The concept of bravery in itself amuses me as a person. If you ask me why it would definitely be the element of ambiguity. What may be bravery for me as a person may be something completely regular for you. The psychology student within me screams of cultural distinctions whenever it comes to dealing with subjective forms such as bravery. 

So to present my brave moment in a better context, I would like to tell a little about myself first. I have been cultural over academics person all throughout my school life. From organizing theme boards to choreographing dance performances, to hosting and coming up with games and activities, I have done it all. Basically, the stage has always been my comfort zone. With time the nature of activity changed, like for the first eight years of schooling, I was into dancing and for the rest of four, I had shifted towards anchoring and sequencing events. 

When school ended and college began, a lot had changed. For the first semester, I took some time to myself understand the innumerable amount of clubs and activities our college entailed and which one was best suited for me. By the next semester, I joined a theatre group and found myself in another comfort zone. My nature of the stage shifted once again. It was a street this time, and it preceded a social cause. When situations in college seemed to have fallen into place, an event changed everything. 

During the closing month of our first year, we got an invitation to a Media Studies (my department) Event which expected compulsory participation from all of us for attendance purposes. We all signed up for different events. I wanted to go for the easier one, buy myself more time to study, and hence opted for the personality event that required completing a written test for the first round. I was determined to perform poorly to ensure I don’t get through the second round and bag all the audience attendance. 

My plan clearly backfired when I realized that they found my responses humorous and thought I was a perfect candidate to be their finalist. I was not mentally prepared for what was to happen next. My mind jolted when I realized there were two more rounds which included speaking on the stage and responding to roasts by a professional comedian who was the judge. I tried backing out numerous times but was stopped by either my friends or family. 

The next morning was a difficult one. When I was backstage, it felt different. I realized that the stage was my comfort zone because I went with something prepared. This event on the contrary was completely spontaneous and required thinking on the feet, an element which I had never explored as an individual before. I was going to be on spot after two more performances when I witnessed something horrific. The contestant who was up then collapsed on the floor and started crying due to the humiliation caused in the round. I grew extremely anxious of the event during that point. I didn’t have much to think and the next thing I knew, I was on the stage. When the process began, I realized that they attack the weaker side of one’s personality and hence I started strategizing ways in which they could not learn more about me. I knew my plan was successful when I brought mental health on the table, and there was nothing the judge could respond with to put me in a bad light. In that very moment, I won control over my weaknesses, if not the competition. 

My greatest takeaway is that every day is not the same. The stage did not feel the same when I went up that day because there was a greater cause in play, my strengths, and my weaknesses. My brave moment was orchestrated by my fate and not my own will. However, I did end up learning a lot about myself in that process. Those 48 hours gave me the lesson of a lifetime.