"Don't let fear keep you quiet. You have a voice, so use it; speak up, raise your hands, shout your answers, make yourself heard. Whatever it takes, just find your voice, and when you do; fill the damn silence."-Meredith Grey (Greys Anatomy)

There's something about the concept of fear that makes us humans shut down. We think fear is bad. Fear is terrifying. Fear is not knowing.

I used to think fear was something that controlled me, not the other way around.

To me it is being afraid of the outcome; the constant what if's and maybes. Your quickened beating heart is always there to remind you it exists, or the sweating palms, or bad dreams.

We are all afraid of things. We all have fears. Some are big and some are small. Sometimes the fear haunts you at night, or is just a little pesty bug that flies around your head once in a while. Either way, they exist.

Fear can be a good thing. I know, weird right? Who would ever think that?

You'll realize that you meet people in your life that let those fears escape that grave you have been prone to bury them in, sometimes by just saying hello. You're no longer the fear inside you, you're you.

I've always been afraid to a certain extent to get myself out there. I'm scared to bring up topics that should be talked about in case someone may judge me. I'm scared to go to places where people may make a judgement out of the way I look. The thing is, I think we all are.

Lately, I've realized that it's okay to be scared sometimes. But we need to remind ourselves that being scared may mean you are about to do something really brave. Whether that is standing front of a crowd supporting that the world needs to be more aware of sexual assault or mental health awareness. Whether that is telling the person you care about deeply that you love them for the first time, or if it's going to your first day of college classes.

I've realized Meredith Grey was right. Fear shouldn't shut you down and it sure as hell shouldn't keep you quiet. It should wake you up.