Journal Topic #1

5 Things I Wish I'd Done, But Was Too Scared To:

1. Tried out for Volleyball in Highschool. I was worried I wasn't good enough and that the uniform would cost too much money for my parents.

2. Taken a Martial Arts class with my dad. Didn't want to ask my parents to pay for it, could have covered some of the cost with my babysitting money, but I was too scared to ask... worried they would say no because they couldn't afford it and I didn't want to be disappointed.

3. Moved away for college. I had a job and my own apartment when I went to school, but I was afraid to move away for fear that I wouldn't be able to find another job that would pay enough for me to live on my own and go to school. I probably wouldn't have met David though if I had moved away, so that makes staying well worth it.

4. Dated more instead of that one loser for 6 years. Should have broken up with him the second I realized we didn't have much in common (which was one month after we started dating). After 2 years when I realized I really didn't love him or even like him much I kept dating him because I was scared I had invested too much of my youth into him (I was 20), I couldn't conceive of starting over. So we dated for 4 more years! I was beyond foolish.

5. Entered the art contest for the Rodeo in high school. I had just moved to Texas and had no idea what the Rodeo was. My art teacher kept insisting I enter but I was too scared I would draw the wrong thing. I didn't realize they gave $10,000+ scholarships to winners. I might not have won, but I should have at least tried. I did "letter" in art. Two of my pieces went to a state wide art contest and both of them won, so my school gave me a letterman jacket. My parents still have one of the paintings, they just discovered it in their garage and are planning on having it framed.

I hope to take these experiences to teach my children that most anything they try they won't be great at right away, but with practice they have the hope of becoming great at anything they set their mind to. It's also the reason I want to see through the following dreams:

1. Join a roller derby team
2. Start my own art website (when the kids are a bit older)