Wednesday, November 14, 2012

What is Courage?

A prompt in my writing class got me thinking on this very question: What is courage and who is courageous. As I tried to think up a single definition of the word, my mind generated all of the things courage is.

Courage is succeeding in adversity and risking something personal for someone else.
Courage is putting your life on the line. 
Courage is fighting even though you know it's hopeless. 
Courage is choosing to do something anyway. 
Courage is hoping through the storm. 
Courage is believing in what you cannot see.

"Who is the most courageous person you know?"

My initial thought was who isn't? Wouldn't choosing one person undermine the courage of all of the others in my life who are the epitome of courage?

My brother - the Marine. All of the soldiers for every nation in the world. My mother. My dad. My sisters. My boyfriend. Politicians.Victims of abuse, bullying, war, natural disasters and persecution. Teachers. Minorities. Anyone who speaks out for what he or she thinks is right. Parents. Newlywed couples. College students. The football team. Me.

Aren't we all courageous? Doesn't everyone face adversity, take risks, and fight failure at some point in his or her life? I know I have. I've faced bullies. I have taken risks. I have wrestled with failure. I've fallen in love and spent several hours helping others when I could have been helping myself. Haven't we all?

There are small simple acts of courage and massive ones.
Who is courageous?

We all are.

4 comments:

  1. You hit it dead on Rachel. Everyone is courageous. I think for teenagers these days, courage is also opening up and putting your thoughts online and out into the open for everybody to see. I'd also like to say you have an amazing perspective and insight for someone so young.

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  2. Thank you, Jason. I hope my wisdom continues to grow as I do. My one wish is to help people find the little inspirations in life.

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  3. would you rather fight for something you can never have or for something you dont want

    let me know

    o and i will let you read what i wrought about it

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  4. I would rather fight for something I can never have. If I fight for something I don't want, my heart would never be in the fight. Plus, I would always have hope for the things I can't have.

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