1. When you need to know that life is all about learning and making mistakes and that’s okay...
"At some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don’t keep other people out. They fence you in. Life is messy. That’s how we’re made. So, you can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them. But there are some lines… that are way too dangerous to cross."
2. When you need to know that there is no harm in trying...
"We have to sweep today’s possibility under tomorrow’s rug until we can’t anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, event the worst, beat the hell out of never trying."
3. And when trying doesn’t work, you need to know that you did everything you could and sometimes it’s better to just let things happen...
"Sometimes doing something is worse than doing nothing."
4. When you need to know that there is always a reason to celebrate each day...
"Maybe we’re not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes to simply be human. Maybe, we’re thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we’re thankful for the things we’ll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate."
5. When you need to know that people can be good, and even really great.
"At the end of the day, faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don’t really expect it. It’s like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And it’s not so important - happy ever after – just that it’s happy right now. See, once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you, and once in a while, people may even take your breath away."
6. When you need help realizing that it’s okay to let people in, especially the people that stick by you through this mess we call life...
"At the end of the day, when it comes down to it, all we really want is to be close to somebody. So this thing, where we all keep our distance and pretend not to care about each other, is usually a load of bull. So we pick and choose who we want to remain close to, and once we’ve chosen those people, we tend to stick close by. No matter how much we hurt them, the people that are still with you at the end of the day – those are the ones worth keeping. And sure, sometimes close can be too close. But sometimes, that invasion of personal space, it can be exactly what you need."
7. And finally, when you need to know that your voice really does make a difference, no matter what life throws your way...
"You have a voice, so use it. Speak up. Raise your hands. Shout your answers. Make yourself heard. Whatever it takes, just find your voice. And when you do, fill the damn silence."
