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Day 17: Baby Steps to Bravery

A couple of years ago, I had to go to Kalamazoo, Michigan on a business trip. I was less than thrilled about the destination but then I discovered that to get there I was going to need to fly through Chicago and an idea was born. I contacted some people who lived there and they offered me a place to stay so on the way back home to Oklahoma, I spent a long weekend in the Windy City. I was so nervous. Even though I was going to be with people all weekend, it felt like it was the first vacation that I'd taken on my own. As I sat on the banks of Lake Michigan after arriving safely at my friends' home and having a great lunch on my own, I felt so proud of myself. And the feeling continued the next day when I got off at the correct L stop, turned the right direction, and found my way to the Art Institute of Chicago. Basking in my new navigational skills, I found my way to Wrigley Field, walked around it, and got back on the correct train to get back to my friends' condo.

This may not seem like a big deal but it was HUGE to me. Just contacting the friends and risking that they might not want to see me was a big step that I might not have taken years earlier. Setting out on my own in a strange city as directionally challenged as I am might have been considered dangerous by some. But I did it and not only did I survive but I thrived. When the opportunity to go to Washington DC on another business trip arose, I jumped at the chance to see another city on my own. For this trip, I was lucky to have my cousin join me but I was ready to go it on my own again and that was a great feeling.

I hope to take more steps towards being braver, even it is something simple like going out to eat by myself in my own hometown. I don't want being on my own to stop me from experiencing anything and everything I want to accomplish in my life.
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  1. clmeOctober 18, 2012 at 1:20 AM

    Wow, this month you have more blogs than the last two years...keep going!

    ReplyDelete

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