It’s the day every little girl dreams of.
“Do you, Derek, take Penelope to be your lawfully wedded wife.”
“I guess so.”
Wait…what…? Let’s try that again.
“Will you take Penelope, to have and to hold, until death do you part?”
“I’ll try.”
Okay…actually, this isn’t what little girls dream of at all. But, you know that sinking feeling you experienced after reading the italicized-for-effect text?
That’s the same, exact feeling that teachers all over the universe experience when students give these noncommittal responses.
Every. Day.
Okay, maybe the stakes are a tiny bit lower in piano lessons. But only a tiny bit.
Here’s an example.
Me: “Here’s this life-changing, amazing way to practice that will not only make you progress faster in piano, but will also bring unprecedented happiness to a multitude of other facets of your life. Will you try it this week?!?”
Student:Â “I’ll try.”
Me: …
And this is when I turn it over to my teaching assistant, Mrs. Lamb, for the rest of the lesson.
Just kidding.
She takes over just long enough for me to conceal my tears.
Mrs. Lamb is a puppet, by the way. Sorry…that probably got really weird there for a second if this is your first time hearing the reference.
Here is a YouTube playlist featuring Mrs. Lamb if you would like to go on a side adventure.
Back to the blog post…
“I’ll try…”
Translation:
​”I don’t want to say ‘yes’ for fear that I won’t be able to fulfill the commitment due to perceived physical or personal shortcomings.
Therefore, I will express the desire to please but leave an escape clause in the likely event that the aforementioned shortcomings come to pass.”
“I’ll try” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that probably served as the basis of the Terminator movies.
Let’s stop trying. Let’s start doing. It doesn’t have to be perfect. But just do the thing that might change your life, or the world.
Please!
The future of humanity may be at stake.
And…
Mrs. Lamb is getting worn out. We couldn’t afford puppet insurance.
