A hug can really make you happier and healthier.

Darrius Simmons has four fingers and no legs below the knees. After teaching himself to play the piano and posting a video to Facebook, he was invited to play at Carnegie Hall and is now heading to Berklee College of Music.

Former Red Sox pitcher, John Trautwein talked about how it is ok to not be ok and how to talk more about bad days. His 15 year old son killed himself and he was as shocked as ever.

The Fray’s Isaac Slade admitted to having horrible anxiety and panic attacks before he gets on stage. Then he belted out You Found Me, the song he wrote about the experience.

Jaycee Gossett of @theclass led the entire tent in a group chant to open our hearts and become more courageous.

These were just a few of the mind-blowing presenters at The 9th Nantucket Project and if you follow me on social media, you probably saw the videos. I have seen the project advertised in glossy magazines and it piqued my curiosity with it’s incredible line-up of authors, artists and changemakers. I volunteered by myself which didn’t seem scary until a few days before when I panicked over missing work, leaving my busy house and attending something I knew little about. I showed up to my early morning volunteer shift and was greeted by the warmth of Harvey Young, the 4th generation owner of Young’s Bicycle Shop. As we fit attendees with helmets and bikes for their scenic ride, he told me the story of his great-grandfather who took a risk in opening a bike shop on Nantucket in 1930. He was laughed at. “Tourism is not going to happen on a fishing village. No one will want to come to Nantucket for fun and rent bikes.” He ignore them and went for it. Who is laughing now?

My next shift was to hold the cord for one of the camera men in the tent, which allowed me to hear the speakers. To listen to authors I have admired, watch moving performances and hear from people breaking the stigma on talking about suicide, anxiety and depression was incredible. I am looking forward to reading some of the books I heard about as well as listening to their podcasts. I created a recap for you below if you are looking for new material to shift your mood.

I am still processing all of the information but I came home from my first Nantucket Project with a new perspective on the benefit of connections and the immense power of a hug. We can all work harder to reach out, connect and be a better neighbor.