Flashback to when I was 11 years old, restless with excited energy: I had just entered a new school-- middle school-- and for the first time, I had the opportunity to join clubs with my friends. It seemed like the most exciting thing in the world, being able to join clubs; it was like I had the opportunity to redefine my life and fill it with fun. One of the most popular clubs at my school was Ski Club and most of my friends were joining. I wanted to spend time with them and do something fun, but I didn’t join Ski Club. Why? I didn’t know how to ski.

Pause! Let’s think about that for a moment. I didn’t join Ski Club, a club where lessons are required, because I didn’t know how to ski. I was nervous to learn something new; I had no idea if I would be any good at it. Even more intimidating than that, I was going to be surrounded by many people with experience that already knew how to ski-- people who were much better than me and would probably always be much better than me. I let my fear and hesitance hinder me from trying something that I could have ended up greatly enjoying. This, I believe, is a common mistake. Too frequently, we view something as impossible when realistically it would just be challenging. We view something as beyond our ability when really we should be viewing it as a learning opportunity.

Life is full of learning opportunities. They are everywhere we look: any sport we’ve never tried, any job we’ve never applied for, any class we’ve never taken, any hobby we’ve never picked up, any place we’ve never been to, any book we’ve never read, and any person we’ve never talked to each provide us with an opportunity to learn something new. The beautiful thing about learning is that the less familiar we are with a subject, the more we can learn from it. That is not to say that learning about something we’re already familiar with isn’t wholly exciting; it certainly is. But things that we know nothing about can be some of the most intriguing due to our lack of knowledge and the contrast between them and the things we are familiar with in life. We don’t need any previous knowledge to take a chance and try something new. The opportunities out there are endless. In a world where the countless choices are constantly swirling around us, take initiative: grab one and run; I can almost guarantee that life will feel refreshing and lovely after learning something new.

Life is truly a journey from beginning to end: we enter this world instantly and constantly absorbing new things, and we should take in all we can until our exit. There is no age when learning should halt; we’re never too old to pick something up! My hope as I go through my life is that I will gracefully discover new things that I enjoy doing that truly make me happy. No matter our age, we’re never too late, and we’re never too old.

So, flashback to my middle school self? Maybe I should have tried more new things. Maybe I should have taken a leap of faith and joined the Ski Club. Maybe I should have even fallen down some hills. And sure, you could argue that Ski Club is a fairly expensive activity to have gotten involved with, especially with no knowledge as to whether or not I would have liked it, but as bestselling author H. Jackson Brown, Jr. says, “Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity.”