She is better than the man I was.

She always has been.

And I have thought a great deal, since, about where her courage came from, because I did not teach it to her, not on purpose, not in any way I can point to.

I did not raise her to run toward danger; if anything, I raised her, carefully, to be safe, to be careful, to call for help — because I of all people knew what the world can do to a person, and I wanted her nowhere near it.

And yet, given the truest possible test, with no time to think and no one watching and every reason to protect herself, my daughter chose a stranger’s safety over her own without a flicker of hesitation.