Aaditya Aeron Mar 7, 2019

Just Say Yes!

By Jake Baccay

It’s a warm July night in the summer of 2016. I get a call from a friend. I can tell he’s had a nice drink or three. I don’t hear from him that often, but when I do, I know a good time lies ahead. He’s encouraging. He’s persuasive. He’s trying to turn our casual night at home into a classic 3 a.m. bender. I can hear his girlfriend (now fiancé) yelling in the background that we better get our asses over to their placeOR ELSE. My girl and I are convinced. We get ready in a frenzy and make the 30-minute trek. On the agenda for the evening is a pregame at their place followed by a well-known DJ at one of San Diego’s newest nightclubs. An evening we’ve experienced many times before, but one worth doing again. We meet up, exchange pleasantries (and shots), and chaos ensues. You see back in our, “early 20s”, this kind of behavior was fun, exciting, and most importantly a time to be ourselves. Good music and great friends – isn’t that what Saturday night is for?

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The night goes on. We hit the club really feeling ourselves. The dance floor is crowded and sweaty, but that’s never stopped us. We attempt to shuffle even though we can barely move. Drinks are passed around. Some are clear. Some are green. They all start tasting the same after a while. We all dance together. We laugh together. We live it up. We leave the club feeling nothing but good vibes. A late-night Mexican food run caps off our night. Our night was awesome. No other way to put it. It’s one of those nights that makes you thankful – thankful for friendships, thankful for progressive beats, thankful to be alive!

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Let’s fast-forward to now. A few years of perspective can go a long way. By simply saying yes, we had an amazing night that, in all honesty, strengthened our friendship and gave us another story to tell. Instead of staying at home watching The Office, we got out of our comfort zone and into the world. That night, like most of life, is arbitrary. It could have been different, but we decided to just say yes. I implore you to do the same, not only to your friends’ Saturday night proposals, but to any positive opportunities that find you. The truth is that moments are fleeting. Looking back, I feel a whole lot better when I say yes even if it doesn’t work out than when I say no and am left wondering, “What if?”.

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So, go to that club on a whim, buy those festival tickets your hesitant about, start the gym membership you’ve been lagging on, and write that blog post you’ve always wanted to. While I realize notevery situation in life requires a yes, all of the opportunities that get us out of our comfort zone in a positive way help us grow as people. Whether we realize it on a drunken Saturday night, at the main stage of EDC, after a first workout back at the gym, or while typing words on a computer screen - it’s all the same. Say yes and life will unfold for you in ways you couldn’t even imagine before.