First of all, I should say that I'm not even sure that Ryan Adams said this. That ole internet and its quotes, you never know if it's Abraham Lincoln or Marilyn Monroe or some random person on Tumblr. But after searching for some time to determine the true speaker of these words I haven't found much outside of Mr. Adams. So Ryan, thanks.

My friend Melissa posted this quote the other day. I've seen it floating around, maybe I've even shared it before, but this time, it spoke to me. You see, I feel like for a good portion of my life I never really "got" this. And I think maybe that most people feel this way; you don't ever get it actually, but maybe it's not until your late twenties that it begins to at least feel like you kind of do. But I think about this quote, and I think about the idea of apologizing for enthusiasm or for liking this or for loving that...and I can see myself doing that, then.

This is picking up from my previous post on the topic, but right now at this very point in my life I feel very happy and proud to be exactly who I am. I like what I like, I love what I love, and furthermore, I like that you like what you like. It's just all good, you know? I'll do me, you do you, and we'll meet somewhere in the middle. But if I quickly flip back to years past, fanning those pages backward until I land to "then," I see myself wanting to bend just a little this way, or shift my ideas a little that way, or tone down my enthusiasm. Like I thought being "too cool" was cool (it's not).

So I just wanted to share this, for you and for me. Because in this (online) world that often feels a little negative and way too cool, wave that life-loving flag high girlfriend. If you love it, love it. Don't feel like you have to water anything down, because in the end you'll be the one smiling and happy (and maybe waving like a fool), but at least you won't be down there, too cool/too cynical/too annoyed to actually enjoy this one life with all you've got.

xoxo