Last week, I got a DM that said, “You may have heard of her, but Marilyn Hagerty just died at age 99. She was an absolute legend—North Dakota food critic and friend of Anthony Bourdain.”
I’ll be honest—I had no idea who she was. But I was intrigued.

Until last week, I didn’t know Marilyn’s name or that she wrote a long-running column for the Grand Forks Herald. I didn’t know she’d gone viral in 2012 for her review of the newly opened Olive Garden in her city. At the time, I had just moved to Minot for the first time and wasn’t paying much attention to viral local news.

But twelve years later, I sat at my kitchen table reading her words out loud for the first time. And I loved every line.
If you’re unfamiliar, here’s the gist: she visited Olive Garden and wrote about it with unmatched gusto. She described the Tuscan farmhouse décor, the waiters’ crisp uniforms, the warm breadsticks, the way the salad came with “several black olives.” She treated the chain restaurant with the same attention and respect she might have given to a five-star destination.
The internet went wild. Some people thought her words were charming, some were puzzled, and others found the review laughably lame. It’s undeniable that the column stirred a big reaction. And in the years since, that review has become legendary.

Marilyn’s Olive Garden review is a masterclass in perspective. She took something others, in other places find ordinary—and saw beauty in it. It’s a fitting reminder that we get to choose our perspective. Where others saw a mundane chain restaurant, she was able to paint this fabulous word picture.

Both perspective are accurate, but the virality of a review like this reminds me that seeing the good stands out. It’s a reminder that we get to decide what perspective we pick up. And what perspective we share with others.
Here’s where it hits home for me: learning to take charge of my own perspective saved my life.
For years, I carried a negative outlook. I viewed myself, my circumstances, and the world around me through a filter of criticism, fear, and despair. Eventually, it caught up to me in the form of anxiety and depressive disorders. The weight of my thoughts nearly crushed me.

Learning to reframe—learning that I could see the same world in a new way—changed everything. It didn’t erase hardship or eliminate pain. But it gave me tools to look for good, to notice beauty, to embrace small joys. And that shift in perspective literally saved my life.

That’s why Marilyn’s Olive Garden review resonates so deeply. She reminds us that even the ordinary can be extraordinary if we choose to see it that way.
It is fitting that I stumbled onto her work in September—National Suicide Prevention Month. Because perspective isn’t just about whether we roll our eyes at a restaurant chain or write about it with delight. It’s also about the way we see ourselves, our future, and our place in the world.

We don’t control every plot point of our lives. Hard things happen. Circumstances shift. But we do have a say in how we tell the story. We can emphasize despair or dignity. We can lean into criticism or celebration.
That choice isn’t always easy. (I know from experience.) But it is possible.
It’s possible in the little things—like how we talk about road construction or the weather. And it’s possible in the big things—like how we view our worth and hope for the future.

Marilyn’s review went viral because people were hungry for sincerity. It was refreshing—if also confusing—to see something so sincere, honest, and good. I think the same is true today.
Our world is full of negative voices, and unwanted circumstances will always arise. But the superpower within each of us is the ability to reframe—to see the same world in a new light.

So yes, you can see Olive Garden. Or you can see Marilyn Hagerty’s Olive Garden.
Personally, I’d rather have lunch in the latter.

And if you’re struggling to see the good right now, take heart. It’s out there. Sometimes it takes practice, sometimes it takes help—but it’s possible. And we’re looking for it together.

For more on North Dakota living, perspective, and finding the good in everyday life, visit amyallender.com or find me on Facebook and Instagram @HeyMinot.