"Fuck politeness," "You're in a cult. Call your dad." and "Stay sexy, don't get murdered." These are a few of my favorite phrases from a podcast I like, "My Favorite Murder." But my favorite is probably "fucking hooray." It's when hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark talk about a "fucking hooray" for the week, something positive that inspires them or makes them proud of themselves. It's a time to celebrate each other and give themselves a well-earned pat on the back. For trying something new, doing something hard, making it to yoga class.
We need to do a better at congratulating ourselves on a job well done, instead of quickly turning to all the things we haven't done, my friend Saiward and I agree. This summer, we've hiked the steep peak of Mad River Glen most weeks. We walk fast, not focusing on the strain of the climb, but on things like self-worth, confidence, and narcissists. One of last night's topics was how we as women need to lift each other up more, instead of tearing each other down. I'm so grateful I have Saiward, and other badass female friends, to lift me up. I seem to need it a lot. I'm lucky to have friends who make me believe in myself and my writing, who inspire me to keep pushing forward.
In the vein of congratulating ourselves instead of beating ourselves up, Saiward and I agreed that we're both pretty brave, strong, smart, beautiful, and all-around badass women and we need to remind ourselves (and each other) that more. So, as we ascended the vertical of Mad River, we did some "fucking hoorays." Saiward is a damn good science teacher who goes above and beyond for her students. I just won a fiction contest (more on that soon). We can climb the 2,000 vertical feet up this mountain in just under two hours, with a break to appreciate the view at the top, which was especially beautiful last night as fall had descended over the Mad River Valley, notably more oranges and reds than just last week. Foliage is upon us. Fucking hooray!