You Are Not Guaranteed

Tell people how you feel. Don't rely on them to make the first move. Tell the people you think are beautiful that you think they are beautiful. Ask that person that you've been wanting to get to know for a long time if they'd like to hang out. Kiss someone you've been wanting to kiss. We are temporary and so is everyone else around us. We can't keep putting things off because people leave and die and move on. Circumstances change, things get flipped upside down in the blink of an eye. Nothing is guaranteed.

Rejection is scary, and universally one of the biggest fears people have. Because what if that guy doesn't like you back? What if you tell that girl you think she's pretty and she laughs in your face? What if you ask her out and she says no? It is scary to put yourself out there, and the words "I like you" or "you're beautiful" can seem downright impossible to say. But say them anyway. Because you never know who needs to hear them.

But, something worse than rejection, is regret. Because what if he does like you back? What if you have been on unofficial terms for weeks and you're tired of wasting your time waiting so you finally say "hey, I'm into you" and he says "hey, I'm into you back"? What if you tell that girl you think she's pretty and she gives you her number and you get to know each other? What if it goes right? Regret is what happens when you don't even give yourself the chance to be rejected. You can't live in fear of things going wrong, but in the hopes of things going right. Life's too damn short to close yourself off of possibilities just because you might fail. Because you will fail. But if you don't give yourself a chance to fail, you also close yourself off of the possibility to succeed.

Tell her she's beautiful. Ask him to hang out. Apply for a job that you probably won't get. Learn from your mistakes. Tell someone that you want to hold their body against yours and kiss them until everything feels better. Tell someone that they're a beautiful human being and you're lucky to have the chance to know them. Live life without thinking of tomorrow, because tomorrow might never come. Stop with the ambiguity because we aren't permanent and we are not guaranteed. If you want to hang out with him, tweet him, text him, DM him and ask him to hang out. If you want to kiss her, grab her by the waist and do it. If you're lucky or happy or blessed to have someone in your life, make sure they know it. Because they won't be there forever.

Be risky. Put yourself out there. Respond to a text the second you receive it. Let the people you appreciate know you appreciate them. If you don't want to do something, don't do it.  If you'd rather sit at home with your family and play board games instead of going to that party, do it. Stop feeling obligated to do things. Take cool pictures. Explore neat places. Kiss the guy or the girl that you want to kiss. Be the person you want to be without any reservations. Fall in love with yourself. Be the kind of person you want others to be inspired by. Inspire yourself. We are wonderful. We are strong. We are experiencing the amazing gift of human consciousness. Someone not liking us back will not ruin us. The only person who can ruin you is you. Don't.