One Lesson of Life
Last week I wrote about the three lessons 2022 taught me. This week I decided to zoom out a little farther and ask myself one lesson I have learned overall, if I had to pick just one.
Something that was ingrained in me at an early age was…
Always get back in the saddle.
I grew up riding horses (omg so vulnerable to admit) but I was a cool horse girl not a regular horse girl. ~An anomaly~ if I may, anyways! I grew up riding horses which is why I process things a little slower. Kidding but I did fall off a lot. A lot. But no matter how hard the fall, I always got back in the saddle. Because my coach forced me to. Because I am strong and resilient. She taught me the importance of facing your fears head on. I rode horses from the age of 5 to 14 so, it’s safe to say this has been drilled into my DNA.
I think it’s the reason I am able to be a standup comedian. You aren’t always going to do well, but it’s delusion resilience and the ability to keep going that gets me back on stage over and over.
While I still have your attention, I would like to share a fun little story behind the photos of me falling.
At horse shows (equestrian competitions) there were always photographers. On this day, I was very excited for some action shots of me doing my thing. After each competition, I would run to the photography tents to look for my photos.. Nothing. Each round, I would go back and see other girls in my competitions getting photos, yet none of me. Finally it got to the jumping round. I went in to do my course and after about the 2nd or 3rd jump, my pony, Paul (yes, his name was Paul) had had enough so, instead of him going over the jump, he stopped short and I went over the jump without him. Embarrassing.
Adrenaline and shame (mostly shame) fuelled me to get up and run to go get Paul, who had wandered away. My coach came to help out. Before leaving, I jumped back in the saddle and was escorted out of the ring.
One week later we got an email with links to the photos of the show. I thought, well I never got any but I also never checked after I had fallen.. So I started clicking through the photos … a few pages in, I was stunned. Before my eyes were over 30 action shots of me eating absolute shit.
Every possible sequence was captured and then uploaded for everyone to see. My parents gathered around the computer in shock. We tried to have a good laugh and closed the screen and never thought about the pictures again. Or so I thought.
About 15 years go by and my grandfather passed away. When my dad went to help clean out his house he found these photos. Yes, THESE photos.
I asked my dad, HOW did Grandpa get these? He admitted to emailing the link over to him, not thinking anything of it. Turns out my grandpa was so enamored by the shots that he paid money to have them printed and shipped to his home. Truly, something else. Thank you Grandpa for saving the memories all those years ago so I could share them today and have a good laugh.
If you fall, I hope you get back up and can have a good laugh.
What else are we doing here?
XO!
Please comment your one life lesson if you had to pick just one.