Brave

I believe my boyfriend is the bravest person I know. Although he doesn’t act like it, he’s accomplished more than I could possibly achieve at his age. No, he’s not a multi-millionaire that runs his own company, but he’s shown me some truly important aspects of life.

My boyfriend picked up and moved half way across the country as soon as he graduated university. It’s much easier said than done. Knowing he isn’t much of a planner, he just needed a new change, and so picked up and moved. Personally, I’m quite attached to my home town, and have no desire to leave the city. But the courage it takes to leave everything you know and love behind, is a gutsy move, if you ask me.

While in this new city, he met me! And through being with him, he’s opened my eyes to the term “brave”. I don’t know if he does this on purpose, but he’s been an inspiration to me.

He’s always been a friendly person. He’s got a charming smile that lights up the room, and he cracks jokes to see if anybody will join in. He can talk to anybody he wants without it being awkward, and he is just a genuinely nice person all around.
This attitude towards people (new ones in particular) blew my mind. I’m was never unfriendly but I wasn’t the friendliest person either. In fact, I created walls around me so nobody got too close. I’d been betrayed in the past before, not just by exes but by friends too, and it became a natural habit to just keep them out.

But when I met him and saw how he interacted with people, it just showed me what I was missing; interaction with people that leads to conversation and trust. Doing this takes more courage than people think, but there are huge benefits. Ever since I’ve channelled in my inner-friendly-self, I’ve gotten compliments from clients, cashiers, servers, and just random people on the street. The brief interactions with strangers can change a day immensely.

I also felt his courage when he met my family. My parents are from a different country, and English is their second language. This meant that he had to work extra hard to win their approval, let alone, converse with them. He took it with grace, and ever since he met my mother, he’s been nothing but respecting and understanding. The way he tackles meeting my parents every single time, blows my mind.

Due to his parents being out of town, I haven’t met his parents yet, but I’m not sure if I can be as friendly and accommodating as my boyfriend is to my parents. It’s not that I don’t want to act perfectly in front of his parents, it’s just that he does it so perfectly that there isn’t a flaw. He knows when to make comments, he knows when to buy my mom flowers, and he knows when to just give me alone time with my parents. I know it’s not easy for him to be in an environment with a language and culture he’s had no exposure to in the past, but he’s built up the courage and effort to be there for me.

His act of courageousness has rubbed off on me in a good way. His outlook and attitude towards life,

head first, ask questions later

, could be questionable but it’s also very brave. It’s opened me up to a bigger world, where I’m learning and interacting like I never thought I could.
I guess what I’m trying to say in this post, is that a little bravery could go a long way. Not to mention, the definition of

brave

depends on individuals, but to me, my boyfriend is brave.