Last fall i was an exchange student in Belgium.
Before I left people told me I was very brave to do this. I didn’t listen to them because i knew it was so scary to me to move to a new country with a new culture where you don’t know anyone. When I came back to my home country I felt really brave to have accomplished this, and this experience left me with a little taste of how brave one person can be. If you really are brave there are no limits to what you can, and are willing to do, right?
But what is being brave? To me it is to be willing to do anything and never giving up. If you never take any chances or risks, you are wasting your dreams, and wasting your dreams is the opposite of being courageous. Bravery can be the smallest things like trying out a new cereal for breakfast or changing your hair, something casual. Both these things can bring you closer to your dreams.
Any place or situation that challenges me turns on a switch inside of me and makes me feel brave and inspires me to overcome the challenge. As a former exchange student I can say that every day you spend abroad is a challenge that you have to overcome, and your heart and brain grow bigger with every day.
For example you have to learn how to train system works, in most cases when you move abroad you have to learn a new language, appreciate new kinds of food, learn how the locals act and think and become a part of it. If you are successful and manage to adapt to the culture you will feel so good about yourself and automatically you will feel brave. It starts of as a little fire that spreads out with each day and each challenge and becomes a huge fire.
The place that makes me feel the most brave is the Grand Place in Brussels. The Grande Place is a square in Brussels, and old, beautiful houses surround the square. The houses are decorated with real gold and in daylight you can just look and admire them for hours and in the night, the houses are still gorgeus, but more mysterious.
Me and my exchange friends from all over the world, used to sit there on friday and saturday nights and chat about everything, and sing and dance together. I met a lot of new people there and got to know a lot of amazing people which all influenced me in some way or another and every single one of them helped me on my journey to bravery.
When you start following your heart and trusting that it will lead you the right path, and letting go off worries and living your life exactly how you want to live it, the magic starts to happen and you will discover a whole new side of you, bravery there included. Don’t miss any wonderful opportunities and always be open for new adventures and experiences.
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