Every morning I run through Franklin.  Franklin is a lovely suburb that has an abundance of wooded paths to explore; it is an ideal place to run.  With Halloween imminent, many families have already begun decorating.  There are cleverly carved pumpkins, bales of hay, stalks of corn, and, as of Thursday, on a bench on Franklin Road, there is even a life-size stuffed Frankenstein.  I did not know said mannequin had been placed on this bench, so when I ran past and noticed him, I was startled.  Of course, I soon realized he was simply a Halloween prop, but initially, I was terrified.  Maybe 300 yards past Frankenstein’s post is a very large hill.  Typically, I turn down the street before the hill, and avoid the strenuous climb.  On Thursday however, adrenaline coursing through my veins from my run-in with Frankenstein, I began to consider charging up it.  At first, I was afraid of “the man on the bench,” but soon realized how silly that fear was.  Would the hill be the same?  I decided to go for it and find out.  I huffed and puffed up the hill, and as I sprinted down the other side (okay, let me stop giving myself so much credit; it wasn’t really a conscientious sprint, it was more of a “nature is forcing my legs to move faster as it thrusts me down this hill and provides me with a hearty helping of momentum” sprint), a familiar question popped into my mind: What Would You Do If You Were Not Afraid?

As humans, we fear many things.  Failure, public speaking, loneliness, spiders – our fears are unique, but the fact that we allow them to hold us back is not.  Think of all of the wonderful things that can happen if we forget fear and charge ahead.  The idea of Challenge Detroit came to its founder, Doyle Mosher, literally in a dream.  Years later, it is no longer just an idea, but a thriving program, a social movement, really, that is revitalizing one of America’s greatest cities every single day.  But what if Mr. Mosher had succumb to his fears?  Early on, he was worried about funding.  He was apprehensive that not many people would apply.  He was scared that young people would be too enamored with other thriving big cities to move to Detroit.  Instead of allowing these fears to demolish his dream, he persevered.  He worked tirelessly to orchestrate every detail of launching Challenge Detroit, and, just last week, he celebrated the successful kickoff of the program’s second year.

Last Thursday, I conquered my fear of my Franklin hill.  As the Thursdays pass during my year as a fellow, I hope to squelch my other fears in favor of chasing my dreams.

What about you, What Would You Do If You Were Not Afraid?  Would you ask that cute girl in your apartment out to dinner?  Would you schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss taking on more responsibility?  Would you finally start putting together your business plan for your start up idea in Detroit?  Whatever it is – just do it, I dare you.

Here we are – the Second Class of Challenge Detroit Fellows, the embodiment of Mr. Mosher’s dream