Hold Fast

synonyms: to stay strong, do what is right, see it through, no surrender, stay true, continue to believe, this too shall pass, grit it out. HOLD FAST is a nautical term that orginates from the Dutch word “houd vast” which translates to “Hold Tight”.

By choosing to Hold Fast, it means both you and your adviser are in it together.

Physically the term Hold Fast means to bear down and fight through the storm. There is also an understanding among sailors that when on deck, you dedicate a hand for the ship and a hand for you. That means in order to help your crew you must make sure that you are taken care of. A ship needs every member in an emergency and if you are washed overboard you are no help to anyone. Because of that fact, you always secure on hand to the ship. Once you are secured and ready to take on the waves you can use the other hand to help yourself and crew. That working hand is used to ensure the ship and all of its crew will successfully make it through the storm.

Hold Fast, Be Responsible, Stay True and you will not only survive the storm; you will be stronger because of how you made it through.

Mentally the term means to continue to believe in or adhere to an idea or principle. Do not confuse that with being blindly stubborn to bad ideas and beliefs. It means to stand with your convictions, your truths, your gut, and your heart. Do not be swayed, intimidated, convinced or brainwashed by out sided forces to go against what you know is true.

We all face storms in our lives and it is during these storms that we realize what we are really made of. Do we run for shelter or do we face the storm and do what we need to do to protect the ones we love? Are we weak and listen to others or do we listen to our inner-self and do what we believe is right? Is it possible to HOLD FAST to our values, morals, and ethics? Do we stand our ground, make a stand and ride the storm out? Do we believe that we will be stronger if we make it through the right way. Can we Stay True to who we are?