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Art by Maude Ovize

Just Jump...

There’s a moment from childhood I keep returning to: standing at the edge of a 3-meter diving board, toes curled over the edge, my friends watching from below, and strangers waiting behind me. I knew I could jump. I wanted to jump. But I froze.

That invisible wall, the one between knowing you can do something and actually doing it, usually crumbles after the second or third attempt. Soon enough, you’re jumping without a second thought, forgetting you feared it in the first place.

I’ve come to believe that this moment encapsulates a truth that applies to almost everything in life: the first time is terrifying. The second time is manageable. The third time is routine. (more or less)

I felt that same springboard anxiety years later when I accepted my first paid job as a styling assistant. I had assisted on countless shoots for free, proved myself, showed up, and did the work. But now that someone was paying me? My brain decided this was an entirely different profession. I was a beginner all over again.

It wasn’t, of course. The job went well. The next few paid gigs felt normal. The fear faded. Just like on that diving board.

What I want to say with this is that fear isn’t always a reflection of our actual ability. Sometimes it’s just our brain’s reaction to unfamiliar territory, even if the terrain is something we already know how to navigate.

Right now, I’m standing at the edge again. I have a story idea—something I believe in, something that feels like it could work. But starting still feels overwhelming. There’s no trick to bypass it. No shortcut.

Just the conscious decision to jump. And trust that, eventually, jumping won’t feel scary anymore.