Lessons I Have Learnt (1)

• Never go in the ball pool. They may look like great fun. But they're not. I used to work as a weekend receptionist at a kids play centre. I know how rarely those balls are cleaned. I've seen the stuff that somehow ends up in there. I have absolutely no desire to ever encounter a ball pit again.
• Never cut your own hair. My sister did this once. Admittedly it wasn't all her hair. She chopped a hairbraid out of it (one of those ones where they wrap coloured thread round the hair). She was left with a weird bit of hair that stuck up in the air. We called her 'spike' til it grew out. It took ages.
• Always take a chance. This I learned the hard way. I'm Little Miss Cautious. I never take risks, it could be boring, I usually say it's the safer option. But from watching other people take a chance and succeed or fail, make something happen, I wish I was braver. Of course there are some things you should never risk (your health, life or other people's), I just need to learn to take the chance more often.
• No is not a bad word. I used to be one of those people who wanted to please everyone. Maybe it's because I get quite shy around strangers, or that I find it hard to make new friends, but I'd always say yes to whatever boring task I was being asked to do. Too eager to please. I've found it doesn't really get you anywhere. Saying no won't get you into trouble, standing up for yourself is a good thing.