Hi, I’m Ilia Jones, licensed professional counselor in Suwanee, Georgia. And I want to talk to you about being brave or being resilient. These two words are really positive attributes that people use to describe somebody that has gone through something scary or something very difficult and have come out of it on the other side. However, when we are going through something scary or very difficult, we tend to think that because we are struggling or because we feel bad, that we are not brave or resilient. However, these words are only said about people *after they have finished going through the difficult part. Anybody that’s been brave has felt fear and has had a hard time getting through something. Otherwise, it was just being reckless or being a thrill seeker or being adventurous. Anybody that is resilient has gone through something difficult. But while they were in the middle of it, they might have felt very depressed, very helpless, and really struggled. But when you get through it, then everybody recognizes that it was brave and that it was resilient. So don’t judge yourself harshly if you are struggling with something scary or difficult right now. Let’s see how it plays out. And let’s see if maybe at the end you will feel like you were brave and you are resilient and you are very powerful.