Transformed by Destiny: The Journey of the Reluctant Leni Loud

As I stand, isolated in my room, an unexpected magnetic pull takes sudden hold of my body. A sensation of lightheadedness as my room spins uncontrollably around me. And then, for a bone-chilling moment, the world is still. "Whoa, what just happened?" I mutter, my voice eerily unfamiliar. My normally deeper, male voice sounds distinctly higher; softer. I shiver involuntarily as I pull my hand to my chest, though I’m faced with an unexpected visual detail - my shirt turned into a seafoam green dress, complete with white frills and triangular sleeves. "Wow," I blush, "This is definitely not my style." I exam further; my hands are decidedly more petite with painted nails. Deep within my mind, an ominous alarm begins to blare, my instincts telling me something has drastically changed. I uneasily make my way towards the mirror. My reflection is unknown to me - a girl staring back, her long, pale-blonde hair sweeping across wide, innocent eyes framed by thick lashes. Upon her head sit rounded white sunglasses with black lenses, glinting beneath the room's light. A shiver rolls down my back as I gaze at the stranger in the mirror. Blinking hesitantly, I touch upon the reflective surface, my heart pounding. The girl in the mirror mimics my movements, the gut-wrenching certainty of my alteration settling deep within me. I swear to remember my past, my name, my identity. Yet, slowly, my memory deceives me. I can't recall my life or history, old friends, or passions. It's fading — everything is replaced by fragments of a different life, a dizzying whirlwind of adventures in a household full of siblings. "I need to think," I begin, but the sentence gets caught on my tongue, shifting into a lighter, airier proclamation, "Like, figuring out outfits for tomorrow." The worry about my identity fades to the background, replaced by thoughts of fashion and school. I glance around, my room no longer recognizable. Now it's too colorful, too quirky. Pictures of ten other kids, presumably my siblings, populate the walls. The name 'Leni' engraved on various items cast around the space. Suddenly, I find myself picking up a phone that isn't -- yet somehow is -- mine, arriving caller ID indicated 'Lori.' "Hey Lori!" I chirp, my concern about my transformation shadows behind my new effervescent persona. The conversation flows naturally; we discuss school, friends, family antics. It feels... normal. Comfortable. Before I know it, I find myself in deep discussion about a junior prom dress, my past life a blurred, distant memory. I am lost to the momentum of an unfamiliar yet instinctual existence. I am no longer who I was. I am Leni, the second oldest in the Loud family. I am a member of the family chaos, contributing my beauty and kindness in a symphony of affectionate familial anarchy. And all my efforts, all my determination to preserve my previous identity vanishes in the face of this new reality — because I am, for all intents and purposes, Leni Loud. Lovable, kind, and yes, a touch simple-minded. But aren't we all, in our ways?