I can only imagine what it must feel like for some men. Continuing with my digression for another moment, I still hate comments about women being emotional, or “crying like a woman.” I AM a woman and I struggle with some of my emotions. Oh how wrong I was about that! It’s a complex topic for another Crush It Monday. I remember even from a young age wanting to be viewed as masculine instead of feminine because I used to think masculinity was akin to strength and bravery. Perhaps my view of bravery initially came from men. Men, especially the older generation feel pressure not to show or feel vulnerable emotions. This discussion could get complicated really quickly if we bring in things like masculinity. Bravery means actually letting yourself feel those emotions without letting them defeat you or change your path. To be honest, trying to avoid feeling and showing difficult emotions has been one of the harder parts of bravery for me. Do Epic Shit.” I have put a lot of thought into what it means to me to be brave. One of my favorite taglines I made up for my own life is “Be Brave. This is where I think the definition of bravery starts to diverge from what it actually means. But I’ve seen portraits of bravery show up as someone who appears stoic and doesn’t show vulnerability or cry.

In cartoons, the hero or heroine is often characterized as someone who is brave- someone who will go into battle knowing that the consequences could be dire. For most, it usually has something to do with having to get a shot at the doctor or getting an injury of some kind and then an adult telling us to be brave. The first memories I have of someone using the word brave is when I was a little kid.

Being brave is not about the absence of fear, it’s about having the courage to be vulnerable – to press on in spite of fear.

Got brave synonym