That’s the question you always have to ask yourself when you say you want to do something–whether that something is writing a book or joining a color guard.
Older Daughter bailed on practice this past week at the last minute. Why? Because she was going out to dinner with a friend: "We’ve been trying to get the 5-8 Club for like a week." This is a friend she sees several times a week, so this was a good indication of her level of commitment to color guard. She says she wants to do the color guard (total newbie, like me), but I don’t think she wants it badly enough to make the commitment. Saying you want to do something isn’t enough. If your life is as full and busy as most of ours are, you have to think about what you’re willing to give up in order to make it happen.
I discovered that I’m willing to give up (or at least work through) some of my self-consciousness and practice across-the-floor exercises (dance stuff) along the edge of the gym, even when there are teens in there shooting hoops and I feel like a total fool. But it was hard. Totally against my nature.
Older Daughter has no problem with self-consciousness, and I’d have no problem giving up dinner out with a friend I see frequently. What’s painful to give up is different for each of us. And what we’re willing to give up is, too. I don’t think Older Daughter is willing to put the hours into color guard that it requires. And that’s totally ok! There’s no reason she has to do it! But, like with all big undertakings, you have to decide and commit one way or the other and then stick to it.
What are you committing to? And what will you have to give up to really go for it?