October 30, 2014 AFRAID TO MESS UP IN THE TALENT SHOW Today’s advice question comes from Jessica, who writes: My BFF and I are going to enter a talent show. We’re both good at gymnastics. The problem is I’m afraid that I’m going to mess up. Should I sign up? My Advice: Hi Jessica! YES, I think you should definitely sign up! For one thing, you mentioned that you’re both good at gymnastics. If you DON’T sign up, you’ll be responsible for giving your WHOLE school a nasty case of TD…talent deprivation! They’ll totally enjoy seeing how awesome you guys are. Do you really want to rob them of that? Sure, you might mess up, but that’s just one more reason why you should do this. No one is perfect, and we all mess up at times. As Zoey likes to say, quoting some super old proverb, “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” (Though in your case, you probably don’t want to fall seven times. Unless you wear a few layers of bubble wrap, that will SERIOUSLY hurt!) I know this probably doesn’t make it that much easier to deal with the nerves, and I’m sure it still feels a little terrifying to think about making a mistake in front of everybody. But think about it this way: what would YOU think if two girls in your class got up and did a really cool gymnastics routine? Would you be excited to see what they can do? Would you be impressed? And if their routine wasn’t 100% perfect, would you be glad you got to see it anyways? That’s how everyone else will feel about you! And you might do the whole thing flawlessly. You’ll only know if you push past your fear, pull out your pencil case, and put your name on that sign up sheet! I promise you, no matter what happens, you’ll be so proud of yourself! What do you guys think? Do you have any advice for Jessica?