I discovered #Bloganuary by reading another blog, and I’m all in! I love writing challenges. I wasn’t always a fan of writing prompts, but now I love how you always find out something new about yourself and grow as a result of pondering the prompt’s answer. 

Todays’s prompt asks, “How are you brave?” If you were to ask those closest to me, what makes me.brave is how I use my voice. I’m the most outgoing member of my family. Making phone calls to make inquiries, approaching staff at a store, fielding small talk with strangers, these things have never been a problem for me. I can remember being very shy when I first  started school in Kindergarten,  but I grew out of it because I was the Hermione Granger type. I was the kid in class, especially in History, English, and Geography classes, who usually had the right answer, so I got used to being put on the spot. The information I was sharing felt bigger than me. I had a duty to speak up: someone had to inform my 11th grade history teacher that the U.S. purchased Louisiana from the French and not the Spanish, for Pete’s sake! 

However, in my adult life I never looked at this outspokenness as a good quality. I made a science of trying to figure out how not to upset others, dimming my light over time. 2022 was the year I felt that I learned how to love myself, fight for myself, take care of myself, think for myself, and forgive myself. 

Maybe that was the most important lesson, that last. None of us are perfect. Few of us can live up to the high bar that we set for ourselves 100% of the time. We take ourselves by surprise and let ourselves down, but we can’t stop there. We must have the heart to rebuild, to believe that we are worth an even better version of our lives, and that we have the will within to create it. 

A popular quote from the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button states, 

“For what it’s worth… it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you’ve never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again.” 

The courage to start over is the quality I have come to be proud of about myself. That, to answer today’s question, is how I am brave. As proud as I am of how far I’ve come, I am even more grateful to God. I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me. Amen!