National Brave Day (Sept. 22) is meant to shine a light on women who lift each other up, rescue each other and make each other brave.

The Sweetlife Women founded National Brave Day in 2017 in honor of their founder, Kaci Stewart. The goal of this day is to seek out tangible ways to encourage women to keep moving forward and be brave.

Sophomore and Elementary Education major Mariah Respondek said encouragement is one way that her friends pick her up in the times when she needs it the most.

“Women that are in your life encourage and lift you up during tough times and good times,” Respondek said. “Friends that are always there and consistently with you are the best kind of people to be around.”

Simple gestures of gratitude and encouragement come in many forms. Something as small as the retrieval of a cup of coffee could make all the difference during a hectic day.

Respondek said that she buys her friends coffee at the on-campus Starbucks when they are feeling down.

“Sometimes I’ll get them coffee when they are feeling down because all of my friends are coffee addicts,” Respondek said. “I also know that it brightens their day that much more.”

Small tokens of appreciation, such as buying a coffee, can be one of the many ways to express gratitude toward a struggling friend.

Freshman and Early Childhood Education major Sarah Black said that she will often compliment on her friends’ outfits in order to lift their spirit.

“I always tell my friends that their outfits look cute,” Black said. “Even if I wouldn’t wear that specific outfit, if they are having a bad day I will try to do anything in order to get them out of their funk.”

Senior and Mass Communications major Abbey Pepper spoke about what she was going to do in order to honor National Brave Day and spread the word of what the day is about.

“There has been a lot of tension at my job because we are going through a change of management so I will try to be a positive person instead of feeding into the negative atmosphere.”

Bringing a positive attitude to any environment can help uplift other people and bring joy into negative spaces.

Pepper also talked about her biggest inspiration and who she would be thinking of on National Brave Day.

“My mom is my biggest inspiration. She is one of the best people that I know and she did a lot on her own with college and other things,” Pepper said. “Even though she didn’t finish, she has worked herself up to where she is today through a lot of hard work and I hope to be like her.”

Encouragement through words, making little purchases, complimenting outfits, and letting your inspiration know how much they mean to you are all just little parts of what makes National Brave Day so special.

For more information, visit National Calendar Day.