Risk, Real Simple, and ‘Riting

I spent all last week off the blogging radar, partially because I was sick as a dog and partially because I was finishing my submission to my first essay contest. My Mom came across it in her Real Simple magazine, ripped it out, and convinced me that I should enter.

I’m still not sure why I agreed, because the topic was to finish the sentence, “I never thought I’d…”. The point was to write about a surprising risk, and I had a tough time wrapping my mind around what “risk” meant for me. I can’t say that I have ever climbed a mountain (other than a mountain of laundry) or went on a television show (other than the studio audience of the Price is Right).

But the more I thought about it, I realized that risk isn’t always a monumental shift. It could be the slightest move of a hand toward someone or finally looking someone in the eye to speak your mind. Small changes, sometimes unseen, but with far reaching results…a hug, a renewed respect, a change.

Well, that’s what I wrote about. A change in perspective, a risk of my personal comfort, and the ripples it caused in myself and those around me. It is probably not a winning essay, because it is a bit too theoretical, too abstract, not as clear and compelling as many of the other essays will be. But I have decided that I am okay with that, because one of the main reasons I started writing is to help me process, and this experience helped me do that.

Thanks Mom…for encouraging me to reach outside of my comfort zone and do something new…maybe I should take more risks, eh?

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad