I was probably about 10 years old, and I lived in Ogden, Utah. My best friend in the whole world was Karie Hadley. Karie did all kinds of cool things, things I thought were great but really didn't care if I did them or not. She played all kinds of sports, had an after school paper route, could ride a ten speed bike, all kinds of stuff. She was so cool, and we were best friends. Most of the cool things I did were because I was with her. I did play on a soccer team for one season, I went skating with her, I accompanied her on her paper route sometimes, that kind of thing. (In all fairness, though, she did a lot of cool things by association with me, too. My parents did 4-H for us for a couple of years, meaning we learned how to do all kinds of things, including decorate cakes--which we entered in the fair and everything--and we went camping A LOT. We climbed the tree in my front yard and had a spot on the roof where we hid and talked). Anyway, she knew how to have fun, I was a big chicken. For years she had tried to get me to go on the roller coaster at Lagoon (Utah amusement park) but I refused. I just didn't see how something like that could possibly be fun. One of the cool things I did with Karie was go to the water slides. I remember there were 3 slides to choose from, ranging from the minnow (my style) to the barracuda (the one Karie always tried to get me to go on). I don't remember what the middle one was called, maybe the shark or something. The point is, one day after many failed attempts at getting me to go down the barracuda, she told me she'd give me a dollar if I did it. (Talk about peer pressure)! Well, I could definitely be bought, and although I thought I was going to die, I agreed. I oh so reluctantly went down the baracuda. And suddenly a whole new world opened to me. I realized how much I had been missing out on! I got my dollar, but she never had to bribe me again.
At that time in my life, the experience didn't teach me any profound lessons or anything, all it did was help me have more fun. But as I look back on that experience, I realize that there is a definite lesson there. In life there are many barracudas--things that may seem scary at first, but once you try them out you realize how much they can add to life, and how thankful you are for them. I guess the point is, we shouldn't be afraid to take risks. We should be smart about the risks we take, for sure. But sometimes you've just gotta throw caution to the wind--get out of your comfort zone and look beyond your daily patterns. And maybe, just maybe, you'll discover new things about life and about yourself. There are sure to be baracudas out there that, upon trying, will prove to be undesirable. But at least then you know. And they are worth all the barracudas of life that become amazing, eye opening discoveries.
