With this year’s theme being Dare to Wander, we wanted to know what inspires our participants to be brave and overcome their fears. As their answers ring true to most of us and provide a roadmap of how we can all live more courageously, we extracted some of their notes below, for inspiration:

What does bravery mean to you?

Knowing and accepting myself.

Being honest to yourself and others.

Do your art as you feel and trust people will like it too.

Being aware and comfortable with your fears.

Quitting my job and going into the unknown.

Doing things you’ll know regret if missed, although they scare the shit out of you.

Did I tell you lately that I love you.

Falling off a bike, getting a nasty bruise in the middle of a full intersection and having the guts to still ride it afterwards.

Tell that thing nobody wants to hear about.

Get out of my head.

Continuous kindness.

Not worrying about what others think.

To believe, to fight for the dreams.

Showing up every time.

Try again, fail again, fail better.

Have a good cry and then DO IT.

Stay open, stay soft, stay raw.

Jump into the cold waters and start swimming, no matter what.

Facing the unknown.

Admitting you’re afraid and doing it.

To keep going when all hell breaks loose.

Loving someone.

Doing something new for the first time.

To keep going whatever happens.

Not having expectations.

Not feeling self-conscious in a room full of cool people.

Being responsible.

Being afraid.

Smile when it’s hard.

Pigeons.

Doing what I feel / Doing what I love.

To follow my own heart.

To accept the darkness within as the reflection of the light you bring.

Showing who you are to others.

Speaking out against oppression.

Try again.