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Why I entered the Pent and what I learned
Mar. 6th, 2008 10:44 amNow that I'm finally caught up on my sleep, I thought I'd post about why I entered the Pentathlon, and what I learned from the experience. Hopefully this will inspire others to attempt the feat next year and have a good time doing it.
Why I entered
I didn't enter the Pentathlon to win, but rather as a challenge to myself to explore areas that I wanted to get into but scared me silly. Really, it was all about overcoming the fear of new things. I did it for me.
I've always wanted to do woodwork, but have had a fear of cutting my fingers off with a saw. I've always wanted to do calligraphy, but due to a bad childhood experience with trying to learn it, thought it was impossible. But I was able to ask a friend for help with the woodworking and got over my fear of power tools, I also got to try some cool period techniques too. The calligraphy turned out to be a challenge to get up to my exacting standards, but its a difficult hand.
Due to some personal setbacks this Fall, I wasn't feeling that great about my ability to get things done. Research? Sure, but actually working on a project and finishing it? Not so much.
Having the focus of the Pentathlon helped me to buckle down and accomplish things. Yes, it was a bit of a stretch the last few days, but the whole experience really gave me a good kick in the pants and confidence that I could still get things done.
( What I learned behind the cut because it got really long )
Plans for next year
I'm already thinking about what I'm going to enter next year, and what areas of fear I'm going to tackle next. Not sure what its going to be, and the list might change over time, but it should be an interesting ride.
Why I entered
I didn't enter the Pentathlon to win, but rather as a challenge to myself to explore areas that I wanted to get into but scared me silly. Really, it was all about overcoming the fear of new things. I did it for me.
I've always wanted to do woodwork, but have had a fear of cutting my fingers off with a saw. I've always wanted to do calligraphy, but due to a bad childhood experience with trying to learn it, thought it was impossible. But I was able to ask a friend for help with the woodworking and got over my fear of power tools, I also got to try some cool period techniques too. The calligraphy turned out to be a challenge to get up to my exacting standards, but its a difficult hand.
Due to some personal setbacks this Fall, I wasn't feeling that great about my ability to get things done. Research? Sure, but actually working on a project and finishing it? Not so much.
Having the focus of the Pentathlon helped me to buckle down and accomplish things. Yes, it was a bit of a stretch the last few days, but the whole experience really gave me a good kick in the pants and confidence that I could still get things done.
( What I learned behind the cut because it got really long )
Plans for next year
I'm already thinking about what I'm going to enter next year, and what areas of fear I'm going to tackle next. Not sure what its going to be, and the list might change over time, but it should be an interesting ride.
