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Ever been so tired of people putting you in a box? Have you ever thought that these people don't know me
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They don't know who I am or what I'm capable of
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Well, this is exactly what today's character felt like her entire life
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Everyone thought she was just as helpless little girl just because of her disability
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But man, did she prove them wrong? And of course, I'm talking about the blind bandit herself Toph Bayfong.
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Hey, what's going on guys? My name is Nate and you're listening to the Otaku to the Otaku Liberation
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A show where we help you break the chains that are holding you back in your life by connecting some biblical principles with themes for your favorite
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and without further ado, let's get right on into
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In today's verse I'm covering for this episode is 1st Samuel chapter 16 written and it says but the Lord said to Samuel
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Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have
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Humans do not see what the Lord sees for humans see what is visible but the Lord sees
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And you know, this is just God saying don't judge a book by its cover
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What he says is true we tend to judge others based on what we not
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What we know all the time. We don't know everyone's backstory. We don't know everyone's own trials and tribulations and the things they've gone through
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We don't
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What they what they let us know if it's a personal relationship or for those that we see from a fee from afar we let see
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you know the the outside you see the animal and
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Unfortunately, how often time that's what we base all
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You know ID they are and
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That was that was a safe
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But those of you don't know Toph was essentially she was born blind into a very wealthy family and her parents treated her like a China doll
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which kind of so
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Journey of kind of
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type thing for Toph and
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The first part of it was you know her her having some self-acceptance in her
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Having some self-acceptance and defying these expectations
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because again, like I said her parents thought she was a China dog just as a told this little girl be blind and
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Let's be honest. You know, if you're a parent who has a blind eye
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Oh you want to make sure they're safe and protected and from all these different things out in the world because again, you know and
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But that didn't really gel to to own what's off because she sought to defy
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basically the image of the helpless little blind girl that many people had about her parents and
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Unfortunately for them this mindset pretty much with with her parents at home because again, they wanted to smother her and
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even though she tried to be the
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I guess a perfect ideal daughter for them. It was eating her up on the inside
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So when Aang and the group offered her a chance to them
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You know mainly to teach Aang earthbending but at the same time to help her
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explore the world from under her parents took it and
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It's off as a little rough around the edges
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Not just because she's an earthbender
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But just because of who she is and this often clashed with the rest of team avatar in the in the beginning
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Because she saw their acts of kindness as pity for her blindness
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And you know, I'm talking about, you know offering to help her with her her bags when APA landed when they better make
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Not really understanding the whole team dynamic of okay, so somebody sets up a campfire somebody
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You know tries to gather food things like that. He
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she initially thought that long as she carried her own weight that everyone else will be good with that and that she didn't need any
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help and that she didn't need to help else and
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all that from
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Again her upbringing because everything was done for her without really giving her the option or chance to do it for herself
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she saw this
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need to
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Basically show the world that she's not helpless and that she could do anything she's to
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Which is good, you know, that's not necessarily a bad thing
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But in this type of context when you talk about being a part of a group you who care about each other, right?
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they are they're always trying to come together and and
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But she didn't really understand that whole mindset until he had a she heard a few kind words from you know
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Iroh, you know, everybody's uncle right and that
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His words helped her open her eyes to the fact that sometimes people mind
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Isn't pity. It's just because they care they they want to do things
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because because they care about and
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it was after she had that conversation why he
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understood the rest of the dress of team avatar and that she really became a part of the team at that point went on and
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that whole thing is just
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I want you to realize that it's important to not let be
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Conformed to what other about you
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You know, I mean, yes it is to take some input take some advice from people who are you know further up further off than you
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Whether it's in your job just life in general right people that you look on who you can see as as mentors
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But in the end it is your life and you have to live it yourself. You got to make your own decisions
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so
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You kind of take take it all with a grain of salt
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you know take the advice that you wanted that you want to take that you do and
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Apply what you feel like sway best thing for you in your life and they can't live your life for you. Oh
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Yeah, don't be overly reliant on them, but don't just ignore them
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so the next thing for top is
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Her overcoming her
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So again, she was born blind
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I think that's pretty one of the biggest limitations that anyone can have is being born without a key sense that we all need and
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But luckily for her in the world of avatar there was I'm that
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Toph was able to gain her independence by overcoming her blindness by first learning earthbending from the original earthbenders
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no less which were the badger moles and
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You've ever said this before in these episodes, but yes avatar has some weird animals are all fusions of
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Animals that exist in real life and they're pretty cool. I think you guys should check them if you haven't you know watch this master pro
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Anyway back this off so
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Toph was able to change patients
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into her biggest strength which arguably kind of
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solidify her as one of the best earthbenders of her time and I'd argue
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Of all time maybe not the best but definitely she's definitely up there
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And that was because she was able to see using the vibration from the ground using earthbending
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So think about how bats you cation
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Or if you're a model Marvel fan think about daredevil, right?
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Basically how he sees Toph sees and just the only difference she uses her earth
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And he just uses you know general
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and
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the important
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aspect of that of this whole thing is the first
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Recognize then overcome nations
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Because that will open up some new doors to you to even know possible now for Toph it was
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Finally gaining her independence because she was able to to see and do things herself
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But you how can you overcome the limitations that you play off?
