I have thought about this interview for the past 2 weeks. To do right by yourself seems easier said than done, for most people. For example, do right by yourself about how you feel. "Wow, that really hurt me. I love that person. How could they do this to me? This really sucks. What is that feeling in my chest? I hate it. I want it to stop. I hate my life. I don't deserve this. Make the pain stop." These are the thoughts many people carry, or have carried. I've carried them at points in my life. What's even more dreadful is that instead of embracing our pain, many times we bury it. We pretend it doesn't exist and say to our heart, "You're fine." We think the pain isn't worth feeling. We drown ourselves in pleasures. But, when the sweet rose haze clears, we're faced with the pain we thought we buried. For some people, they choose to or can't help but embrace the pain. At one point in Spencer's life, he delved into the darkness for inspiration. As a creator, his greatest resource had been fresh and raw pain. There he leaned in to embrace what he truly felt. Doing right by himself was being real. Spencer was real with himself that he was in tremendous pain that he needed to acknowledge. Since I was a child, I've been perplexed by people in the Bible were so "faithful" but in so much pain. I imagined each person beside Spencer crying, gnashing their teeth, tearing clothes and howling with pain. They expressed such a sorrow that I could not understand. An internal torture that made me uncomfortable. But suddenly, they were free. They leaned into their Truth that everything was going to be okay and life still had meaning. For Spencer, that truth was a note he kept in his wallet. That truth was this: "Make it easier for someone to love you. Don't change to make them love you." As I continue with this project, I realize that real love looks a lot like the person Spencer tries to be to himself. That person is someone who's honest about how they feel.