Courage is agency

My eldest daughter, excuse my french, is as cool as f***.

Being a teenager is hard. Its always been hard. Being a teenage girl in this day and age is super hard. For all teenage girls, not just my daughter.

There are so many systems that inadvertently, but systematically nonetheless remove agency and as such authenticity from heart of growing up. Expectation on many levels - comparisons and tests from every part of society.

Add to that almost endless number of vectors for being horrible, without out impunity. Surely, growing up simply about finding out who you are, and finding your story in this slightly broken but fundamentally beautiful world?

So, my wonderful daughter realised this this week - agency is the antidote. Agency gives you the right to be who you are, unashamedly unapologetic. She set her boundaries like a champ, opened up her stall for business. She showed us all what tremendous courage looks like.

Children teach adults so much. If you’re stuck and are looking outward for something to help you move on, you’ll find it right where you are - in you’re heart.

The latin translation of courage is simply this: “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.”

You’ve made you’re old man immensely proud today Chloe.