the more you’re going to struggle. There is no perfect happiness. There is no perfect world. Everybody has probably had a time when they have been broken. My overall idea of happiness is just enjoying the moments, making memories, living life, learning when to let go of things that are no longer good for you, and just constantly choosing yourself. A lot of people try to force the word ‘selfish’ and say you’re selfish for wanting to do this but it’s OK because you’re really responsible for you. A lot of times you do have to put yourself first. You can look out for others all you want but at the end of the day, your main responsibility is you and that’s life.” – Mia Perry, 18, of Birmingham.