Good afternoon folks and welcome to week 7 of my reflection! If you find yourself reading this post, I hope you are well and motivated as we head into the academic/work week. I actually have done a fair share of reflecting in the last 4 days. My friends and I are currently in Brian Head, Utah taking advantage of some beautiful natural sites and remarkable hiking trails. Being away from the daily pressures of daily life as actually helped me think more thoroughly about what my goals for the near future and how to go about getting it done. I am my own harshest critic and I realize that there are behaviors and ways of thinking that I engage in that are not compatible with the goals I have set for myself. I must embrace and live my emotions. Allowing fear to keep me from doing so is depriving myself of healing, which can affect my mental health. I realize that I've pushed good-hearted people away from me because of fear of being hurt; I will no longer allow fear to take away from what is rightfully mine, which is a happy life with people that love me. A character on a TV show I was watching a while back said the following: "If you close your heart you can avoid a lot of heartache, but you can also end up living half a life..." DO NOT allow fear to keep your from your life goals and aspirations. DO NOT let fear take away that special person waiting for you to take a chance with them. Please, don't let fear take away what God so rightly created for you. Be brave, love yourself and be kind.