The Summer of Yes

by Courtney Walsh

It’s not work that’s kept me from living my life. It’s fear.

It’s the Summer of Yes but the Halloween of No Thank You.

Insert laughing face emoji here

“Who says you have to be good at it?”

“I believe if something makes you happy, it’s not a waste of time. Nobody says it has to make you money. People do have hobbies.”

“You’ll never be happy if you listen to what everyone else says about you,

It’s what you say about you that matters.”

I stopped seeking wonder and started seeking stability.

Am I willing to take the risks required to go after the things I really want? Am I really strong enough to silence the fear that’s been my ever-present companion for all of my adult life?

“You don’t.” His smile is sweet. “And that’s okay. Do you want to get some air instead?”

swoon, he’s so attentive and patient.

“It’s okay to still be scared sometimes,”

“The world is going to tell you all kinds of things about yourself. You’re not good enough or smart enough or strong enough or thin enough or rich enough or talented enough. They’ll come up with a million reasons you can’t do the thing you want to do.

Don’t wait to love the people you love.

“The other thing I’ve learned, and I want you all to listen closely,” she continues, “is that life . . . is good. And wonderful. And horrible, and beautiful, and messy, and everything

all at once. And that is the beauty of it. It’s overwhelming, but it’s never boring. And it should be lived to the fullest. “And no, that doesn’t mean the biggest car or the best condo. It doesn’t mean a house in the Hamptons or a promotion at work. It means filling your life with the people you love, doing the things that make you feel the most alive.”