Bold: showing an ability to take risks; confident and courageous.
One thing I've learned as a college student is to be myself. My personality is what stands out to people and they remember me. I have this amazing job that lets me be myself and I can put my personality into everything I do regarding it, but not everyone gets that chance.
I've learned to be bold, even when being bold is not exactly easy. I recently took a huge step and colored all of my hair mermaid blue. Talk about bold, but everyone has loved it even when I thought it wouldn't look good. Being bold goes along with being brave. To be bold, you must be brave. With both of those comes the ability to shock others and put yourself out there. You can be timid, but willing to connect with others.
Being bold doesn't always mean having crazy colored hair or bright make-up. It can be your personality or the way you dress. Wear the crazy print leggings that you love, even if everyone else thinks their weird. Do the things you love and have passion for because they make you unique. Be bold and share it with those you love.
Brave: endure or face unpleasant conditions without showing fear.
If I had to pick one thing I have learned in college that has nothing to do with my major, it would be about being brave. I've been in some situations where it's not easy to be brave. I've had to seek the psychological help I needed to even stay in college, but I did it because it was right for me. It was not pleasant to start off with. I thought people would think I was weak and unable to do things, when in reality everyone thought the opposite. They saw this strong young woman who had lost herself a little bit, but was working to get back to being herself by being brave to say "I need help and I'm going to get it."
I work with amazing individuals every day. We all have our challenges and our jobs push us to be in unpleasant situations and we get through it. We have our own lives to live, but we also take interest in what our residents are doing, what are coworkers are doing, and what our supervisors are doing. We make this space that is welcoming and it allows our residents to be brave because they know we will listen. We don't need a safe space, we create a brave space by being who we are without conditions.
Be Bold. Be Brave. Be unapologetically you. Everyday.