I will say YES

I have been reading Shonda Rhimes' book Year of Yes. It is amazing. It is funny, honest and a lot different then most books written by celebrities. It is not about how amazingly famous she is, or how much money she has. It is not about how amazing she is - and she is truly amazing - it is simply about Shonda facing her fears. She is human, she admits she has fears and flaws and she admits she is not perfect. I like that. She has made me feel a lot more normal. Especially the chapter I read last night.

In the chapter I read, she talks about being a mother. She talks about how she isn't any less of a mother because she doesn't bake things from scratch, or do crafty things with her kids. I love that. Every mother is different and no one has the right to judge. She talks about being a single working mother of three and how it is hard. She doesn't claim its easy, she doesn't claim she is superwoman. She is just honest. And I love that.

Shonda describes in her book how she made a promise to herself to say yes to everything that scared her for a year. She describes how it has changed her life and she is a lot happier.
This book has come into my life at exactly the right time. In the past 8 months I have seen amazing highs and devastating lows. These past 8 months have been the hardest of my life and it seems now this hard patch is coming to an end. I have made a promise to myself. I am going to be like Shonda. I am going to say yes to the things that scare me, that challenge me. While Shonda's challenges included giving a commencement speech at Dartmouth College and appearing on Jimmy Kimmel, my yes's will be a lot different. It will be to a much lower scale. Perhaps I will say yes to working and studying at the same time. Maybe it will be a new experience I am worried about doing. I don't know yet, but I will be spending the next year challenging myself and saying yes to things I normally wouldn't. It is worth a try. After all, I could change my life, just like Shonda.