Of note:

Protect your fire.

Not everyone deserves front-row seats to your dreams. Some people will drain your spirit, even without meaning to. Stay kind, but ruthless about who and what you give your energy to.

Progress can feel slow.

Some days you’ll feel stuck. Useless, even. Like you’re behind. Don’t quit then. Those slow days are compost for growth. Stay moving, even if it’s tiny steps.

Say yes to the weird opportunities.

Some of the best stuff doesn’t come from careful planning — it can come from following sparks. A random class, a project you almost said no to, a person you almost didn’t meet. Trust your curiosity.

You don’t have to earn being loved.

You already are worthy. You don’t have to overwork, overperform, or fix yourself first. Let others and importantly, yourself, love the messy version of you, not just the someday “polished” one.

Use anger wisely — and joy fiercely.

Be mad at the broken systems. Fight for better. But also make your life worth the fight. Build beauty, connection, and joy. Utilize that joy to make change.

“It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness”

Rest without guilt.

You are not a machine. Rest is not weakness. It’s healing, it’s fuel for action.

Most importantly:

Stay weird. Stay brave. Keep building the world you wish existed - because you’re not alone.

And you find true companions walking a similar path by being true to yourself.

This is something my roommate Sol wrote, full disclosure I think it was using the help of some AI chatting thing. He printed it out and put it on our fridge, and the physical paper is getting really gross so I thought I’d mirror it here.