Imperfectly You: Be Brave

Welcome to Imperfectly Painted newest feature, Imperfectly You! I've have been so inspired by your responses to my Talk it Out Tuesday posts and my recent bullying post that I wanted to do more with Imperfectly Painted. I know many of us struggle with self esteem and insecurities. I have found that one of the best ways to gain positivity and strength is through sharing and being open about our experiences. I want Imperfectly You to be that for my readers. This will be either a monthly or twice a month feature where I will feature a nail polish that has name that I think reflects a topic/theme that I feel is important to us as women as far as self esteem building. I will then share my experiences with this topic, and the comment section will be open to you all reflect on your experiences. I want to create a positive and supportive space for all of us, and of course connect it to our love of nail polish. We are all imperfect people, but you know what? That is OK, and we are enough just the way we are. 

Today's Topic: Being Brave/Bravery, inspired by Orly Glam FX Be Brave polish.

I think a lot of times we sell ourselves short. It's hard in our lives when we are under a lot of stress or pressure to give ourselves credit. We often feel weak or inadequate when our world does not go the way we expect or want it to. This is simply not true, a lot of things we do in our life are not easy, and we have to be brave to take certain actions or deal with certain emotions. These acts of bravery no matter how small or how big should never get swept under the rug.

My experience with bravery:
I lack the ability a lot of the time to recognize my own bravery. I often find that other people tell me my moments of bravery. Sadly, in the past I would dismiss this, and just say it's not a big deal. Now, I'm learning  to appreciate my moments of bravery and recognize their worth. One of my bravest moments was probably picking up and moving from Dallas, TX to Orlando, FL at 20..alone. I didn't have any friends or family here, but I knew I needed to get away from home. Home was toxic to me, and while my parents were nothing but loving, my hometown was full of painful memories and reminders of a life I wanted to leave behind. So, I left.  I never realized what a bold move that was until so many people approached me and said they could never move away alone like I did. I consider myself an overly cautious person. I don't ride roller coasters or any ride that isn't meant for 3 year olds for that matter. Flying makes me nervous.  I check to make sure the door is locked 923598 before I go to sleep, but I never thought moving almost 1,200 miles away from home wasn't anything to make a fuss about? Crazy. I used to be so hard on myself for not feeling like I'm living up to par with my childhood peers. I ventured into a new city alone. That's not easy! It wasn't easy, and now I try to remember to pat myself on the back about my bravery in regards to this.

Where in your life have you been brave?

Please share your experiences with being brave in the comments below.

Happy Wednesday!