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Or more importantly the limitations that out on you
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You know anything is like oh, you'll never amount to this. Why are you trying to do that? Because it's not you know
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I don't think that's on you
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You know now there may be there may be some truth to it if you can't sing anger
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But again, like I said earlier
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Is your life and you got to kind of figure those that type of thing out
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But part of that is understanding what your actions are and what can you overcome because some there's some things that can't
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No matter how much we want to no matter how much you want to will it
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Gonna change and that's okay. You just have to learn how to live with it. And what can we do to prevent it?
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Right, maybe you can't maybe you can't change it by making better. Who knows?
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So I just really want you guys to think about what are these limitations that you're placing on yourself?
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that's on you that you feel like you can't overcome think that
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That you can improve upon it that it can add more to your life and what you what you're trying to do
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and
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The next part is again tough getting her independence and self-reliance. So
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Kind of like I was touched touched on earlier in this episode
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So tough craved her independence and wanting nothing more but rely on herself for all the things that she's doing
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It wasn't again wasn't until she learned some earthbending from the batter moles that she was finally able to gain some independence
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And that was at the beginning and then she was I guess finally free. I guess for the most part after she
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Left to go with team avatar and to help truth-bending
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Now the
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important thing to know that being independent is
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Doesn't mean that you have to leave your family and never talk to them again or you know, just being cut off
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It's just being off on your own in the world
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No one no one around to help you in things like that
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All that really means that you can take care of yourself like you may you're a function. You can take care of yourself
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But you aren't afraid to ask or help when it's needed
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So you can take care of yourself. You can take care of yourself. You can take care of yourself
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When it's needed
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And I mean that's the key part being independent doesn't mean you have to be a lone wolf type
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Hey, I can take care of my um of what I need to take care of
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You know, and i'm not afraid to ask if I need it
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But i'm also not afraid to give the help if it's needed as well and this whole
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You know this whole episode can be just summed up in
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self-awareness being aware of what you can do and
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And working within the confines of that, you know strength that you strengthen your strengths
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If you can overcome your limitations and turn them into even more strengths off to it then
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but if not
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Know that you can lean on other people who?
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Genuinely care about you who care about your well-being and want you to succeed
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To help you get to that next level to help you overcome the shortcomings that you get through by yourself
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And it's the same thing
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For them too. You need to be somebody that they can rely on that they can trust that they can on for
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For that type for that type of support
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and
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honestly
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People kind of grow complacent
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and comfortable being taken care of
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and
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That there's a lot more prevalent now than it ever was to be honest
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And because again, we we have a lot more comforts than most people have known every lifetime. So you know
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The fact that I have I have I can have three or four different platforms all at once
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I can should never never be be out of a show to watch or things like that
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I mean youtube's all the rage now and all these things. There's so many things that just kind of
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Can make you a vegetable be careful and
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And it's kind of taken away from going out and exploring different things
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and
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and just really getting out of the house to to even attempt to be a functioning person in society and
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Eventually, we're all gonna have to grow up, you know even grow up a little bit what we think so far and
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Honestly, uh
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Is we had a 12 year old child
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Shows more initiative than some people who are you know in their 20s and 30s nowadays
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Because I'm tough basically just illustrates what to be self-reliant like she she just goes out there and
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And tries to get it done. She's not constantly looking around for someone to help to help her out
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but she's actually getting her hands dirty and doing the work and
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that's something I think we all model and try because
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To be fair outside of your family
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Whether by blood or by choice outside of your family if it's out of those who you know care about you
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The world is about you. The world is not going to try to help you out
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so it's important for you to have
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some sort of self-reliance for you to know how to
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do the things that you needed to do and
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In not only having that support system having that
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You know, even if just one person it was just that one person that you know
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You can confide in who can who's always there who all I can that that that's what is
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Can you that's so?
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Under appreciated but it the value can't be stated
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And again, just remember that getting help isn't a bad thing, but we can't let ourselves become
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the whole
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If you if the only thing out of this whole episode is that
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Yes, it's okay to go wrong to do your own thing to
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Need to do and to be able to do it
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But it's also important to know that you will that you can rely on that you that can help you can help
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And it doesn't have to be one of the other
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Actually, you know
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That yeah, one of the other didn't really come until it was holidays. But anyway
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So what I want you guys to know is that it had to be one the other you can be independent while still, you know
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Being being a part of a pack, right?
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You don't have to go off on your own and you know
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There's a whole lone wolf training montage type thing you can
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You can still be a part of a pack be part of a group part of a family and still do what you need to do
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That's pretty much all
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So if you like what you heard today and you want to take a deeper look into today's episode
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Head on over to the otaku liberation.net where you'll find a blog article this episode in a little more detail
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And join me next week as we're talking about soon is a lot of people's favorite character
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Is a lot of people's favorite character and again, there's a lot. There's a lot of those in this show
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But his journey shows us what happens when your life when your purpose in life isn't exactly what you thought
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And of course, that's the set the fire nation himself zugo
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So always remember guys you are the main character your story and that story doesn't end until he says so
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So, all right, thank you guys
