It's for you.

Because it means opening yourself up to being emotionally hurt

and who wants that?

Who wants to open up only to be smacked down?

But being vulnerable today means having the courage to be yourself in a world where we curate people's perceptions of us,

where we equate our value with likes and subscribers,

and where we're raised to think that what's out here is more important than what's in here.

But I think being vulnerable is such a beautiful thing,

and the key to more intimate relationships.

It gives you a deeper connection with family, friends, or a partner.

And yes, it's scary as fuuuck!

A few weeks ago, I pissed my pants when I was out with my boyfriend.

He didn't notice because I tied my jacket around my waist.

But I had the options of basically playing it off and hoping that it dried soon,

or just owning it and telling him.

And between, like, crying and laughing, I ultimately decided,

Fuck it! I'll just tell him, I guess, because this is me.

I'm a 27 year old woman who just pissed her pants walking across the Golden Gate Bridge.

[Deep Breath]

And, uh, he was really nice. He was just like, "I love you so much. That's hilarious."

And we went on our merry way.

And obviously this was like an incredibly vulnerable moment because

I was pretty sure I was going to be judged or he was gonna be disgusted,

or worst case scenario, he would ride off into the sunset in a rented Mustang,

and he would find another woman.

But none of those things happened.

And we are definitely closer for it.

So even if you're not ready to, like, piss your pants in the name of vulnerability,

I do think that being vulnerable on an everyday basis is so important.

Like, allowing yourself to fall in love, or allowing other people in, or trusting people to know all of you

without the fear of rejection or judgment,

or at least not letting those fears stop you, is incredibly courageous.

And I wanted to talk about this because I know that it's really hard.

Like, when you've been burned by someone or when you've been rejected,

it's increasingly difficult to let yourself be vulnerable again.

And I mean, who hasn't been hurt? We're hurt all the time.

But it is just so easy to let yourself become callous or pessimistic or cynical

and let these previous experiences deter you from being open again in the future.

So I hope you know it just doesn't have to be that way.

You can piss your fucking pants and someone will still love you. Who knew? Not me.

But I do think that being vulnerable has immense rewards.

And yes, sometimes you will get hurt, and sometimes it does have its drawbacks,

but you never know what could happen if you don't put yourself out there.

You could miss out on love or connection or even potentially a career.

Because my job is to share intimate details about my life with strangers and have it live on the internet forever.

So I encourage you to live your life with more vulnerability.

Love recklessly. Be who you are with no shame.

And if you piss your pants, tell the whole fucking world.

I'm Anna Akana. I'll probably regret this.

I just want to say thank you so much to Squarespace for sponsoring today's episode.

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Not to mention if you ever just want to say hi at anytime of the day,

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to be like, "Look how much I love you. Here's all your photos in one place."

[DEEP BREATH]

You can go to Squarespace.com and start your free trial today.

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Squarespace. I love you.