I used to be opinionated. Dogmatic, even. When I was younger, I voiced my beliefs loudly and rarely questioned where they came from. I didn’t examine why I felt the way I did — I simply repeated what I’d absorbed from the world around me. Not necessarily from my parents, but from the “village” that raised me: family, friends, teachers, books, television, religion, culture.
I thought I was thinking for myself. I wasn’t. I was echoing.
As I got older, something shifted. I began to realize that many of the opinions I’d once held so tightly weren’t actually mine — they were inherited. They were the product of the environments I grew up in, the ideals I was taught to admire, the narratives I was told were “right.”
One of the biggest examples of this was my stance on abortion. For years, I was steadfastly against it — not because I had deeply considered the issue, but because I had absorbed a picture of the “perfect family” where every child is wanted, every pregnancy is planned, and everything works out neatly.
But life isn’t neat. People aren’t neat. Reality isn’t neat.
As I grew, I met women whose lives didn’t fit the tidy narrative I’d been taught in school. I learned about children who were already here, already born, already suffering — unwanted, unsupported, unloved. And I realized that the world is far more complicated than the idealized version I once believed in.
So, I changed my mind. Quietly. Privately. Bravely.
I came to understand that safe, legal abortion isn’t about ideology — it’s about compassion, complexity, and acknowledging that life doesn’t always unfold the way we wish it would. It isn’t a perfect solution, but it is a necessary one.
And here’s the truth: The bravest thing I’ve ever done when no one was watching wasn’t forming a new opinion. It was letting go of an old one. It was allowing myself to grow intellectually, emotionally, morally — even when it meant admitting I had been wrong.
Changing your mind is brave. Admitting it out loud is braver.
After all, this is a “brave new world.” And the courage to evolve might be the most important bravery of all.
“Abortion is undeniably the taking of potential life. It is not pretty. It is not easy. And in a perfect world, it would not be necessary.”~ Dr. Barnett Slepian (October 21, 1946–October 23, 1998), shot and killed while making soup in his kitchen.
Cover image created with Jetpack. Today’s post inspired by the daily prompt: What’s the bravest thing you’ve done when no one else was watching?
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DISCLAIMER: These are my personal experiences and opinions. Nothing here is medical, nutritional, or therapeutic advice. Also, I’m a writer and an editor. And I try my best to make sure every post is articulate and free from errors. However, being that I edit my own work—and it’s next to impossible to properly edit your own work—I admit, occasionally there may be an error or two I miss. But doing so doesn’t make me an idiot so don’t be mean. Just smile, pat yourself on the back for finding an error and be glad you’re not the only one who makes mistakes sometimes … xoxox
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