the truth is, life will amaze you in the most stunning ways, and it will also break your heart. life will gift you the kinds of lessons that grow you and build you and help for you to bloom into the person tiu you have always hoped to be, but it will also carry within it the kinds of losses that stay with you, that change you and shape you in uncomfortable ways. life will demand for you to do the work, for you to understand yourself, for you to heal even when it hurts. for you to be brave, for you to fight for yourself. at the end of the day you will come to realize that bravery isn't a battlefield. it isn't fast cars, or stunned risk. bravery is the quietest thing you will ever know. bravery is getting up in the morning when your bones are heavy and your heart does not want the light to crack within it. bravery is leaning into what aches, it is looking it in the face, giving it a name and comforting it for what it is. bravery is being gantle with yourself, especially when it isn't convenient or easy, especially when you are not a shinning example of the person you strive to be. bravery is forgiving yourself, it is the work you do within your soul that is dirty and difficult and demanding. but most of all, bravery is the way you stretch towards the light. it is the way you bloom in the direction of goodness, even when you may not know what you are reaching for. bravery is allowing yourself to believe that you are growing, even when it does not feel like it. bravery is trusting yourself even when you do not recognize the path. bravery is knowing that there is more for you, that you will have the ability to save yourself like you always have before; that you will survive.⠀