STEPPING OUTSIDE OF MY COMFORT ZONE

My family and friends will attest that I’m a very reluctant participant when it comes to sports. I was a competitive gymnast through high school (and briefly transitioned to cheerleading in college) but I’m always on the sidelines when it comes to playing paddle with friends or participating in our family touch football game on Thanksgiving. Will played tennis in college and has recently become obsessed with getting better at golf, and after a recent detour to the driving range together was actually way more fun than I’d anticipated, I decided to try my hand at tennis during our trip to the Dominican Republic. I know it’s ridiculous to admit that I was scared to try tennis (even just in front of Will) but I’ve convinced myself over the better part of twenty years that me and sports just don’t go hand in hand (kinda like cooking, amiright?).

design darling tennis at playa grande beach club

One of my favorite things about Will is his patience. Let’s just say opposites attract — while I get snappy about long lines or slow wifi, he’s happy to take the time to teach me about the stock market or to walk me through proper form for a backhand. And when I say he doesn’t mind taking pictures for my blog on the weekend, I mean the guy literally does it with a smile on his face, happy to be contributing to my career after spending the week working hard on his own.

tennis at playa grande beach club dominican republic

In any event, playing tennis with Will (also #34 on my 101 in 1001 list!) was my first attempt at the sport since high school and I was happy to have someone besides a gym teacher showing me the ropes. It also really helped that it was just the two of us and I wasn’t worried about embarrassing myself in a big group setting. I’m still terrible (you might have caught my swing-and-a-miss on Instagram stories over the weekend), but we had a lot of fun together and it reminded me how rewarding it is to try new things. It might take me a few more years to come around to touch football, but hey, baby steps!

playa grande beach club dominican republic

Have you stepped outside your comfort zone recently? Do tell!

P.S. I’m wearing this hat, these sunnies, an old t-shirt turned inside-out (#chic), these pleated shorts (also worn in yesterday’s post), and Superga sneakers. Not exactly regulation tennis attire but I figure I should learn to make contact with the ball before I invest in a new wardrobe. 😉

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