I was told by a few friends before I departed that they really admired me for “being brave,” giving up the status quo and going on a walkabouts at my age. Backpacking is for folks in their early 20s, right?

I didn’t feel brave — well — because I wasn’t actually scared. My favourite definition of “bravery” is being scared but doing it anyway.

However, I need to clarify this statement a bit. In general, going abroad by myself on a one way ticket was not intimidating. This is not my first rodeo — in fact it’s my third.

But now that I’m actually here, I need to gather my courage for smaller daily things that others might find easy.

For example:

• asking a stranger at the grocery store about pricing of produce
• going to the gas station to fill up a gas can for the lawnmower
• driving someone else’s car in a foreign country

You may have your own list of what requires bravery. Everyone’s list is different and everyone gets scared, trust me.

But here’s the rub: You just have to do it. And once you do it, you realize that it was far less of a big deal than you’d made it out to be. And then you gain confidence in yourself, which in turn leads to taking bigger, braver steps. You grow in general as a human being.

Me, I’m just fumbling through the best I can as well. I have a terrible sense of direction, I’m shy, and I’m not always the most confident in unfamiliar situations. Pushing through this discomfort is not always fun.

But there’s a great sense of achievement when you can take a deep breath, raise your chin and just do it anyway. You got this.