The other day, I was chatting with my friend Stephanie and her friend Sue and it came up that I had lived in Switzerland. Sue asked a few questions about it and in the course of conversation I clarified that I had lived in Switzerland twice - once on my own and once with J.
"Oh my goodness," Sue cried, "you moved there all by yourself?! How old were you? Did you have family there?"
"No," I replied shaking my head, "I was 26. I'd never even been there before." And at that, Sue gasped and put her hand to her heart. Then Stephanie looked at Sue and then looked back at me and with the biggest, most genuine grin said, "Isn't she so brave?" and gave my shoulder an excited little squeeze. And that really surprised me!
"YES. Yes, she is" was all Sue said in response and they both just stared at me and I was rather stunned. It had honestly never once occurred to me that moving to Switzerland alone was a brave thing to do. But, once they mentioned it, I decided to give myself some credit and a nice pat on the back because it is a pretty brave thing to move all alone to a foreign land and I should go ahead and be proud of that.
Have you heard that the little girl facing down the bull on Wall Street is going to stay for another year? I love Mayor DeBlasio's description of the statue as a reminder of “standing up to fear, standing up to power, being able to find in yourself the strength to do what’s right.” What a great motto for 2017.
So tell me, what's the bravest thing you've ever done? Please share in the comments below.
(Photo via ABC)
Don't you think there are different types of bravery? I wonder if the big difference is whether you are afraid or your longing for adventure or instinct or whatever overwrites the dear and you don't even think about your actions?
ReplyDeleteI guess on paper the bravest thing I've done was when I worked nightclub security and head to deal with an unpleasant individual who slashed someone's throats with a broken bottle. I kept him talking and calm and not causing more chaos until the police came- on my own in a secure area while colleagues focused on the victim. But I didn't think about it, never felt afraid- I just did my job. Is that bravery?
I have a very similar story to yours, I moved to Norway when I was 26 - did not know anyone there, did not speak the language. And me too, I never thought about it as 'being brave'. Thanks for your post, it made me think.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post thanks for sharing.
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