What Does It Mean To Be Brave

Brave. Noble. Selfless. Heroic. Daring. All words to describe the kind of person that every human seems to be inherently drawn to admire and respect, and all able to be sorted under the umbrella of a single word: Courage. But these are all abstract descriptors for an abstract concept. What is courage, really? How does this idea translate into our reality? The answer, I submit, is that it doesn 't. Rather, it translates into our realities; for every human being, courage will mean something different, and all definitions are quite valid.

For example, it seems to be a common idea amongst the American people that our military embodies concepts such as courage, patriotism, and selflessness, and that our soldiers deserve a deep respect for their service. Someone more personally detached from the military might not be as inclined to agree with this idea as, say, someone who lives near a military area, or someone with family members in the military- however, the idea is still just as valid.

Another example might be Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner). Some might say that it took bravery to stand up in front of the whole country, if not the whole world, and publicize her transgender status the way

One more definition of courage (and the one with which I personally identify the most) could be the Apollo 11 mission- the mission that put a man on the moon for the first time. Rumor has it that scientists working at NASA didn 't even know what the moon 's surface 's composition was- meaning that it was entirely possible that the lander could sink into the surface as if it were quicksand. Regardless, those three astronauts- Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins- climbed into a tiny spacecraft atop a tremendous Saturn V rocket, not knowing for sure that they 'd ever set foot on the Earth again, and ended up making history. This- as well as both previous examples, and any that spring into the mind of anyone of whom you would ask the word 's definition- is true