do your best even if you have no idea what you’re doing

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my post today was inspired by my blogging/podcasting friend

Wynne Leon of Surprised By Joy –

https://wynneleon.com/2025/03/17/all-you-have-to-do-is-ask/

who wrote about her daughter finally getting into a class she was interested in, (glee club), and then wasn’t sure what it actually was, reminding me of my own experience in the arena of not knowing what I was getting into:

i was in high school and my best friend told me she was going to try out for our synchronized swimming team (that I didn’t even know we had). it sounded fun, looked easy, i’d seen it on tv, so i thought why not? i’ll give it a whirl.

the afternoon of the try out arrived and we jumped in the pool with everyone else, but as they went through some different moves and swim strokes, and the music began, it suddenly struck me:

 I had neglected to figure in two important factors before jumping in:

1. my friend was a great swimmer, strong, athletic, and had been on the swim team for many years
2. I was a terrible swimmer, did not enjoy it at all as an activity, hated being cold, and just loved to play in the water or float around on a raft

as you might imagine, it did not go so well. it involved some water swallowing and inhaling, burning eyes, lots of thrashing and water slapping, nothing that could be construed as graceful, something really, really far from water ballet, and some spinning and jumping. there were no coordinating moves with anyone else, i was just trying to survive. needless to say, i did not become a member of the club, luckily for me, (and all). but i did learn something that day. it never hurts to try new things, but it’s usually best to have an idea what you’re about to try before going off the deep end or you’ll soon find yourself underwater.

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‘I tried synchronized swimming, but felt, over time, i was just going through the motions.’

-dana gould