It often seems bravery is a God-given instinct such as making the decision to take down an active shooter or saving someone from a burning house. But what sometimes we do not recognize is that bravery is most often apparent in situations that are not obvious. Situations like standing up to a bully, voicing your opinion, standing up for what’s right, and more simply to be brave enough to admit that you were wrong.

Bravery exists in many shapes, sizes and situations. However, being brave is never ever simple. I consider myself one of the strongest, most dedicated and hardworking women I know. But when it comes to standing up for myself to one particular bully I crumble. Part of me recognizes that this is just a temporary situation and there is no point in wasting my breath by standing up for myself. Rather, I should just play the “game” and let the bully think he’s winning. I start to wonder why… Why do I allow someone to abuse me in this way. I question why I let someone make my life more difficult, why I let this bully gossip about me, and why I let my quality of life suffer because of this bully. I discover the reason is because this bully plays a huge role in my life and my success as a person, so it’s risky to bite the hand that feeds you.

I am a very opinionated person, and usually have no problem voicing my opinion out-loud or in writing, and most of the time I have no fear of the repercussions. Part of me also understands that life is one big game, except in this game you only have one life and must play your cards right. So my current predicament lies within the realm of bravery. Do I risk all the marbles for what’s right? Or, do I keep quiet and let the bully win. This is a one million dollar question in which I cannot discover an answer.

I’ve seen people stand up to this bully in the past and fail miserably, like a complete crash and burn. One thing about bullies is that they can be very manipulative. However, in rock paper scissors bravery trumps being manipulative. And for reasons I cannot explain I plan on confronting my bully. I plan on entering full force, opinions and all, and releasing all the bravery that is contained within the limitless of my soul for god knows I’m sure going to need it.