As a child, I hated peanut butter. My brother would always go for peanut butter sandwiches, while I would always go for vegemite. Despite this knowing that I never liked the taste or texture of peanut butter, I would always give it a try every month or so, to the same result: I don’t like peanut butter. After a while of repeating this, I began really enjoying peanut butter, and would often choose a peanut butter sandwich instead of vegemite. This then progressed with me experimenting with the two together, making my now favourite snack sandwich: a vegemite, butter, and peanut butter sandwich (don’t knock it until you try it).

Following this, I have always held the mentality that I would try anything multiple times, regardless of whether I believe I like it or not. Doing this has made me try many things for the first time that I may not have otherwise and allowed me to retry and enjoy things I did not like when I was younger. Taste buds change, and quality changes between different tries, so you never know if that brussels sprout you tried when you were 11 is as bad as you remember (boiled brussels sprouts are still rancid, but baked or grilled might surprise you).

Growing up in a country Australian town, you converse with many people who have never had the desire to travel overseas. They have lived their life on the belief that Australia is the greatest country in the world and there is no reason why anyone would need to travel elsewhere. While I agree with the first point, I believe that anyone who can travel and experience the lives, culture, and food of other nations will do nothing but enrich their own lives further.

This mentality against things that aren’t the Australian norm holds for many things and this is what I have grown up with. My parents, for instance, did not try sushi until I was in my 20’s and got them some to try. The idea of “I will not eat raw fish” still holds, so sashimi is off the table, but not until their 50’s did they find out they enjoy sushi rolls. This rhetoric holds many young, country Australians from trying new things or travelling overseas.

I see the biggest regret that anyone has in their life is what they said no to, or never got the chance to do in the first place. Travel, try new food, try new experiences, but also, if the chance arises, retry the things that you may not have liked previously.

Abbie hated the beach growing up. She would always tell me that she hated the sand (my little Anakin), the wind, and trying to swim in the waves. As a result, we would very rarely go to the beach, and when we did, she would usually voice her distaste frequently. Then, a few years ago whilst on holiday at Coolangatta, something in her shifted. She had an urge to go to the beach early in the morning on our last day on vacation, and said she was going to approach it with a different attitude. So, we went for our early morning beach trip, swimming in the crystal clear water, which was a perfect temperature by the way, and laying on the sand for almost 2 hours. To this day if you ask her, she will site this as her favourite beach trip, and the one that changed her attitude towards going to the beach. Sometimes a change in attitude is all you need to really embrace a new experience for what it could be.

There are endless examples to pick from, but I implore you to try it yourself and make your own stories to back this. What is the worst that can happen… you still don’t like something, and your opinion is unchanged. So, try it…then try it again, even in baseball you’re given 3 tries before you need to get a hit.