What Makes You Courageous?

I want to be honest. I want to be completely transparent and open about the fact that I am not perfect. I think that so often kids are presented with these role models and think that the bar is set so high there is no way a "normal" person would be able to reach it. 

I think this was probably the hardest stereotype I had to face. The way media works is that people post only the highlights- the best parts- of their lives. They leave out the boring bits. The problem is that the type of timeline that creates in our heads is only made up of what we know about them, and then we create this idea that their life is perfect. Suddenly we start comparing every aspect of our lives to the mere peaks of theirs.

Look at a mountain. How big is the peak? How much space does it actually take up? How much work goes into actually getting to the top?

Exactly.

When I think about the types of role models I want to have in my life, the first word I want to be able to describe them with is "accessible." I want to know that they are "normal" too. Of course I want to set my goals high and the only reason normal is in quotations is because the term is relative to me. My normal is goofy, weird, personable, crazy, and not always perfect. However, normal doesn't have to mean mediocre. My role models set goals and realize the work that has to go into achieving them. 

I want people to know that I am accessible. I am silly, stubborn, crazy, sassy, and I have a story too. I was not always who I am today. I hid myself for a long time.

I want to be brave enough to tell the world about the parts of me I've hidden for so long. I want to lean on God and trust that He will not let me fall on my face, but if He does, I trust He will give me the sense of humor to laugh it off and the faith to try it again. 

When a young man named Joshua was told that God had chosen him to lead God's people he was afraid. He was insecure. God assured Joshua that no matter what, if he trusted Him, the Lord would be with him wherever he went. So he pushed past the insecurities and the self-doubt and followed God. He lead God's people to the promised land and he changed the world.

I want to live like that. I want to trust in God. But most importantly I want to know about everyone else. 

What makes you courageous?

#LIVEcourageously

Alex

My Why

Self-doubt is crippling.

Imagine waking up in the morning. You don't want to pull the covers down because you'll have to see yourself; you'll have to acknowledge the fact that you are alive for yet another day- unfortunately. Check your phone for every social media account and notification. See that the world hasn't gotten any more interesting while you've slept. Then you walk to the mirror. You manage to avoid the mirror while you brush your teeth, but after you wash your face you accidentally look up. Oh no. There it is, every flaw imaginable. Your eyes are too close together, your nose is pointy, your skin is red and full of imperfections. Good luck covering that up. You manage to get some make up over it and fix your hair somewhat, but of course it's not perfect. It never is. Now clothes. Oh great you have to find things that look good on you. Face it, nothing is going to look good on you; you are too skinny, too fat, too short, too tall, too imperfect. Whatever. T-shirt and jeans it is. Then you have to get to school. Everyone sees you and you know that they all expect something from you. Well today you don't have that to give. Being around people is draining. Being perfect is draining. Check social media.  Oh great, more perfect lives and expectations to live up to. Practice is just you going through the motions. Who really feels like doing this anymore? Then home, homework, internet, and bed. Another day over. Another day closer to dying.

Self-doubt makes days run together and nights run longer, and harder, and scarier.

That was my life until about a year ago. Every day was a motion and being happy only came for a short period of time. I want to say that I got better overnight, but it took a long, long time. Every step I took, a phone screen would pull me two steps back. Social media gave me a standard and I wasn't meeting it.  My life needed to be more meaningful, more interesting, more- well more. I had to finally realize that it was more. I was a leader. I was cheerleading captain, class president, NHS Historian, Student Council parliamentarian, Miss RHS, and prom queen. I realized that teenagers could do so much more than we were expected to do. I realized that these standards we all fall victim to are set by ourselves. We have the power to determine what's popular.

I think that anyone can be a leader. I think that being a leader- realizing I was one- was the thing that made a difference. I think that learning to be unafraid to be myself and learning to use both my strengths and my weaknesses were the things that helped me to be confident. I am a leader. I am strong. I am confident.

I believe others should feel this way too.