Courage Definition

Courage In most stories, there is always the hero whom is not afraid to face challenges and defeat the bad guy. That hero is acting out of courage. They do whatever they can to save the day, regardless of what may happen to them. This is what most people think of when they hear the word courage, but to me, it is this and so, so much more. Courage is not knowing what the outcome might be, and still going through with that plan. Courage is standing up for what is right, regardless of what those consequences might be. Courage is daring, bravery, nerve, and valor. It’s facing your fears and conquering your demons. It’s the strength you have to keep going when you just want to give up. Courage is more than just physical bravery, it is something
that comes from within. Courage reminds me of the books I grew up reading where good always conquers evil. One series in particular, Harry Potter, comes to mind when I think of courage. I think of the Harry Potter series when I think of courage because there are so many characters in those books that exemplify what it truly means to be brave and courageous. Three characters come to mind when I think of courage in the last book in the series. The first character is Neville Longbottom. Throughout the series, readers watch his character grow from this shy young boy, into a man who stands up to the darkest wizard of all time. When everyone else was ready to give up, he spoke out against Voldemort saying he wouldn’t stop fighting. That took an immense amount of courage to do. The second character I think about when I think of courage is Severus Snape. Throughout the books he is portrayed as a dark and mysterious man, and readers are often led to believe he is evil up until the last book. In the Deathly Hallows, readers come to learn that Snape had been protecting Harry the entire time. Snape had been jeopardizing his own life to save Harry, knowing he might face a fatal death if he was ever caught being a double agent by Voldemort. This shows him as being courageous because he risked his life to save another man’s life. Last but not least, I think of Harry Potter when I think of courage. His entire character is comprised of him acting out of courage. Every book in the series has his character doing something courageous. He overcomes every obstacle thrown at him, and saves the wizarding world in the end. Though I do think of these things when I think of courage, there is more to courage than being the hero in a story. Acting impulsively takes courage.
When you don’t know what the outcome will be, and you still continue on with what you are doing, you are acting out of courage. Being courageous is going on an adventure, or being daring enough to try something new. Trying new foods takes courage, and so does making new friends. Courage is taking a chance every once in a while. Courage is taking a step forward and not knowing where you might end up. Courage is standing up for what you believe to be right and not caring about the consequences. It is taking a chance by facing opposition knowing you could be persecuted for it. Courage is acting in accordance with what you believe, despite what others say. Courage is having the integrity to stand your ground and keep fighting for what is right, though others run away. When I was a junior in high school, kids used to always pick on this kid names Alex for being special Ed. I had never paid much attention until one day I could actually hear them making fun of him. The worst part to me had been he didn’t even realize they were doing it. I ended up confronting them and the kids were so shocked that they had no idea how to respond. I stood up for this kid that I had never had a conversation with in my life because I felt it was the right thing to do. I didn’t care what would happen in return, I just wanted them to stop bullying the kid. The kids ended up leaving him alone and avoiding me, and I never saw them bully anyone after that. To me, that
took a great amount of courage because I knew there was a chance they would bully me afterword, but all that mattered was that I kept them from bullying Alex. In the first paragraph I chose the words bravery, daring, nerve, and valor to say what courage is.
Bravery to me is a willingness to face dangers that may come into your life without fear. In this way I feel courage and bravery can almost be synonymous. And one who has courage, or is brave, tends to be daring as well. To be daring is to be adventuresome, and to be daring is to also be bold. A daring person has the nerve to do the things others are too afraid to attempt. A daring person also has valor. Valor also goes hand in hand with courage because it is what enables a person to face a challenge or danger in their life with a firmness. All of these words relate to courage because a courageous person encompasses these things within them as
well. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is facing your fears. Most people opt to take the easy way out, running away. But those people who face their fears head on, and conquer them, are courageous. They overcame something that frightened them, and that is never an easy thing to do. It is one thing to be fearless, and another to overcome a fear. If a person is fearless, there is no courage present in the first place. Courage is facing your inner demon and not backing down. Courage is strength. Courage is standing up to your enemies, and standing up to your friends. Courage is the ability to admit you are wrong, and ask what the right answer is. Courage is talking to a new person even though you have social anxiety. Courage is the fight within us that keeps us pushing past our fears, and enables us to overcome them and learn from them. It is moving forward, passing through the pit stops in your life, overcoming the obstacles, taking those chances while you still have them. Courage is knowing you made mistakes and learning from them. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquering of it. Courage is having fears and anxiety pushing past them to better yourself. Courage is what gives us the strength to keep going when we just want to give up. It is the fight we have imbedded in us to overcome anything that gets in our way. It is something that comes from within us and it is part of what makes us who we are. Courage is what keeps us going. It takes courage to keep moving forward when life gets rough, and it takes courage to take chances in life. Most things in life require us to be courageous at some point or another. For some people it takes courage to ask a girl on a date, for others, it’s as easy as snapping their fingers. Courage is different for every person.
When I think of courage, I think of a little kid who is going to their first day of school. They are usually terrified and don’t want to leave their mom, but they do. And that takes courage.