What does being brave mean to you?

So many things terrify me. I want to say woe is me all the time. Woe is me, I'm in Dallas now and I live alone. Woe is me I've been here for a year and a half and I don't have a bustling, every-night-of-the-week social life. But you know why I don't? I'm a coward! I'm not BRAVE.

I'm just the strangest person because once I get somewhere, I'm the most outgoing person you will meet. Once I have a friend around, or someone to talk to, I'm a social butterfly with a smile on my face and endless topics to talk to people about. But good lord am I the most terrified, shy, hesitant, self-conscious person that ever lived all the way up to the second before I get in a more comfortable situation. Sometimes it makes me feel like Taylor Swift, "Wait, you guys really like me? This is just so unexpected..." of course they like you, you're freaking superstar Taylor Swift and you're amazing. Stop being surprised!!! 

Why can't I remember that people will like me? Why can't I just get there. Getting there.... that's the hard part.  

What does being brave mean to me?

Being brave to me is simply getting there. Getting there is so hard to do. Getting to that event you were invited to blog about, getting to that meetup.com get together you read about and thought looked fun, getting to that sorority alum wine night that you've known about for weeks that has been sitting in your email inbox, getting to dinner or having a cocktail at a bar by yourself knowing that you'll be able to meet people when you simply get there. 

GETTING THERE. That is what brave means to me. 

I was always so shy in high school, and while most high school traits fade away as you age, I still see myself as this shy, self-conscious, loser nobody. I see myself as someone I haven't been in ten years! How crazy is that?! Nuts, I know. Taylor Swift level nuts... DUDE we all like you, quit with the charade. 

So I've put this reminder on a poster on my bar cart. My bar cart sits right next to my television, something I obviously will see often. Maybe the next time I settle on having a drink and staying in, I'll see this poster and instead decide to BE BRAVE. 

One thing I know works for me is when I tell everyone that I'm trying to make a change. Take my weight loss journey for example, this post was the changing point in my lifestyle, and I haven't looked back!

So from here on out, I'm going to #bebrave. When I get the guts to get there, I'm going to snap a picture on Instagram and use the hashtag #VTIMbebrave... So you guys will know that this was something I was petrified to do, but I did it anyway. I hope that anyone that is going through a similar journey will follow along, use that hashtag and be brave. Because if there is one thing I've learned about blogging, it's that support system we provide each other is the most incredible, uplifting and encouraging system a girl could have. So what do y'all say? Want to #BeBrave?