Brave, Kind, Resilient

Throughout the last year, there have been moments where I was brave, kind, and/or resilient. I think that my bravest moment was being able to move to a foreign country alone. As a teenager with protective parents and who’s independence often felt limited like dog on a leash, the idea itself was unfathomable to not just to my parents but to me as well. It took a long of strength and resilience to slowly convince my immigrant parents that even though it was a decision different than what they or my classmates would’ve chosen, it was the right one for me. On top of that, it took immense amounts of bravery to believe in myself and feel secure in choosing a different path. Trusting myself was scary but it paid off. As for kindness, I definitely feel like I’ve shown acts of kindness during my journey, both big and small. Whether it was using whatever broken Italian I could to help the couples on the street that stopped me asking for directions or opening up to others and listening to their stories, their passions, and the steps they had taken to meet me at that exact moment, my ability to be kind grew, as did I. Possibly my greatest act of kindness, though, was being able to offer myself forgiveness and be okay with the mistakes I made on the way, because believe me there were many. Making the mistakes I did has made me feel stronger in the end. Many of my main failures were in relation to the uncertainties of covid effecting the plans I had originally set. Many places that I had originally decided to volunteer cut down volunteers or completely shut down just as I was set to begin, thus delaying the official start to my gap year, and making me feel like I was failing. However, with each closed door, I felt more and more able to adapt to my circumstances and bounce back even stronger. With every failure, an amazing new opportunity came and now on the other side, I’m so glad they happened.