YES you should read this, AND do not judge where I get my philosophy in life

If i'll be completely honest, there are only three things I hate about myself. The first is that I tend to bail at the slightest hint of trouble or discomfort, as if my fight or flight response has been preset to "flight" alone. Like this one time when I was riding with three of my other siblings in a car being driven by our sister who had only recently gotten her driver's license. It was at night, on a downhill road with lots of curves and is notorious for accidents, so naturally I was anxious and asked to be transferred to the car that was then being driven by my dad, leaving my other siblings behind, in the process breaking some unspoken sibling code that "you should go for the ride with your bros through their firsts" or something. I know, what a flake.

The second thing I hate about myself is a bit harder to recall at the moment, probably because I don't want to deal with it yet, so let's head on to the third and that is my lack of opinion on things. By opinion I don't mean the simplistic utterings of "it's ok" "i don't like it" "amazing" "wow" and this generation's favorites "epic" and "awesome", in which case i'd be a pro at giving opinions. What I want is to not just pick a side, but to actually add something to the discussion, be it over something as commonplace as "what's the best song ever?" to things that are more worthwhile, the big questions like my take on reproductive health, same sex marriage, issues that admittedly take more time to answer, but are relevant to our generation's discussion.

And that is why this quote from Tina Fey's book, Bossypants, has been added to my current philosophy. 

The second rule of improvisation is not only to say yes, but YES, AND. You are supposed to agree and then add something of your own. To me YES, AND means don't be afraid to contribute. It's your responsibility to contribute. Always make sure you're adding something to the discussion. Your initiations are worthwhile.

Makes sense to me. I've been the death of so many conversations 'cause I fail to add anything, i'm almost positive I was the grim reaper in a past life. That just can't happen anymore if i'm ever going to learn anything from this life. And with that I give this "YES, AND" way to life a big YES, AND I move that Tina Fey be given the Nobel Prize for... comedy. See? I'm already getting somewhere.