Hi everyone! My name is Tyler and I am Michelle’s husband! Michelle isn’t feeling well today so she asked me if I wanted to step in and write a little something for you all! A little about myself: I’m 21 years old, and I’m in my last semester of my undergrad studying sociology. I also work at a residential treatment facility for juvenile delinquents as a youth counselor, and hopefully plan to work there after I graduate. In my spare time I also stream video games to Twitch! If you’re interested you can find me at twitch.tv/ttrites

Michelle said I could write about pretty much anything today, so I decided to write about when to say no. One of the clinicians at work gave me some advice the other day that really stuck with me. She said “When it’s most difficult to say no, for whatever reason, It’s probably the most important time to say it.” This advice really hit home for me because in my line of work I need to set boundaries and enforce rules that the residents don’t always agree with. But, these rules are there for a reason, and they are being enforced for their own good.

I really believe that this advice is applicable to other parts of life too. Sometimes with things like peer pressure or other factors in life, it’s really hard to say no to things that you have a bad gut feeling about. Or you might know that it’s the wrong thing to do, but feel pressured to say yes for any number of reasons. It’s times like these where you’ll thank yourself later for going with that gut feeling, and keeping yourself safe.

Now don’t get me wrong, new experiences are what makes life exciting and sometimes really interesting. But if you get yourself into a situation where you really feel strongly that you should say no, you should! Follow your gut feelings, and trust in your own judgement.

I actually really liked doing this! From what I can tell you all are lovely people and I’m so glad Michelle can write for a community that is as nice as all of you! Hope to see you again soon!

-Tyler