"FEARLESS” is not the absence of fear. It’s not being completely unafraid. To me, FEARLESS is having fears. FEARLESS is having doubts. Lots of them. To me, FEARLESS is living in spite of those things that scare you to death. FEARLESS is falling madly in love again, even though you’ve been hurt before. FEARLESS is walking into your freshmen year of high school at fifteen. FEARLESS is getting back up and fighting for what you want over and over again… even though every time you’ve tried before, you’ve lost."
I really love her concept of fearlessness, I think even if you are terrified of multiple things, you can still be fearless because you can push yourself over the boundaries that you either consciously (or not) create for yourself.
I feel that I've always been quite fearless, when I was younger apparently I jumped into the deep end of a swimming pool without arm bands and I ran off in a big toy convention to go to the Thomas the Tank engine bouncy castle. I feel as though fear has never really prevented me from doing things.
I've been hurt many, many times, whether that is physically ( I constantly have bruises on my legs) or emotionally and it is most commonly the emotional pain which runs the deepest. Yes, I have a lumpy bone on my shin that will probably never go back to normal, but it's the deeper emotional wounds which have me flashing back to lovely but difficult events on a daily basis.
No matter what, even if you have been knocked down 50 times before, you can still be fearless. This year and last year I have really seen how fearless I can be, last year I went outside of Europe to America for the first time, just me and my friend, staying in a totally new country for 4.5 weeks! Last year I spoke to people I had never previously spoken to through going out of my way to ignite conversations. This year I have been to London several times on my own, doing things I like the sound of even if it is on my own. This year I also decided to follow my heart and follow what I believed to be God telling me to do and reject the option of University next year to take a gap year in Australia.
Every single one of these decisions and fearless moves took a hell of a lot of internal persuasion to encourage me to take up these opportunities. And you know what, I would not trade in any of these memories; they caused me pain and joy, but they are honestly the memories I am most fond of. I've made new friends abroad from taking a leap of faith, I've gained a lot of freedom from taking these risks and I would definitely encourage you to take random opportunities if you are offered them.
A week ago now I took an opportunity which was really a 'seize the moment' kind of situation. I may have mentioned this in a previous post but I will explain anyway. Walking to the loos in my town I was stopped by a man who said he was a journalist and asked if I wanted a free 'drastic' haircut. I initially was hesitant thinking he would cut my hair and keeping in mind my promise to myself that I would grow my hair in order to have the perfect wavy beach hair to fit in in Aus! But when he explained we'd go to a professional salon, I could hardly say no, although I was flipping terrified. But actually it has turned out to be a massively good decision, I love my new long bob, plus I got tea and biscuits ( and I might even be in a magazine!?).
I think often the best memories we have are the ones which are unplanned and spontaneous. I am always up for a spontaneous trip to London or a road trip somewhere, because if you don't plan something, you don't know what is in store for you. But if you don't take the opportunities, no matter how random or eccentric, if you aren't even a little bit fearless in any sense of the word, you may not experience some of the best times of your life.
I got to shoot guns, swim in waterfalls, ride in the back of trucks, make new friends and ride a speedboat all because I seized an opportunity. If you don't seize some opportunities you may never get to experience things again.
To be clear, I'm not saying take every single opportunity that is given to you, I made sure the journalist was genuine and I have a (rough) plan for Australia, I'm just saying that if such things are offered to you, why not consider seizing them, they may take you to places you have never been. Even if the experiences you have hurt you physically or emotionally in some way, they will shape you into who you are today. I took a couple of negative experiences last year to improve my self love and my health to create a person who I want to be proud of, a person who isn't so reliant on others. But even the painful experiences I would never trade, they were an opportunity I tried and enjoyed (at the time) and can learn from. Without experiences out of the ordinary, life would simply be a routine, the same thing daily, everything being anticipated. And like Oscar Wilde once said:
"To live is the rarest thing in the world; most people just exist"
I think taking risks and seizing opportunities helps you live and not just exist. Existing, to me, is living by routine, living is experiencing the highs and lows of opportunities thrown at you, and it is the most exciting and terrifying thing you can do. But these last two years have probably been my favourite, I've seen so much, done so much, only through being fearless, learning from my mistakes and seizing opportunities, and I would highly encourage you to do the same!
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