I’m running a half marathon this weekend. and by running, i mean finishing. i don’t know if I’ll be running the whole thing (i for sure won’t be), but I’ll be crossing the finish line. That’s the only thing I know. I don’t know how long its going to take me. but i do know that it won’t be 1h20 or even 2hrs, probably more like 2.5 or even just 5 hrs. who knows. i sure don’t. but i do know I’m finishing. you know why? because of encouragement.

if you ask most people that know me, there a few things i value more than encouragement. i love, adore, and find joy in encouraging others. i’ll cheer them on, hold them accountable, gently remind them, write them long notes of “you got this” with pretty pens on pretty paper. i’ll even mail them, because why not?

what i crave more than anything is to be encouraged. not pushed, not forced, but encouraged. I’m one of those people that needs to know it was my own idea; that it’s what I truly want. if you tell me, i’ll consider your opinion, but it always comes down to my decision (ask my mother. its our whole relationship haha) i want someone to say “but what do you want? ohk. great. how are you going to do it? awesome. want me to make sure you do it?” and then when i look at them and pause because if they hold me accountable, this means i actually have to follow through, i need them to look at me and smile and just say “hey. you got this”. then i know – i got this. it’s feasible. it’s possible. i truly can.

without those people in my life, i dont know what i would do. i know i wouldn’t be able to run a half marathon on saturday. i know i wouldn’t have been able to move to france when i was 19 and live there, with no friends or family to accompany me, for over a year. i know i wouldn’t have been able to have the confidence to make my UBC experience my own, and not just been another student. i know i wouldn’t have been able to make decisions that were hard, but right.

without the power of encouragement, i would be the jonah hill of the seawheeze, instead of the leonardo dicaprio of the seawheeze.

YOU GOT THIS, JONAH!

joy. just pure joy.