On Christmas Eve Eve of 2011, I went to my (at the time) boyfriend's house for dinner and to exchange gifts. While I don't consider myself a very picky eater, I have never quite warmed up to the idea of fish.
This particular evening, my boyfriend's mother (a truly lovely and kind person) had made salmon and rice.
While she had made roast chicken on the off chance that salmon was not my forte, as she passed me the platter of pink and scales, all I could hear was decades of my mother uttering "just give it a try". I saw scenes of tentatively eating clam chowder in tiny spoonfuls and hiding scallops in paper napkins.
Regardless, I scooped a bite into my mouth, chewing slowly and swallowing before immediately reaching for my glass of water.
Well of course fish was going to taste "fishy" but how could anything possibly taste that "fishy"? It was the Atlantic Ocean and Sea World all in one bite! Careful not to show my cards (i.e. the oncoming panic), I quickly ate three more bites before digging into a pile of rice, neglecting the Salmon for the remainder of the meal.
What I am trying to say here is that yes, you should always try new things. You should always be pushing the boundaries of what your comfort zone in search of new adventures, friends, and interests, but much like my encounter with Salmon, it can be a one time only type of deal.
No one should be telling you that you have to commit 100% to each new thing you try. If that were the case, I would be the most miserable soccer playing, violinist this side of the Mississippi.
Maybe you try and fail but you come out with a new understanding of what you need in your life to make yourself happy. Failure may suck but it's great for bringing the negatives of your life to the forefront. That makes it so much easier to discard them and make your environment as positive and supportive as possible.
Who knows, you might even decide that you like salmon.
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