At the beginning of the short story, Bliss can be identified as being in the Foreclosure stage and then eventually transitions to the Moratorium stage. Bliss was motivated by seeing her sister’s unsuccessfulness to focus on herself and stick to her goals. With that mindset, Bliss tends to be quite stuck in her ways. The author writes, “And America is still the best place to be, except when it comes to smoking. I’ve smoked since I was twelve, and I’m not stopping” (Plummer 28). Bliss is very stubborn and has a “my way or the highway” attitude. She is also heavily influenced by a book she read that is supposed to tell her how to have an effective life in seven steps. In the Foreclosure stage, one makes commitments, but hasn’t explored other options.
