A brand new Year a brand new You

One week into the New Year I wonder how many have already given up on those New Year's resolutions they made figuring the new year would automatically bring a new you just because the calendar changed.  With the New Year new beginnings have begun in my life.  I am discovering things about myself I never would have thought possible.

I have discovered that I can be many things that I never thought viable.  I had my first brewing class over the weekend. I am learning to make homemade beer. Now I don't care for beer, but I figured that was about as far out of my comfort zone that I could get without going completely off the grid.  I discovered I loved learning about brewing.  The smell of the wheat as it seeped, the smell of the malts boiling.  The feel of that golden liquid as it poured into a holding tank for fermenting.

As I carefully drove home trying hard not to spill all my hard work I discovered that by stepping outside my normal boundaries and taking a walk on the wild side I felt very alive.  I had tried something new and I had succeeded.  I won't be able to sample my first batch for 30 days but it was fun. I cannot wait to do it again.  I also discovered that Beer comes in all kinds of flavors and that the amount of cook time can actually create a beer that has a chocolate flavor. Who knew?

I also discovered that I am far more capable than I ever would have imagined with a little guidance from a pro.  I got to meet some new people who I never would have met had I stuck to my normal boring routine.  I got to do something I never would have tried if I had not taken my own advice.

Sometimes it takes stepping outside those very high walls we create around our lives to find something we truly enjoy.  Sometimes it takes taking a walk on the wild side to bring out our inner Goddess and allow our creativity to bloom.  Doing something that we never would have considered or thought we would enjoy in order to learn something new about ourselves.

I hope that everyone enjoyed their weekend and hopefully others learned something about themselves this weekend. If you didn't then you need to do something out of your comfort zone. Do something you never would have considered before. You never know if you will or won't enjoy it unless you try it at least once.  I used to have a saying "I try everything once, twice if I was to drunk to remember it or I liked it".

I did my first brew class on 3 hours sleep because I was so excited I couldn't sleep the night before.  I did the brewing in a garage where it was COLD.  And I am not a huge fan of the cold, but to be honest it was exhilarating.  My teacher went into detail about the different kinds of beers and how they are created.  He explained it from both a historical point as well as a chemistry class.  I got to play with a centrifuge that was used to mix up the yeast.  I felt like I was back in chemistry class in high school only this time I enjoyed it.

I met a wonderful lady who it turned out I had a lot in common with. We found ourselves talking every free moment we had and learning from each other. This was her second brew and my first.  I plan on returning and eventually making the investment in my own equipment to be able to do it at home.  But in the meantime I will enjoy the comradary I found in the brewing class.

I also got to see a blacksmith class, I want to try that too. It looked fun heating the metal in a furnace then beating it with a hammer until it yields to your ideas and becomes a thing of art.  The girl who was doing that class was making a bottle opener. Who knew you could create art with such a simple appliance.

I have been telling others they needed to try new things in order to discover where their passions lie.  I will never open a micro brewery but the idea of making something for myself to share with friends and to master excites me on a whole new level.

I chose a simple recipe that was inexpensive to create in hopes if I messed it up I wouldn't be laying out a lot of money in supplies.  But I am already dreaming of the other brews I can try to create.  Brewing is a combination of math, chemistry and cooking.  It is following a recipe but using your own creativity to create something to enjoy.

Now I know that brewing isn't for everyone and many people who don't enjoy beer or have someone in their life who enjoys beer are probably going what exactly is the point of this blog.  The answer is easy, never assume you won't enjoy something simply because you might not personally enjoy the end product.  You can always give away the end product, but the experience itself may teach you something about yourself.

I found that succeeding on brewing my first batch gave me a sense of accomplishment and pride I didn't anticipate.  I found that having an end product to take home with me filled me with pride for a job well done.  If you aren't into beer how about a pottery class or a knitting class?  Something that is outside your normal boring boundaries.  Just take a walk on the wild side and do something completely unexpected.

You never know what the end result may be.  You might discover something about yourself that you never knew.  You might discover you hate it and never want to try it again.  But in the end you will be one step closer to finding the real you. The one that got lost in the shuffle of life.

So with the beginning of the second week of this new year I want everyone to promise themselves they will do something new. Something exciting and different that they would never have tried before.  It doesn't have to be drastic or expensive, there are to entirely many free classes offered you can check into.  I don't care if it is cooking, knitting, brewing, or even stained glass. Do something different.

Step outside your comfort zone and find the real you just waiting to be discovered.  How can you say you would never enjoy it if you don't take a chance and try it first.  When we were kids we often turned our noses up on foods that we never wanted to try but our parents kept at us until we finally took a taste and many times we discovered they weren't near as nasty or disgusting as we thought.

Life is a lot like that.  As children those around us encouraged us to try new things.  Our parents, our teachers, our friends. Where would we all be if we had never tried something new. We would all be still eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or worst fish sticks.

Life is a buffet but if all you are eating is the salad you missing out on a smorgasbord of taste.  There are so many things just waiting to be explored. There are new tastes, and smells, and textures just waiting to be experienced.  Never rule something out until you have taken the time to at least give it a shot.

I hope my blog today gave you something to consider and something to think about. I hope everyone takes that challenge to takes a walk on the wild side and do something so completely out of character that those around you begin to wonder if you have lost your mind.  Make life interesting and it can be fun.  Never settle for hum drum when you can have the entire orchestra playing for you.

Until Tomorrow my blogging buddies, be safe, be sane, and be happy.