And They Will See Us Waving From Such Great Heights…

Some people I meet really don’t get blogging. “You blog?” They say to me incredulously. “I do!”
I respond proudly. Their eyes narrow, “What makes you think that your life is that special that people want to read about it?”

Really, I do love my life and I do think it is pretty special (we should all think our lives are special, after all), but I don’t really blog about my life, per se. What I blog about are experiences of adulthood that make us all more interesting: times we laugh so hard we cry (or cry so hard we laugh), challenges we face, awkward moments, tough stuff, lessons we learn, good work we do, people we love. This little community of collective wisdom really represents The Everyadult. And here at Welcome to Adulthood we celebrate all of us.

What I have learned through this kind of “blog scrutiny” is that I am pretty brave for blogging. I have also learned that being comfortable enough in your own skin to allow yourself to be brave, especially in the face of adversity, actually makes you a groovier person.

There was a time in my life when I wasn’t as brave. I was more concerned with how people perceived me than of how I could evolve as a person. When you become an adult you are finally able to embrace/love/adore all that you are, and accept everything you have experienced. And then it actually becomes pretty easy to be brave.

So my bravery is blogging. But yours might be something else – maybe teaching, maybe trying new things, maybe moving to new places, maybe being open to change, maybe making the hard choices, maybe being a good listener, maybe being honest with yourself and others (even when it is very hard), maybe being confident, maybe wearing your heart on your sleeve, maybe finding a spiritual path, maybe being a good friend or partner, maybe standing up for yourself and for others… (…)

I have mentioned before how I work at an organization for children who have experienced significant challenges such as abuse or trauma, coupled with mental illness. When the kids finally leave our residential program (they stay on average about 1 year), they have a little going away party in their cottage. All the other kids go around the room and talk about how much they will miss the “graduating” kid, and then staff get a chance to say a few things.

Sometimes I go to these little parties just for fun (even though I am not direct program staff and often don’t know the kids very well) and I never quite know what to say. But what I wish I could say to them is: “Life can be hard as a kid, but please remember this: it will get so much better! When you are an adult it is easy to be brave! Just try your best every day, be good to people, and be safe – and I promise you it will get better and you will have a great life.”

Go forth and prosper my Adulthood friends! Here is my challenge to you: find what makes you brave (and tell us about in the comments if you want), identify it, grab it, and hold it tight! Then, give yourself a big high-five for it – we are all pretty extraordinary.

Photo by Alainalele via Flickr.

4 Responses to “And They Will See Us Waving From Such Great Heights…”

Author comments are in a darker gray color for you to easily identify the posts author in the comments

1. Randy says:

   February 20, 2011 at 8:53 pm

   This is a very interesting take, Mara. I like it. I would have to say at the moment, my bravery is two-fold.

   One, I am blogging as well. It can be difficult sometimes (though still very rewarding), and there’s always in the back of my mind–at least–questions like, “Am I being as responsible as I can be with what I’m saying? What if this makes sense to me and no one else?”

   Second, while I like what I do for a living OK, and I know I am blessed to have a job, it’s not what I really want to do. So, I am starting as a home-based travel agent specializing in Disney travel and cruises. It’s going to be a lot of work, and there is a certain amount of fear that it may not succeed like I hope it will, but I have to do something to pursue my passion.

   Part of that is the blog, which as I anticipate it and plan now will eventually become a book. I’d like to be able to have the book available, and travel around speaking to different groups about the subjects and material from the book. The other part of that is becoming a travel agent, particularly one that specializes in Disney travel. These are my two main passions, and so I am pursuing them both, but I don’t know the outcomes of either. I think I can safely call these what makes me brave–or at least how I am living out my bravery.

   Reply
2. Luke says:

   February 21, 2011 at 8:41 pm

   I’d say its not any one thing that makes me brave, but rather a collection of experiences. Any day that I face a new challenge I can look back and think of a dozen other things I’ve had to cope with that were more complex by comparison.

   And don’t let anyone get you down for blogging Mara, not even that lady who was laughing at our silly blogging argument outside last week!

   Reply
3. Lindsay says:

   March 25, 2011 at 10:01 pm

   I love this post. I am new to the blogging world, and have gotten a variety of reactions when new people find out. Maybe my stories and life experiences are not interesting to mainstream people, but my family and friends sure love reading about them, and I love having them documented. You are so right about the bravery thing. If only we could somehow know for sure when we are kids that it is truly easier as an adult. Moving to a foreign country, learning a new language, and blogging about it all have been the bravest things I have done. Does this make me a grown up yet? Thanks for your comment on my blog too, I wish I could send you some virtual paradis is to try because it is just so amazing!

   Reply
4. carina says:

   March 27, 2011 at 5:29 am

   This is a great post and so true. You are brave for sharing your experiences, and I think it’s great!

   Thanks for stopping by my blog yesterday. I am overwhelmed by the love I received – it means a lot

   Reply