Recently I saw a coffee mug asking, “If Failure Were Not an Option, What Would You Accomplish?” I spent some time pondering it and then realized--eureka!--I’d become an Olympic Ski Jumper.
Realistically, however, there are numerous problems with this, starting with the fact that there is no Women’s Olympic Ski Jumping team. And moving to the little detail that I haven’t skied in years, I get dizzy at high altitudes, and I won’t ride on a ski lift because, well, I’m afraid it’s going to stall out and leave me dangling for many hopeless and frostbit-laden hours. Oh, yeah, and I’m also past my Olympic “prime”.
So me as an Olympic Ski Jumper? Dream on.
The thing is, I do. For years, I have watched the Winter Olympics and embarrassed my family by sitting forward in my seat, my “skis” perfectly aligned on the carpet. Then I’ve taken off...soaring, soaring, soaring...until the moment is JUST right for the perfect and record-setting landing. Which results in a gold medal. Natch.
Last summer I visited the Innsbruck, Austria Olympic Ski Park, and wandered the grounds, my fantasies running wild. Here’s me, bravely approaching the railing, a whole fifteen or twenty rows from the ground.
But just so you know, in my mind, I was in the air and flying high...
How about you? If failure were not an option, what would you accomplish?
Tina
www.tinaferraro.com
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17 comments:
Filmmaking!! I make films anyway, but they're always "fun" and not to be taken "seriously." Check 'em out: http://potatoriot.com
What else, though... Oh, how about this: scientist with a cure for cancer. Is that too schmaltzy? I don't have a "science brain" but if failure were not an option, I'd have a brilliant mind and use it to change the world.
Okay, so now I'm going to sound like a superficial beyotch b/c of Alex's answer! But I always thought it would be great to be an actress~you know, besides all the stalkerazzi and all that. It seems like a fun life!
xo,
Steph
LOL, Steph! I loved Alex's answers, but thought the same thing, "Gee, I only thought of skiing while she wants to cure cancer". But there's no saying we can't want a bevy of things for ourselves and for the all, and being an actress sounds terrific to me, too. As does ending world hunger, you know?
Hi Tina,
I'm like you about ski lifts, but I'm afraid of getting off of them! My dream, besides the obvious of hitting the World Wide Bestseller list, would be to find a cure for wrinkles!
Janie
Hey, are you guys making fun of me?! jk. Science is a big one for me because i'm about to marry an astro-phsysicist--you'd have a complex, too!
I'll add clothing designer to my list. Fashion Week? HELLO! that would friggin' RULE!
No, no, Alex, not making fun of you--but of ourselves for not thinking global! And hey, too cool about marrying an astrophysicist! Did you know I'm married to a physicist, as well???
Definitely fashion designer. Or the CEO of LVMH. Or Gucci. Or Prada. Or, so long as we're still in fantasy la-la-land, I'd be a model so designers would fall at my knees, begging me to wear their clothes (in a world where being 5'2" and having a buddha belly was height of glamour, of course.)
I'd be a Broadway star! Heehee. Cliché, perhaps, but still fun! I've been practically raised on showtunes, and it's just been something I've always been interested in, but I don't have the acting to back up the singing.
Also... an astronaut! Haha. That was my dream job when I was a kid, but I hate math, so there goes that! Also I think technically I'm too short!
Great post, Tina!
Okay, this will probably sound weird, but I've always thought it'd be cool to be a back-up singer...I'd be one of three women in sleek, black dresses singing back-up to the stars. Even if I could sing (sigh), I wouldn't want to be the one up front--too much pressure! But a back-up singer...that'd be cool :-)
Natalie
Okay, this sounds really weird. Bizarre. But. I have this thing in my mind that I could have been a ballet dancer. And I still want to take it. I am forty, (okay sixty now that I quit smoking again)pounds overweight and a total clutz... but my body so wants to stretch like that.
Teri
That's really wild to see a ski slope SANS snow! Wow...
I think in another life, I was a famous, gourmet chef. I try to play one in this life -- to my husband and guests -- but there's something amazing about traveling the world, seeking out new food preparations, techniques and fusions and entertaining people's mouths with culinary creations.
Marley = )
Nadine, oh, yes, a designer and model sounds heavenly!
Lisa, a Broadway star! I wanted to be that as a kid, too...
Natalie, back-up singer, oh, yeah! In fact, I often sing the back-ground parts to my favorite songs (although don't ask me to find the true harmonies).
TJ, ballet dancer? Sounds heavenly! And when you're dancing, how about I play the harp as accompaniment because that's another of my dreams!
Marley, a chef. Okay, you know I don't share this passion, but I certainly see the appeal. And someday I'd love to sample your cooking!
Thanks, everyone, this was fun!
How funny that your married to a physicist too! I always felt so lame introducing us as: "I write teen novels, and he's a cosmic ray particle physicist." Hardly compatible! But at least we're not the only one's out there.
ps-just got my copy of "10 Uses..."
Can't wait to read!!!!!!
Yep, Alex, there's more than one of you out there! In fact, for years, we had this running joke that he didn't read my romances and I didn't read his research papers. But these days, he does read my books--but no way I'm reading HIS dry stuff! LOL. Hope you enjoy PROM DRESS!
I think I would have wanted to be something like a nurse. haha! Not very exciting, but I had a thought to become a respitory nurse because my mom has asthma. And they were always helping her and being kind when we went in. :) :) I thought I wouldn't have to deal so much with anything that dealt too much with blood, either!
Kelly, a nurse! I had no idea. (And for the record, Kelly has been my critique partner for the past 4 years, and I didn't think we had any Big Revelations left!) And with you about missing out on the blood...
What a fun post, Tina. There are so many things I would love to do. I guess one fantasy profession of mine is to be an Indian Jones-type archaeologist. Yes, I know this is a Hollywood invention, but I always loved the idea of discovering long lost treasures and bringing them out for the world to see.
I have a friend whose mom is an Egyptologist. Very cool lady...
Hugs,
Heather
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