Try It — You’ll Like It
Experiment with Your Life
Try It — You’ll Like It (but I hope not)
Years ago, I taught pre-school swimming classes for the YMCA. Each session ran eight weeks, and at the end of the session, the teachers took time to chat with the parents about how the little swimmer was doing.
I remember handing the swim “report” card to one mother. “Your daughter’s going to be a great little swimmer. She’s not afraid of the water, and she catches on quickly.”
The mother sighed and shook her head. “Darn it.”
“But she’s doing good,” I repeated.
“I know, but we are trying to find something she doesn’t like or isn’t good at. It would be so much easier if there were only a couple of things that interested her.”
“Ok, then. Ah. I look forward to seeing her in our next session.” I stumbled through those words. What does one say to a parent who is looking for things where the child won’t succeed?
Forty years ago, I wish I had had the words for that parent that I would have said today. “Great!” I’d tell her. “Let her explore her interests. Let her experiment. Let her learn what she likes and what she doesn’t. Let her learn what she is good at and what will take her more work. Let her try again even after she had told you two years earlier that she never wanted to THAT again.”
I taught and worked with parents and children for better than 35 years. In those year. I found that
Far too many parents want to limit their child’s interests.
Far too many parents push their own interests for the child.
Far too many parents ignore what actually interests their child.
NO?
Try these conversation excerpts from real students.
“Mrs. K. I know you cast me in the leading role, but I have to drop out. (Student looks down at the floor.) My mom doesn’t want me involved in the play. (I thought you’d be really good as Mrs. Johnson.) Yea, so did I. Maybe next year.”
“Mrs. K. My parents won’t drop me off Saturday morning for the speech meet. (But your partner is counting on you.) My mom says 4:00 is too early to be going somewhere on a Saturday morning. (But you and Eric have been practicing so hard. What is he supposed to do?) He can find someone to take my place. Someone else can learn my part.”
“Mrs. K. I made the team. (You don’t sound excited.) My dad expects me to get a basketball scholarship. (Wow.) It’s not that. I hate basketball.”
BUT, I first saw it on the deck of the pool that summer morning while I was still in college.
My parents had a different philosophy of raising me. They believed in the “let her try it” philosophy of raising children.
“Just TRY it” was, and still is, part of my philosophy of life.
Just TRY It: Mealtime
It really started with mealtime.
“If you don’t try it (what was on my plate for breakfast, lunch, or dinner), you’ll never know if you like it.”
There was no special meal for me if I didn’t like what Mom made. I ate what was served, or I didn’t eat. Don’t worry or feel sorry for me. I didn’t starve. I ate what was served.
When I had children, I followed the same philosophy, as I do now with my grandchildren.
When you aren’t coddled, you develop an open mind willing to try what life has to offer you.
Just TRY It: Education
When you have a parent who is a teacher, there is NO “I don’t like school,” “I don’t like my teacher,” or “I can’t do this.”
“I don’t like school” is met with the philosophy that learning is a life-long endeavor.
“I don’t like my teacher” or worse “My teacher doesn’t like me” is met with questions about what I was doing or what I wasn’t doing.
“I can’t do this” is met with the idea to try your best and hand in your effort. It was that response that found me with several pages of my poetry attempts to my seventh grade English teacher. It found me handing in my attempts at geometry to show what I didn’t understand.
Life-long learning opens up a world of opportunities.
Just TRY It: Activities
Growing up, I was lucky, I guess. My parents encouraged me to explore what interested me — within reason. #1. It had to be affordable, and #2. it couldn’t distract from my grades at school.
There was no “Don’t try it because you might hurt yourself” or “Oh, you won’t like that.” There was no “I’m not going to take you to (or pick you up) from that.” There was no “You’re not talented enough, you're not coordinated enough, you're not dedicated enough.”
There was only “Go ahead and try it. You might like it.”
Change is Inevitable
I find it interesting when people avoid an activity because of what their friends think.
I find it interesting when people fall prey to other people telling them they have no skill or talent.
We, as human beings, constantly change, grow, and develop from the day we are born until the day we die.
- Every new experience leads us to finding out more about ourselves.
- Every time we are trying something new, we stretch our limitations and expand our world.
As adults, we need to
- regain that childlike enthusiasm for living
- develop a drive to explore the world
- greet opportunity with an open mind.
How can you know if you like, or don’t like, something if you don’t try it?
How can you grow and develop into the well-rounded individual you are supposed to be if you gain a variety of experiences?
Where, as an adult, can you begin to experiment and experience life?
Your state’s MEETUP through the MEETUP website.
Check out your city’s groups on Facebook.
Community College courses for community enrichment.
Colleges and Universities that allow you to audit a course or take courses without being enrolled as a student.
Local businesses. We have a pottery painting story that hosts a ladies’s night after the store closes. Check out the local book store’s or library’s book discussion groups. Hobby Lobby holds classes as does Michael’s.
Check out books at your local library. Enroll in online classes. Listen to podcasts.
Try your hand at tennis or kayaking. Learn how to paint or throw pottery. Sit in on a class about ancient Rome or Greece. Join an exercise class or learn to dance.
Never stop experimenting with your life.
Rebecca (Becky) spent 34 years in a teaching career, but when she retired in 2014, she picked up her pen and pursued her passion to write. As a high school English teacher, Becky held the philosophy that she wouldn’t give any writing assignment that she personally wouldn’t or couldn’t do. That philosophy strengthened and broadened her own writing.
In addition to publishing her writing on various platforms, Becky also blogs at Life is for Living, a blog to encourage, motivate, and help others live the best life possible. As an extension of Life is for Living, she also publishes a weekly newsletter, Let’s Chat. (Check it out HERE.) Life is for Living also has a social media presence with the group Coffee on my Porch. (Check it out HERE.)
After teaching writing for 34 years, Becky began Ink & Keyboard, a blog for writers at all levels. She supplements what she writes on the blog with a subscription newsletter, The Writer’s Notebook (Check it out HERE.) and the social media group Ink & Keyboard (Check it out HERE.)
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