since i was little

purple teddy bears filled my room.

i would make them wear my favorite fabrics,

fabricating a story of how they met a new friend

or bent the rules a bit.

i have been telling stories since i started speaking.

speaking of dreams and ideas - i was held back by nothing.

when i was young, i was brave.

i had no idea about the world that twirled around me.

 

but then i had to grow and the flow of life was altered.

i faltered from the judgments

and the self-consciousness,

unkind words slurred together

into a weather storm

bombarding me with hatred.

anything spoken was analyzed and criticized,

so i learned to stay quiet.

silent voices hide louder minds

mine might explode any instant.

 

we no longer speak our minds

just minding our own business

because they don't care what we have to say.

playing is no longer about fun,

it's protection.

barriers go up and connections break,

bonds flake apart,

even the tightest friendships are strained.

 

but there’s an easy fix.

well there’s the trick

it's easy in concept

but honestly it’s true.

you need to believe in yourself.

i know i know

it has grown old and cliché

but look deeper,

see the truth

 

we all are holding something back.

we all have a locked box

hidden in the blackest parts of our souls.

i must not hold back what i want to share,

i have to be driven to have the strength to be different,

i need to be that little kid who did what she pleased

because the truth is bravery has changed.

 

growing up bravery was escaping slavery.

it was superman and soldiers,

secret spies saving the world.

hurled from buildings and still stopping the villains.

 

then i learned of real-world villains - bullies and death.

bravery is standing up to the bystanders and bullies.

courage is when a loved one passes away

and no matter how you react

you are somehow

always

brave.

 

but then these villains are everyday occurrences

and we are expected to handle them.

praise is no longer handed out to these heroes

for there are worse villains out there.

so then those everyday heroes feel incompetent.

they aren't good enough - not brave enough.

those heroes are all of us

and we are enough

we are warriors in an infinite daily war

 

maybe you came to school today

you checked out at the grocery store

you shared a smile with someone who needed it

you got on that airplane

you texted that one person

you answered a question in class when no one else would

 

i will find the daily bravery otherwise ignored

i am far beyond any constricted definition

the true definition of bravery is me.