Be Brave Enough to Be Willing to Fall

By Hannah

Ever since I can remember I have been far from graceful on my feet.  I have fallen and picked myself up more times than I can count. Because of that, one might think that I’m an expert, but I’m not.  My constant struggle with physical balance is both literal and a metaphor for so many other things in life. Each stumble, each fall is a reminder that life is uncertain and that me and my body are fallible.  Falling is scary and it can hurt, so being willing to fall is a hard thing to do.

Recently both my body and the universe have been throwing a lot at me and if I was afraid to fall I wouldn’t be able to move forward.  Trusting that my leg will swing through and catch me with my next step is not any different than believing that hard work, preparation and training will take you where you want to go. They both make perfect sense but they both seem very unlikely at random times. Despite the fear of falling, in order to get ahead you have to put yourself out there, even if it’s just one foot at a time or you may never know the strength you have.

Just about a month ago Team A.W.E. participated in an extraordinary event.  We were part of the TedxCrestmoorPark in Denver. The event was about community and breaking boundaries and we were given 15 minutes to speak. We were all comfortable speaking on our own in front of groups of various sizes; but this was a whole new ballgame.  We had to prepare and execute a speech as a team while making a positive impact on the people listening. Being relative perfectionists, in the days leading up to the speech we were unsure and we could have taken the easy route and done something we were more familiar with, but that’s not the kind of people we are. We were out of our comfort zones and at times it was difficult, frustrating, time consuming...

…and so WORTH IT!!

We were the final speakers of the night so we had listened to all the amazing stories of the strong people who spoke before us and knew we had big shoes to fill. 

We got up there, presented ourselves and our speech about as well as we could have, and in return we were given a standing ovation! It was unbelievable and beyond our expectations! We had taken a risk and put ourselves out there and it paid off!! We met many beautiful and motivated people, earned respect as speakers and individuals, renewed our spirits and opened doors to continue to grow as a team. 

Being brave enough to fall really meant that we were brave enough to succeed.