Be Brave



He who is brave is free ~Seneca

Hi Sweetness, Be brave! This is an order, not a request. You have to be bold at all times. Especially when you feel scared and challenged. When you are faced with a tough situation, be brave, even if you don't feel that way. Fake it 'til you make it. I know I keep repeating this one line. Well, it's because this attitude will serve you fantastically throughout your numerous life challenges.

If I hadn't been brave I would never have come to the States. I was young, had never left home, scared, unsure, totally clueless, confused, coming out of personal trauma but I did not let my shaky knees dictate my life path. What's the worst that can happen? I thought. If all else failed, I could always come back home. You need to know that too, you can always go back home to reset, shake the dust off and start again. George S. Patton once said: Accept challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.

Walt Disney

In the back of my mind I constantly told myself, failure was not an option. So, armed with a little suitcase, zero life experience and a wildly beating heart, I got on Sabena Airlines. With a great leap of faith, I took a thousands of miles journey into my new life. Exhilirating! Victorious! An adventure I had been dreaming of since I was your age.

I remember leafing through the world atlas, Dad's encyclopedias and librabry books checking out what the world looked like outside of the tiny country of Kenya. I knew almost for certain, that with a world this big, I could not lock myself down into one location. The world was mine, to do with whatever I pleased, to go wherever my heart desired. Just this past year, I vacationed alone for a month in Europe. People tell me am brave. I say, I love life. It's one and the same thing.

Mark Twain
Courage is resistance to fear,
mastery of fear, not absence of fear

Gaceri, I need you to be brave. Meet challenges head on. If you have something that your heart desires and there are "obstacles" blocking you from gettting it, DO NOT back down. Do not shelve your dreams because they're "so hard" to achieve. There's no such thing as an unattainable dream... There's only laziness and non dedication. Plus, if you truly loved yourself, you would gift yourself your dreams. Always remember: Anything that you don't attempt will remain impossible, unachievable. They're your dreams, make them come true, FOR YOU!
I will share a trick with you. As you grow up, compile a list of people you admire and why. Choose people who have overcome adversity and made it no matter their dire odds. Personally, I like women heroines, because they're relatable. This list will serve you well when life has licked you and you cannot summon the energy or the mettle to go on. Start with your great grandmother, grandmother and your Mom.

Here's a little essay for you:
“I have realized; it is during the times I am far outside my element that I experience myself the most. That I see and feel who I really am, the most! I think that's what a comet is like, you see, a comet is born in the outer realms of the universe! But it's only when it ventures too close to our sun or to other stars that it releases the blazing "tail" behind it and shoots brazen through the heavens! And meteors become sucked into our atmosphere before they burst like firecrackers and realize that they're shooting stars! That's why I enjoy taking myself out of my own element, my own comfort zone, and hurling myself out into the unknown.

Illuminate your life

Because it's during those scary moments, those unsure steps taken, that I am able to see that I'm like a comet hitting a new atmosphere: suddenly I illuminate magnificently and fire dusts begin to fall off of me! I discover a smile I didn't know I had, I uncover a feeling that I didn't know existed in me... I see myself. I'm a shooting star. A meteor shower. But I'm not going to die out. I guess I'm more like a comet then. I'm just going to keep on coming back.”
― C. JoyBell C.