It can be debatable as to what takes "courage" and what doesn't! When I think of courage I think of someone being able to face up to a problem, their problem even, and to be able to share your real feelings, even if you do not always like those feelings.
I think that to be intimate takes a whole lot more "courage" than the kind of "courage," say that heroes show in movies, as that is without self-acceptance.
To express your feelings is not the same as breaking down in front of someone else, it's being able to accept and be true to the the feelings you have in your own heart, whatever it may say.
I think that you know who you really are when you have the courage to be intimate, as you are willing to let other's see that. It is scary as when you finally do, it makes you feel very vulnerable. People know your deepest feelings, and then you are totally open to rejection!
In spite of the risks; being rejected and getting hurt, the courage to actually be honest and intimate opens the way to self-discovery. It clears all that tension that you feel when you are uncertain, and gives you many more choices as you now know what is in front of you. But most of all it offers what we all want, the promise of love.
As long as you are always honest and open about your true feelings, there is nothing to be afraid of!