Be You Be Brave

A lot of people my age will have grown up for the most part watching the iconic comedy sitcom Friends. The series which follows six friends and the trials and tribulations they face in life opens with the Rembrandts “I’ll be there for you”. The famous lyrics “so no one told you life was going to be this way, your jobs a joke you’re broke, your love life’s DOA” sum up just some of the ups and downs we all face when trying to find our way in life. Each of the six characters is completely different and often people will see parts of themselves in one or more of the characters but something I think everyone could agree on is how each one was an individual, and themselves.

Recently I bought a picture for my old bedroom. I’m re-decorating it in the next few weeks and turning it into my writing room. It will be my sanctuary to keep all things writing from my several notebooks and random ideas to books and inspiration. The picture very simply reads “Be You, Be Brave”. It caught my eye and I thought it would be perfect in the room. Four simple words I hope will inspire me to write thousands more. Something I plan to glance at every time I am staring at a blank page or screen with hope that it will motivate me to keep going and to pursue what it is I want regardless of others opinions or expectations.

Following our ambitions and goals can be difficult sometimes. There is a lot of competition out there, rejection and criticism are rife in most professional environments and facing that potential failure can be terrifying. What I say to that fear is… do it anyway. Some of the best lesson’s I have  learned to date have been off the back of some of my most intimidating decisions, ones that I was petrified of at the time. Moving to Limerick, moving to Thailand and moving to Prague, taking an unpaid internship for 13 months, leaving jobs when I didn’t necessarily have anything to follow it up with, tackling my anxiety and many many other decisions that are only for me and close friends to know have all been worth it. So now, at the age of 27, I still have one dream that has been a constant and that is to write. I don’t know how far it will go or if anything will even come of it but it’s a dream so I am going to keep following it.

Even in our day to day lives are we really ourselves? I think sometimes it can be a lot easier to wear a mask and hide behind it but the older I get the more confident I am in who I am. I don’t question my choices, I don’t worry about what other people think of me, I stand up for myself and I don’t apologise for it, I surround myself with the people I want to be around, I wear whatever fashion I want to. I have plenty of flaws, I learn about them and I accept them. All of it makes me who I am and I am proud of every single one of them. When I was even a few years younger I think I would have tried to change myself to make others happy or to be accepted but not now.

To think this whole post came from just thinking about a picture! Anyway… Be you! Be Brave! no matter what the circumstances.