Getting My Brave On

This week in my photography class 

we have been focusing on bravery.

At first, I thought it was a strange subject

to be talking about in photography,

but the more I think about it,

the more sense it makes.

After all, photography is mainly about

preserving memories.

All kinds of memories.

"Capturing brave moments"

brings images to mind 

like a child jumping off a diving board for the first time,

or a picture of a fireman on 9-11.

Certainly those types of images do portray bravery,

but there are other faces of bravery all around 

just waiting to be captured.

This week, we were assigned to look at our past

 and think of a brave moment that we were a part of.

One that had been documented.

That was the hard part.....hmmm.

I've witnessed a lot of bravery in my lifetime,

been involved in a little of it myself,

but documenting it is a whole other story.

First off, as mentioned in a previous post,

I am usually behind the camera,

not in front of it.

But, there was one moment of bravery 

that came to mind.

It was from 6 months ago,

and was documented by Bob.

It's something that I haven't blogged about 

because I wanted the limelight to be on Brittany.

It was her day,

her special goal,

and her awesome accomplishment.

I was just along for the ride.

And it was a great ride.

I'm talking, of course,

about running the 1/2 marathon.

It wasn't so much about the actual day,

but more about the journey along the way.

I think for me, the greatest accomplishment,

and the thing that required the most courage

and commitment,

was the 9 months of training before the actual race.

Every time I set out to run,

I had this little voice inside my head 

that would whisper things like

"you're too old to do this",

"you don't have the time to train",

"you are too tired",

etc., etc.

I remember the last run before the race

feeling so overwhelmed with appreciation

to my body for carrying me on this journey.

It truly was an eye-opening moment for me

to realize that I could accomplish hard things,

that I'm not too old,

and that my body is still strong 

and responds to being pushed to the limit.

It may seem silly to count this as a brave moment,

but for me it was that and more.

Something I will never forget,

and forever be proud of.

Not in a boastful way,

but more of a thankful way.

Even now, as I replay it in my mind,

I get a little emotional

thinking about how it felt 

to accomplish such a huge goal.

And so, I leave you

 a little documentation 

of me (#730) crossing the finish line.

The smile on my face is there

mostly because "my person" (Bob)

was there to see me finish the race.

There's nothing like the support of loved ones

when you are attempting something so hard.

Thanks Bob for being there 

and for making sure it was forever documented.

And, thanks Britt

for dragging me along

and helping me feel strong.

Best running partner ever!!