After my near meltdown last Sunday night, I decided it was time to revisit one of my favorite books of all time. First, I’ll give you a little back story on how I came to read and treasure You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. 

We moved to Lynchburg from Richmond 10 years ago. When we first got here, everyone was extremely welcoming and friendly, and offered me many ways to get involved. It’s more challenging meeting new people when your kids are older, so I decided to say yes to everything; that way I would have numerous opportunities to meet a lot of friends. Before I knew it I was playing tennis, fundraising for local events, helping out with cross country practice, planning a yard sale, and occupying a seat on the parent/teacher board. I even joined the Ladies of Charity at our catholic church where I met a lovely group of women in their eighties who were very kind to me. Like I said, I didn’t say no. In the beginning, I loved being a part of all of these groups. But if you’ve ever moved to a different city, you know that after about two years, all of the newness and excitement wears off, and you just go about your day like everyone else. I was miserable. I loved my friends but I wasn’t entirely sure that I was doing what I wanted to do, let alone living the kind of life I wanted to live. It was a very lonely and dark time for me. I wanted to blame the city, my husband for moving us here, and anyone else I could.

Around that time, my husband and I were taking a trip, and I needed a book for the plane ride. I bought You Are a Badass at Target because I loved the title and I decided I could use some help. I wanted to be happy, but I didn’t know how to get out of my slump. As soon as the plane took off, I started reading. And I started sobbing. The basic message of this book is “You are enough.” If you sit and think about that for a minute, you may start sobbing too. Sincero has a refreshing way of letting you know that you are amazing, of course you are a badass and why don’t you realize it, you dummy? It’s funny, endearing and smart. She gives practical advice for making easy changes that will put you on a path towards being the biggest badass you can be, if that’s your thing. It changed my life. 

One more memorable thing about that flight. For some reason, I was not sitting with my husband, but next to a complete stranger. That poor guy had to listen to me sob and sniffle all the way to California. He didn’t look over once. Thank you, Mr. Stranger, for allowing me to work through all of my insecurities, doubts and uncertainties that day without so much as a glance in my direction. I will never forget you.