D is for Dair

Dare...Dair...You get the picture.  Really. It's the little one on the right hand side with person in white and the beautiful trees in the background. That's me, not too long ago. Just after I got my braces off.

No, I'm not a teenager, though I had them as a teenager as well. No I didn't use invisible trays to fix them up. I had your standard run of the mill gray. Uncomfortable. Metal. That's what I did to fix them up. Why?  Well, the why is obvious. But you're probably wondering "Why now? At your age."

Because I like doing hard things.  No, I'm not crazy, I just enjoy living life and I'm not afraid to take risks to get what I want.

It all started back in high school. Well, long before that I'm sure, but that's when I really picked up speed.  I didn't intentionally do things just because they were hard (okay, sometimes I did. I hated being told what I could and couldn't do), but thought "What the heck," whenever I hit a roadblock. I guess I figured, what do I have to lose? Besides my pride.  But that's a good thing. A little humility sometimes goes a long way, and in the meantime you can discover a few undiscovered talents or interests.

For example: In 10th grade I tried out for the school play. Made call backs, but not finals. Promptly stomped my way out to where the track team was practicing and signed up. My brother followed me two weeks later. And every sibling after that.  They were much better runners than I was, or so I thought. My Mom called me a forerunner. A leader. And that many of my siblings would never have taken that step if not for me.

I ran, but not quite fast enough, so when coach said he needed a hurdler I decided, why not. I liked being unique and no one else was signing up. Then he needed a shot putter. And a high jumper. And, "Can you do all three at once?"

Heck! why not?

I went to CIF Prelims for hurdles my senior year.

On top of that I did...

Yearbook Staff.
Area Pageant.
Choir
Debate team
Writing competitions...

Each event pushed me harder than the previous one and challenged my personal fortitude.  To not be afraid of failure, or worry about the outcome.  Because doing nothing is easy and yet gets you nowhere.  Challenging yourself is hard, but reaps the biggest reward.

Like writing. Going back to school while raising a large family. Having a large family. But then, those are my dreams. The things I've dared myself to do. Because I think the outcome is worth it. What about you?

What have you dared yourself to dream? And what are you doing to make it happen?