Yes to everything scary.
Shonda Rhimes
Yes to everything that takes me out of my comfort zone.
Yes to everything that feels like it might be crazy.
Yes to everything that feels out of character.
Yes to everything that feels goofy.
Yes to everything.
Everything.
Say yes.
Yes.
Speak. Speak NOW.
“Yes,” I say. “Yes”
Monday March 9th — 8pm
I was snuggled up in bed with my cat, Boop. I had showered, put on my nightly facemask, and taken a melatonin. I was ready to wake up to my alarm at 6am and be at work from 7am – 6pm. My phone vibrated and I decided it would be the last text I check for the night then I would go to sleep. It was my friends in a group chat and it said, “Nick’s Pub right now.” I responded that I was in for the night but would see them tomorrow. See, my friends and I, we’re close. See each other everyday kind of close. Order an extra beer at dinner for the missing person close. So, when Shelby replied to me “Nikki B. you’ve never turned anything down” I realized I had to go. What I had realized that my time with them was limited before I leave for Hawaii and I need take advantage of every moment I have left with them. Not only that but I was going to say yes to everything life has to offer, new challenges, new adventures
Monday March 23rd – 8pm
I was snuggled up in bed with Boop but not because I chose to be. Because I had to be. We are quarantined here in St. Louis until April 22nd. The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has taken over the world. IT has flipped people’s lives upside-down. Over the last two weeks we saw the number of cases grow and spread exponentially around the world. All non-essential businesses have shut down. All businesses that can, have been moved to almost entirely remote working, and universities have moved to fully remote classes for the remainder of the semester. While somewhat inconvenient, I have been trying to see the positives in this. Because everything is virtual, I save driving time and gas getting to and from work and school. I am able to flex my work schedule, start earlier in the morning or work later in the evening allowing me to work more hours and save more money.
Today — April 7th
I guess you could say that so far my “Year of Yes” has turnes into a “Year of Mess” with COVID-19. School and work are not even the biggest changes I’ve felt. As I mentioned before, my friends and I used to see each other almost every day. Mondays, we went to Nick’s Pub for trivia night and free pool. Wednesdays we sometimes got margs after our late classes, Thursdays we often find ourselves back at Nick’s. Fridays we go to Mi Ranchito, we have a standing table and our waiter Jorge knows all 8 of our orders. Saturdays we frequent a club called Ember…we call it Amber’s House. Man, what we all would do to be able to go to Ambers house this weekend or see our favorite bartenders at Nick’s. Sundays, we try a new restaurant that nobody in the group has been to. I never thought that I would have to celebrate 3 of my best friends birthdays over facetime. This quarantine is hard, one of the hardest things that my generation has gone through, what continues to get me through is knowing that there are 50 days until I am in Hawaii!
Moving Forward
I still have every intention of going to Hawaii on May 27th. My flight is still scheduled as planned, my cat has been approved to fly with me, and I recently signed a lease for an apartment downtown for my first month there. After talking to two friends from the islands who went back there during this crazy time, I’ve learned that it is possible I will need to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. This means the same thing that is does for us here in the continental US right now. I could go outside and hike and explore but I would need to socially distance still. This being said, my job hunt just got a little harder. Companies are not hiring right now, and I might lose two weeks of potential in person job hunting. I am ready for the challenge. Everyone who knows me knows that I am ready to take on almost any challenge. That’s what “Year of Yes” means. I was reminded in a class recently that it can be detrimental to assume that everything will always be the same. It is important to plan for the long term for when something doesn’t go as planned and that is a specialty of mine. What I struggle with is living in the moment, remembering that everyday is not given, and that everything can change overnight.
Catch Me If You Can 