Fragmentos - Yes Please

I think we should stop asking people in their twenties what they "want to do" and start asking them what they don't want to do. Instead of asking student to "declare their major" we should ask student to "list what they will do anything to avoid". It just makes a lot more sense (...)

I hate how I look. That is the mantra we repeat over and over again. Sometimes we whisper ir quietly and other times we shout it out loud in front of the mirror (...) Then we think, "I am so ungrateful. I have arms and legs and I can walk and I have strong nail beds and I am alive and I am so selfish (...) and why am I such a self-obsessed ugly ass-hole no wonder I hate how I look! I hate how I am!"  (...)

Looking silly can be very powerful. People who are committing and taking risks become the king and queen of my prom. People are their most beautiful when they are laughing, crying, dancing, playing, telling the truth, and being chased in a fun way (...)

I had a younger brother whom I loved an also liked. I thought my mother was the most beautiful mother in the world and my father was a superhero who would always protect me. I wish this feeling for every child on earth (...)

There is something I still love to do today. I call it "walking the beat". I often call my friends and tell them to meet me on a New York corner at a certain time. The physical act of walking combined with the opportunity to look out at the world while you are sharing your thoughts and feelings is very comforting to me. You are in charge of the route and the amout of eye contact (...)

Let's end by pointing out all the positive ways you can scare yourself and feel alive. You can tell someone you love them first. You can try to speak only the truth for a whole week. You can jump out of an airplane or spend Christmas Day all by your lonesome. You can help people who need help and fight real bad guys. You can dance fast or take an improv class or do one of those Ironman things. Adventure and danger can be good for your heart and soul. Violence and desperation are brutal things to search out (...)

Being a bad sleeper, I have a hard time opening my eyes. I am amazed at people who wake up and talk like normal humans (...)

Your career won't take care of you. It won't call you back or introduce you to its parents (...) Your creativity is not a bad boyfriend. It is a really warm older Hispanic lady who has a beautiful laugh and loves to hug. If you are even a little bit nice to her she will make you feel great and maybe cook you delicious food (...)

The only thing we can depend on in life is that everything changes (...) Change is the only constant. Your ability to navigate and tolerate change and its painful uncomfortableness directly correlates to your happiness and general well-being (...)

People help you time-travel. People work around you and next to you and the Universe waits for the perfect-time to whisper in your ear, "Look this way." There is someone in your life right now who may end up being your enemy, your wife, or your boss. Lift up your head and you may notice (...)

When your children arrive, the best you can hope for is that they break open everything about you. Your mind floods with oxygen. Your heart beomes a room with wide-open windows. You laugh hard every day. You think about the future and read about global warming. You realize how nice it feels to care about someone else more then yourself (...)

A person's tragedy does not make up their entire life. A story carves deep grooves into out brains each time we tell it. But we aren't one story. We can change our stories. We can write our own (...)

Yes Please - Amy Poehler