Life is hard.

If it wasn’t, it would be boring, and being boring sucks.

In order to avoid slipping into the mundane and dreary bleakness of a bland lifestyle, you have to live on the edge, my friend. The wise Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Do one thing everyday that scares you.”

I’m not going to lie, I hate being scared.

I have never seen a scary movie. Why would I want those images in my brain?

I have never been to a haunted house. Why would I pay to get scared when I could be using that money to buy mint chip ice cream? Or chicken nuggets?

I don’t even read news articles that seem possibly violent, gory, or terrifying. Why would I have to think about stuff like that?

I don’t think Eleanor Roosevelt meant for me to watch that chain-email video where the ghost face pops up on the screen everyday. I think she meant that people need to take risks in life.

For example, argue with the teacher when you don’t agree with their opinion on the best type of cookie.

Send a risky text to your crush about how smoking hot they looked today.

Order the spicy salsa instead of regular.

Be adventurous, daring, and risky.

I was faced with something recently that scared me so badly, I couldn’t sleep for days. I went on a vacation over spring break with my friends’ family, but without my family. In order to go on this trip, I was required to fly home alone. When I first heard I would have to do that, I told my mom to cancel the ticket, that I couldn’t do it.

“What if I miss my connecting flight?”

“What if I pass out on the plane?”

“What if I get lost in the airport?”

What if what if what if.

But then, I pictured the warm sandy beach, the hot sunshine, the tropical coconut breeze, and decided that I wasn’t going to be a weenie. It was time for me to be a big girl, because I would eventually have to learn how to fly alone anyways, and my mom wasn’t always going to be glued to my side.

So I balled up, got on that damn airplane, and had the time of my life.

You only regret the chances you don’t take, and life isn’t for the faint hearted. Do something today that scares you.

Unless it’s that freaking email, just delete it and don’t forward it on for crying out loud.

Always, Maddie Rheinheimer