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Being vulnerable is hard.
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It's for you.
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Because it means opening yourself up to being emotionally hurt
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and who wants that?
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Who wants to open up only to be smacked down?
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But being vulnerable today means having the courage to be yourself in a world where we curate people's perceptions of us,
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where we equate our value with likes and subscribers,
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and where we're raised to think that what's out here is more important than what's in here.
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But I think being vulnerable is such a beautiful thing,
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and the key to more intimate relationships.
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It gives you a deeper connection with family, friends, or a partner.
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And yes, it's scary as fuuuck!
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A few weeks ago, I pissed my pants when I was out with my boyfriend.
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He didn't notice because I tied my jacket around my waist.
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But I had the options of basically playing it off and hoping that it dried soon,
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or just owning it and telling him.
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And between, like, crying and laughing, I ultimately decided,
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Fuck it! I'll just tell him, I guess, because this is me.
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I'm a 27 year old woman who just pissed her pants walking across the Golden Gate Bridge.
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[Deep Breath]
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And, uh, he was really nice. He was just like, "I love you so much. That's hilarious."
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And we went on our merry way.
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And obviously this was like an incredibly vulnerable moment because
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I was pretty sure I was going to be judged or he was gonna be disgusted,
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or worst case scenario, he would ride off into the sunset in a rented Mustang,
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and he would find another woman.
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But none of those things happened.
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And we are definitely closer for it.
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So even if you're not ready to, like, piss your pants in the name of vulnerability,
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I do think that being vulnerable on an everyday basis is so important.
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Like, allowing yourself to fall in love, or allowing other people in, or trusting people to know all of you
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without the fear of rejection or judgment,
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or at least not letting those fears stop you, is incredibly courageous.
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And I wanted to talk about this because I know that it's really hard.
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Like, when you've been burned by someone or when you've been rejected,
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it's increasingly difficult to let yourself be vulnerable again.
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And I mean, who hasn't been hurt? We're hurt all the time.
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But it is just so easy to let yourself become callous or pessimistic or cynical
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and let these previous experiences deter you from being open again in the future.
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So I hope you know it just doesn't have to be that way.
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You can piss your fucking pants and someone will still love you. Who knew? Not me.
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But I do think that being vulnerable has immense rewards.
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And yes, sometimes you will get hurt, and sometimes it does have its drawbacks,
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but you never know what could happen if you don't put yourself out there.
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You could miss out on love or connection or even potentially a career.
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Because my job is to share intimate details about my life with strangers and have it live on the internet forever.
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So I encourage you to live your life with more vulnerability.
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Love recklessly. Be who you are with no shame.
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And if you piss your pants, tell the whole fucking world.
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I'm Anna Akana. I'll probably regret this.
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I just want to say thank you so much to Squarespace for sponsoring today's episode.
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They have beautiful award-winning templates and an all-in-one platform,
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Not to mention if you ever just want to say hi at anytime of the day,
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or like, "Hi, I love you. Do you remember me?"
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They have 24 hour customer service.
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And if you don't have a domain, don't worry.
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They offer a simple and unique setup experience.
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And you could have, like, any kind of website really,
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whether you're like an artist or a photographer, or you just want to make like a fan page for your bae
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to be like, "Look how much I love you. Here's all your photos in one place."
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[DEEP BREATH]
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You can go to Squarespace.com and start your free trial today.
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And just don't forget to use the offer code "Anna" for 10% off at checkout.
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Squarespace. I love you.