Courage

(Photos by Tiffani)

I'll never forget the time in 7th grade when I was on the bus with my friends.

There was a girl a year younger behind us,

and I knew her parents had just gone through a divorce and things were tough.

My friends started laughing about her pants;

they were too short for her.

The girls making fun of her weren't quiet about what they thought.

I looked back at her seat just in time to see her hang her head,

and uncomfortably try and pull her pants down so they wouldn't

look like they were too high off the ground.

I felt so bad for her,

I was so mad at my friends.

But I didn't say anything.

I didn't join in on what they were saying,

and worse,

I didn't stick up for her either.

12 years later I am still ashamed of myself for not

having the courage to tell my friends to be quiet,

and go put my arm around a girl who just needed someone by her side.

After that day, I promised myself that I would never again remain silent

about something that I believed in.

I promised myself that no matter how uncomfortable the situation was,

that I would make myself have the courage to speak up or do things

that everyone else was to coward to do.

I haven't let myself down since.

Has it been completely embarrassing sometimes?

You bet.

Did it terrify me in the years when I was incredibly shy?

Without a doubt.

But now it has become a part of who I am.

And I'm not ashamed of that.

The courage to stand up against the fighting forces of the world and say,

"Hey, that's not right, and I won't take it"

is a sweet virtue that is fading away.

It takes courage to live every, single day.

Sometimes, courage comes in the moments when we just want

to give up because life is so hard, but we keep going anyways.

And not only do we keep going, but we do it with the outlook

that we will overcome.

Have courage. Stand a little taller. And see what happens when you choose to be braver.
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