But as far as meeting strangers go, I felt more comfortable talking to guys than I do with girls. I grew up with three older sisters, and I thought to myself, I don't really know what it's like to be a man.
So I volunteered to be part of the submarine community for the United States Navy. I dreamt of being stationed on fast attack submarines that go on badass missions in the Pacific coast, however, as far as dreams go, they're not real in the Navy. I was stationed in Washington to be part of the patrolling strategic deterrent that makes our government feel like they have all the Queen pieces in the underwater chess game.
My two hometown friends came to visit me from California, and we took a stroll all over town. I really loved the vibe of the flower market down at the pier, and I decided to playfully tell my best friend that I wanted to give flowers to a stranger.
She held me accountable by buying me a bouquet and told me to get on with it.
It was nerve wrecking.
I smiled, and I offered to give my flowers to random people, both men and women. Nobody wanted my flowers. They kept rejecting me, and it was almost hopeless until my friend pointed at a gal and told me to try giving my flowers to her.
I looked at her and I felt like the freshman Asian kid trying to ask the senior cheerleader to prom. I think I forgot my English for a sec while my brain was processing whether I should do this and how do I even go about doing it. (Mind you I lived in a submarine full of bromance and it's been a while since a pretty lady laid her gaze upon me)
I walked up to her and told her that I wanted to give my flowers to her to wish her a happy day. She smiled, and thanked me for the flowers. A few seconds of eye contact felt like minutes and then all of a sudden life just moved on.
I walked back to my friends standing a bit taller, like my mission accomplished. I did it. I stepped out of my comfort zone and my bravery leveled up.
Scary things when faced full on makes them less powerful the next time you decide to encounter it.
I decided to write my stories in a way that my memories are without timestamps. They are quite precious to me, and when I felt like writing about bravery, this story came up while I looked at my old photography. Writing this for you all made me feel the thrill and excitement of that memory like it just happened. I hope you all enjoy my little story about my step for courage :)
All photos were taken with my Nikon D60 :)
