Afraid no more: Rachael Williams setting out to tackle a bucket list

The world could use more friends, don’t you think? 

You might say to yourself, “I’ve never heard of this girl before. Why would I want to be her friend?”

Fair question! You see, I believe friendships and communities are built brick-by-brick and story-by-story, each one becoming a part of the whole. I’d love for our stories to meet up, but first a little background.

Several years ago, I came to a bend in my road, one that taught me more about myself, more about humanity, than I ever would have learned had the road not bent for me. 

I say bent because sometimes life has a way of going east when all along you charted your GPS west. 

Here in Kenosha, though, going west versus going east means finding smooth sand that smooshes through your toes. It means a lake so beautiful your breath catches in your chest every time you see it. 

Going east in Kenosha means finding beach glass on Lake Michigan’s shores. It means eating a delicious hummus plate at Sazzy B. It means a little “R&R” vacation day with your best friends enough times to nowit as “annual.”

But here’s the caveat: Going east when the plan was to go west is really scary.

I used to think I wasn’t afraid of anything. My idea of life was to pretty much drink from a fire hose. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve done a lot of deep digging within myself. I looked over at my GPS and realized I wasn’t going east anymore. I’ve realized that I’m not near as fearless as I once thought I was. 

There have been days I’ve been so afraid of the westward journey, I’ve stayed sitting in one place for hours, stuck.

And so, because I have faith that this new journey west will, again, lead to open skies and beautiful lakes and “smooshy” sand, I decided I needed to make a change. 

It was time for me to push the gas pedal of life and move forward. It was time for me to acknowledge that I’m afraid. 

It was time for me to accept help. It was time for me to write a bucket list.

My bucket list isn’t like most. I decided I needed a symbolic list of sorts that would help me acknowledge and conquer my tangible fears in hopes it would give me the courage to conquer my intangible ones as well. 

“It was time for me to push the gas pedal of life and move forward. It was time for me to acknowledge that I’m afraid.”

– Rachael Williams

So, I decided to make a bucket list of fears. These are things I’m either afraid of or extremely uncomfortable doing, and I’m setting out to conquer them one by one. 

That’s where you and I become friends! 

Because I never travel alone, I’d love for us to travel this list together. What are you afraid of? Symbolically? Tangibly? Intangibly? 

This list isn’t final. It’s ever-evolving.

Have you planned your life for eastward coordinates only to find yourself going west? I want to hear from you! Email me at Rachael@TheHappiestSpace.com and tell me your story. I’ll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can. 

I see you, my new friend. Let’s travel together!