At the beginning of the episode, Bernice is introduced as a middle-aged woman who lives with her daughter and son-in-law in a retirement community. She is an avid flower fan, and she goes every week to the veggie market to buy flowers for her apartment.
She also takes her daughter and son-in-law to the farmer’s market every Thursday to buy vegetables for their Sunday dinner.
These little details add up to create a character that is consistent with who she is and what she loves, which is why she sticks with gardening.
An example of an “epiphany” can be when something changes your mind about something, which is what Bernice does in this episode.
Bernice’s decision to become a dancer
After Bernice decides she wants to become a dancer, she takes a performing arts class at her local community center. During the class, she learns some new moves and songs to practice.
This is an example of an insight event: When something meaningful happens in your life, you can’t always put it into words, but you can feel it. You might know exactly what you want out of your life by way of an event or a move on someone else.
An idea event: When something meaningful happens in your life, you have to pay attention to how it affects others.
For instance, when Bernice becomes a dancer, she gets dressed up every time she goes out and puts a lot of effort into her work. She doesn’t mind doing the same things over and over again because she sees how it effects others with her dance class.
Bernice’s decision to become a doctor
After studying medicine in college, Bernice decided she wanted to practice medicine and joined the medical staff at a local hospital. She worked hard, loved her job, and was very dedicated to her patients.
However, she struggled with anxiety and depression during her time as a doctor. She felt like she was always rushing through her time on the job, and that made her feel like she was not really doing a good job.
She also became distracted while working, because of all the things she had to do while being a doctor.
Bernice’s decision to marry Lawrence
After her revelation about her past, Bernice begins to think about the future. She begins to plan her life with Lawrence, and she decides to go through with it.
This is an important event for Bernice’s life. She gleans comfort and happiness from her marriage, and she is not ready to let that go. She has been searching for a long time, and she finds it with Lawrence.
In addition to having a happy marriage, people who find fulfillment in a religion or philosophy are more likely to stick with their decision. They may also be more willing to accept new information or changes as he does what he says is right.
Bernice’s decision to go back to school
When Bernice decides she wants to go back to school, she chooses UVA because of the chance to meet new people and learn something new.
She’s always wanted to be a teacher and this is her first opportunity to learn how. Plus, it’s in Charlottesville, which is close to her home.
The thing that intimides Bernice the most is learning. She doesn’t want to be stuck learning something she don’t understand and can’t apply. She wants knowledge that can be applied immediately!
This is an example of an enlightenment or epiphany event: when something happens in life that changes you forever, but doesn’t go over well with most people.
Most people don’t feel like they have answers now, they feel like they are reevaluating things they already knew. This kind of information is difficult to apply in your daily lives.
Bernice’s change in appearance
After Bernice discovers she can’t afford her haircut, she decides to go back to her old hairstyle. She tells herself she needs to stick with it for a few weeks to save money, but in the end, she continues with her new hairstyle.
This is an example of an enlightenment event: When something meaningful happens in your life, you might temporarily change your regular self — the one that doesn’t get what you’re saying and is resistant to change. You become more open and accepting of yourself, and you find new things that make you happy.
Your new self may not be as strong or stable as your old self, but it’s still you — with the same desires, hopes, and mistakes. Your new self has more awareness, sensitivity, and happiness-producing qualities than the old ones did.
Bernice becomes more confident
After becoming hesitant and concerned about money and herself, Bernice begins to change her behavior in response. She starts going to job interviews, she begins practicing her yoga poses, and she makes lifestyle changes in her everyday life.
She becomes more confident in herself and what she wants out of life. She learns that being more aware of my goals is a good thing and not something to be afraid of.
She also learns that being with friends is fun and meets her needs. She realizes that she doesn’t need to be with people all the time, but enjoys having them around.
She also realizes that making decisions on how happy she is feels like too much work, so she decides to take a step back and just do it. This was an example of an epiphany for Bernice.
Her friends notice the change in her attitude and behavior
When Bernice is at her lowest point, she decides to go through a phase where she wears very tight jeans and heavy shirts. She loves this new attitude and behavior switch and decides to continue it by buying herself a tight shirt and looking forward to wearing it.
Her friends notice the change in her attitude and behavior, and they let her know it. After she moves out, her friends help her find a place to live, find a job, and generally take care of her. They even buy her some new clothes!
This is an example of an “epiphany” happening in Bernice’s life. She has been running with the same old ideas, but when they do not work for her anymore, she finds another set of ideas that work.
An epiphany happens when a person realizes something important about themselves.
She becomes more spontaneous and fun-loving
After she goes back to her old-school ways, Bernice realizes she is not having as much fun and that she needs to loosen up and be more spontaneous.
She decides to go to the beach with Jackie and Dorothy and Shelly, even though it is in the middle of winter. She enjoys herself very much and gets lots of cute messages from people on Facebook and Twitter, even from people she knows who are not close to her.
This is an example of an epiphany for Bernice, because now that she has had a chance to enjoy herself, she knows how much stress can get in her life.
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