strong

–adjective

1.	having, showing, or able to exert great bodily or muscular power; physically vigorous or robust: a strong boy.

2.	accompanied or delivered by great physical, mechanical, etc., power or force: a strong handshake; With one strong blow the machine stamped out a fender.

3.	mentally powerful or vigorous: He may be old, but his mind is still strong.

4.	especially able, competent, or powerful in a specific field or respect: She's very strong in mathematics. He's weak at bat, but he's a strong fielder.

5.	of great moral power, firmness, or courage: strong under temptation.

6.	powerful in influence, authority, resources, or means of prevailing or succeeding: a strong nation.

7.	aggressive; willful: a strong personality.

8.	of great force, effectiveness, potency, or cogency; compelling: strong reasons; strong arguments.

9.	clear and firm; loud: He has a strong voice.

10.	solid or stable; healthy; thriving: The banker predicted a strong economy.

11.	well-supplied or rich in something specific: a strong hand in trumps.

12.	having powerful means to resist attack, assault, or aggression: a strong fortress; a strong defense.

13.	able to resist strain, force, wear, etc.: strong walls; strong cloth.

14.	decisively unyielding; firm or uncompromising: She has strong views about the United Nations. He has a strong sense of duty.

15.	fervent; zealous; thoroughgoing: He's a strong Democrat.

16.	strenuous or energetic; vigorous: strong efforts.

17.	moving or acting with force or vigor: strong winds.

18.	distinct or marked; vivid, as impressions, resemblance or contrast: He bears a strong resemblance to his grandfather.

19.	intense, as light or color.

20.	having a large proportion of the effective or essential properties or ingredients; concentrated: strong tea.

21.	(of a beverage or food) containing much alcohol: strong drink; The fruitcake was too strong.

22.	having a high degree of flavor or odor: strong cheese; strong perfume.

23.	having an unpleasant or offensive flavor or odor, esp. in the process of decay: strong butter.

24.	of a designated number: Marines 20,000 strong.

25.	Commerce. characterized by steady or advancing prices: The market resumed its strong pace after yesterday's setback.

26.

Grammar. a. (of Germanic verbs) having vowel change in the root in inflected forms, as the English verbs sing, sang, sung; ride, rode, ridden. b. (of Germanic nouns and adjectives) inflected with endings that are generally distinctive of case, number, and gender, as German alter Mann “old man.” c. belonging to the morphophonemically less regular of two inflectional subtypes.

27.	(of a word or syllable) stressed.

Out of all the words on my list, this has always been my most difficult to embrace. I have always had a strong personality and while I was in the conservative church world, this was never encouraged or embraced. In my mind, it was always looked upon with shame. (Damn you Proverbs 31 for being misinterpreted and shaming towards vibrant, young women) And unfortunately, I never embraced it either.

It wasn't until Chicago that I fully began to understand that my strong-will isn't a bad thing. I'm a confident, strong-willed individual. And some people cannot handle it. It's only been in the last few years that I've been able to handle it. However, today, I'm going to embrace it and love it because Sheralee is right, this is a part of who I am.