Say Yes and Learn as You Go

Good evening, beautiful. ☀️✨

Years and years ago, during a season when my life did not feel nearly as calm as it does today, I fell in love with Hallmark movies. They felt like a warm blanket to me. I loved the quaint little towns, the sense of community, the cozy homes, the families coming together, and all of the joy that seemed to live inside those stories. If you know me, then you know that community is one of my core values, Christmas is one of my favorite celebrations, and winter is absolutely my favorite season. Hallmark movies brought together so many of the things that already felt yummy to me. And somewhere among all those stories, there was almost always a vineyard, a family business, or someone who knew everything there was to know about wine.

For a season, I became curious about wine and the idea of becoming a sommelier. I loved the knowledge behind it all. I wanted to understand the different wines, where they came from, who made them, and what made one different from another. I even imagined that maybe I would own a vineyard someday. I said yes to learning more, and for a while I enjoyed it, but eventually that yes became a maybe, and then it gently became a maybe not. It wasn’t that I stopped appreciating wine or the beauty of that world. It simply didn’t land in me in the way I thought it might. But I am learning that every yes does not have to become a lifelong commitment to have been worth saying.

Years later, I came across the cutest sweater that said “Whiskey Girl,” with the words written in pearls. It felt like the most unlikely and yet most perfect thing for me. I have always loved pearls. Years ago, I would literally work out wearing them. But whiskey? That was definitely not me. I barely drank alcohol, and I knew absolutely nothing about whiskey, but I bought into the idea immediately. I started telling my girlfriends, “I’m going to be a whiskey girl.” They would laugh and remind me that I didn’t even drink whiskey, and I would say, “I know, but I’m going to learn.” Then Beyoncé released SirDavis, and in my mind, that settled it. I was officially becoming a whiskey girl.

What started as a funny declaration became an invitation into something new. I began looking up the stories behind different whiskeys and discovering Black-owned whiskey companies. I decided that I could become a collector, even while I was still learning what I liked. Eventually, that curiosity opened the door to tasting classes at a wonderful beverage store in my community. Each month, I have been saying yes to learning about something different: the history, the process, the brands, the flavors, and why one person may enjoy something that another person does not. This past week, I went to a rum tasting with a group of my girlfriends. I already knew that I enjoyed rum in some of the drinks I’ve had while cruising or visiting the islands, but this was my first time intentionally learning about it. I enjoyed the class so much that rum became the first spirit outside of whiskey that I decided to purchase.

And that is what this love letter is really about. It is not simply about becoming a whiskey girl or discovering a rum that I enjoyed. It is about giving myself permission to say yes to something before I know exactly what it will become. I did not have experience. I did not have a perfect plan. I was simply curious, and I allowed that curiosity to lead me. Saying yes introduced me to new knowledge, new experiences, new people, and even something beautiful that was not part of my original plan. Sometimes the magic is not found in knowing exactly where we are going. Sometimes it is found in being willing to take the first step and learn as we go.

So today, I am encouraging myself to keep saying yes to the things that make me smile. Yes to trying something unfamiliar. Yes to changing my mind. Yes to allowing one interest to lead me somewhere completely unexpected. And yes to enjoying something without needing to explain how it fits into the larger picture of my life. Maybe the thing you say yes to will become part of who you are, or maybe it will simply introduce you to the next thing. Either way, there is so much magic waiting for us when we give ourselves permission to begin.

Your most magical self,
Treshelle