Haz Valor

My brother lies over the ocean … in an airplane, that is, as he travels to Madrid, Spain where he will spend the next six months of his life. Getting there has already been an adventure with delayed flights, rearranged schedules and detours. And once he gets there he has the task of finding his way around, enrolling at the local university and finding a place to live. So the adventure isn’t about to stop any time soon. I’m proud of him because he’s knowingly seeking out the unknown, taking a chance and going on faith. That takes guts, and my family isn’t always full of them. We’re tough, that’s for sure, but we like our comforts, too. Still, every single one of us has gotten gutsy when the occasion warranted. Even me. Which leads me to a list of things that took guts for me to do. Whether some of the choices were stupid or not, is another matter. But I’m proud (in the good meaning of pride) of the following. Take that, Indian Jones.

Serving an LDS mission to El Salvador (2000-2002) – Granted, had I known the adventures and dangers and experiences that would greet me there, I might have found the closest eligible bachelor and married myself out of it. But luckily, I had no clue so I got to go somewhere and do something that took a whole lot of courage in every sense of the word. Sure, I saw a guy with a machete through his arm and 15 dead bodies (on separate occasions), ran from gang members, lived through 3 major earthquakes and got an appendectomy in the middle of nowhere. But I met some really cool people and changed some lives (mostly my own). So now when I want to chicken out of something, I remember El Salvador and I think, “I can do this.”

Going to Hawaii by myself (1999) – This is one of those experiences that might fall in the stupid category since I didn’t really have the money or the time to take a trip to Hawaii, but … I did it anyway. My friends all seemed gung-ho when we were talking about taking our own spring break, but when it came down to it, only I ever bought a plane ticket. So I went by myself, taking off 10 days from school right before finals. Luckily, my teachers were cool with it. And luckily, I managed to find a free place to stay on my first night there, despite that fact that I had made no prior arrangements. In fact, luck (otherwise known as divine intervention) played a huge role in my trip there. (Even when hitchhiking with a weird guy or making friends with a girl on the bus who turned out be a shoplifting lesbian.) It was a great trip and a great experience because it let me know that I have the freedom to go wherever I want, whenever I want and with whomever I want. Now, just knowing that is enough for me.

Becoming a lifeguard (1995-1999) – So this might not sound gutsy to someone else, but this is me. Prior to making the decision to become a lifeguard, I was an out-of-shape 15-year-old who hadn’t been swimming in years. I liked to lie out by the pool and play in the pool, but I could hardly remember how to “pick a cherry, put it in the basket.” (Sidestroke, for those who never took swimming lessons.) Still, I set my mind to it and began swimming for an hour after work every day. And yet, I still sucked. But I kept at it. And even though I was the worst person in my lifeguard training class at a feet-first entry, I was the first to get hired because I worked the hardest. That’s also why I made the most rescues, got quickly promoted to pool cleaner and became the youngest assistant manager in the City of Phoenix’s history. Today, I still love swimming. It takes me back to that motivated time in my life. It gives me guts and it makes me feel good.

Honorable Mentions:
• Telling my professor I wouldn’t watch a rated-R movie for his class even though all the other students did
• Moving to Evanston without ever visiting it first
• Sharing the LDS gospel with others (time and time again and yet it’s still a little scary)
• Giving my friend an ultimatum about our relationship, which led to something even better and eternal
• Cutting off almost all my hair (not entirely by choice) and keeping it like that for a long time
• Teaching Sunday School for adults at the church I grew up attending
• Letting my husband go to Utah for 10 days without me and then getting an a plane (after a brief bout with a flying phobia) by myself
• Being true self even when others don’t always approve or agree