Working on the Bag of Courage with my dad has been lots of fun. I mean, choosing logos, colors, bags and working on videos and doing a photo shoot are all my thing. But, I know he had another goal in mind when he started talking about this project and his plan is kind of working.
Being Aware of Your Surroundings is Critical
My dad is ultra -observant. No really, when we drive through our neighborhood, he is always looking out for suspicious people. He has the local community hotline as a favorite on his phone. And, then we go for walks, he points out all the different things other walkers should be carrying or doing or not-doing to be safe. When we watch a movie or the news, he always stops to talk to me about how only I can be be responsible for my personal well-being and safety. He says that they go hand in hand. First of all, being aware of my surroundings, picking good friends, taking steps to protect myself, and making good decisions is a lifestyle of bravery.
I have to be honest, being responsible, is sometimes a little hard because we all want to fit in and be accepted. It’s difficult to be the odd woman out. But, after really doing the math and watching story after story about young women being scarred, it kind of makes me want to try harder.
I think our “Bag of Courage “ is the a great gift for graduating high school students and college students. Not just because it has some great college safety tools all put together in a cool box, it’s more than that. It’s starting a conversation with your daughter about the dangers out in the world. I used to think that my parents “no” was because they didn’t trust me. I’m starting to really get that “no” means they love me. As frustrated as I get, every conversation is not about trust, it’s about me taking care of me.
Click Here for Free College Safety Checklist (Downloadable PDF)
We have a lot of great ideas to get young women like me to be pretty focused about our safety. Like us on Facebook or Follow Us on Instagram for daily courage, new stuff and reminders that being brave is in the mind. You feel me?
Fellow brave girl in the works,
Nat