Last week in Culinary Camp, the campers would start out their day with a “Daily Foodie Challenge,” which was usually some weird food they had never heard of or never tried before. One of the rules of the camp was “You must try at least one bite of everything (assuming you didn’t have any allergies).” That rule kind of forced the kids into trying the foods, that way they could make a judgment on whether or not they liked it AFTER they had tried it. The first day I was with them, the Daily Foodie Challenge was Wasabi Peas. The second day was dried young coconut. We also did a chocolate tasting on the first day I was with them where we ate all kind of chocolate, including cacao nibs, cocoa powder, white, milk, and dark chocolate. Understandably, most kids did not like the nibs or the powder as those are both without any other sugars and very bitter.

This small example can also be used on a larger scale. Life is about taking chances and risking it. I’ve seen a quote that says, “Life begins the moment you step outside of your comfort zone.” That is so true. You can spend your whole life in a shell, being comfortable with what you know and never trying anything new. However, in my opinion, that is not living. There’s so much to experience in this world that spending your life with what you’re comfortable with is like being handed a cookie and only eating some of the chocolate chips. Yeah, it’s good, but you miss out on things that could make it so much better.

Now, I get if there are genuine things that you’re afraid of. That’s fine. Everyone has some sort of fears or things they’re not comfortable with. For me, I’m not a huge fan of snakes and alligators. Because of that, I have no desire to have them as pets or anything (though I have held a giant snake before…). While that is a slightly out there example, I think you get my point. I’m not going to let alligators stop me from going to Florida or any other place.

Most of the time, I’m a very calculated person. I like knowing the outcomes before I take the risk; and honestly, there have been times that has hurt me more than helped me. This is something I’ve been learning myself.

When I found out I would be a full-blown counselor for Eco-Explorers Camp last week, I was so nervous. I knew the age range went up to 13, which is only five years younger than me. Obviously, I’m short, and while I get told that I look older than my age, I know that compared to the rest of the staff, I look a lot younger. I was so worried that I was going to have older kids who wouldn’t listen to me as a counselor because I wouldn’t be that much older than them. I worried about it all weekend, and by the time Monday rolled around, I was prepared for the worst. However, I was given an incredible group of kids who listened to me pretty well and did what I told them to. I had so much fun the three days I was with them that Culinary Camp (which I was most excited for of all the camps I was working) wasn’t as fun to me as Eco-Explorers.

Being a counselor was new for me. I have a friend who is working a summer camp in Georgia, and she was in the same boat. I’ve talked to her a few times this summer, and she’s told me that it wasn’t anything like she expected or prepared for; but she’s enjoying it so much more than she planned.

There are so many new things. College is a new thing. Sure, it’s still classes, but they’re all different and just the experience is different than anything in high school. Any new job is a new thing.

I’m currently in the process of redoing/updating my room, and it continually blows me away how different it looks now. It’s the same room with most of the same furniture and the same coat of paint, but it looks so much different than it used to. It’s a new thing for me. My room has looked the same for years. And now, it doesn’t. I was tired of it, so I took a risk, and it paid off. (When it’s all done, I plan on doing a post about it because it looks incredible!)

I know this post is a little shorter, but I’ve said what I wanted to. I want to challenge you to try a new thing. It could be something as simple as getting water at lunch instead of a soda, or changing the way you take to work. Or it could be something much more difficult as finding a job you really love or redoing your room for example. But try something new this week. Take the risk. If it pays off, great! Continue to do it. If not, now you know not to do that again. The risk is worth the outcome, no matter if it’s positive or negative.