VIEWPOINT

From page A4

been. Sure, I’m happy where I ended up, but now I wonder what I’m missing out on in the future by being afraid failing at something new.

I guess it’s just not wanting to step outside of my comfort zone. If you’re looking for someone fearless, it’s not me… but I do know a girl.

A few years ago, there was this animated movie that came out called “Zootopia,” a nice enough family-friendly flick about animals that acted like humans, with their little city and such.

One of the characters in the movie was a rock star gazelle voiced by Shakira. Her big song in the movie was called “Try Everything.” It’s an upbeat little ditty with a chorus that goes, “I won’t give up.

No, I won’t give in till I reach the end… And then I’ll start again. No, I won’t leave. I want to try everything. I want to try even though I could fail.”

That’s a great message, and it reminds me of my daughter. A while back, my wife shared a picture of her getting out of the car to go to school. She was wearing her school backpack on her back, her softball backpack on her chest, she was carrying her baritone in her left hand and her guitar in her right hand. Also, she had a little tote around her shoulder over her shoulder containing a change of clothes and her tennis gear, because she decided, God knows why, to take up tennis and made the Blue Devil tennis team this year..

She literally wants to try everything. And no, she’s not always a success. In fact, success isn’t even always the goal. She just wants to try. Maybe she’ll be good at it, maybe she’ll be bad, but she’s definitely not going to be left wondering what might have been.

Golf, the piano, cooking, fishing… pole vaulting! Whatever you’re doing, she wants to give it a shot. There have been some misses (like the pottery wheel…) but that’s not important.

After all, like Wayne Gretzky once opined, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

So, don’t be afraid to fail.

What’s the saying? “If you reach for the stars, you’ll land on a cloud.” Sounds comfy!