by HOPE KIM
STAFF WRITER
I wasn’t always a whistler. That’s right, I used to be someone whose abilities were hindered by my own doubts. I grew up young and naive. For years, I tried and failed to whistle, always overshadowed by the whistling prowess of my peers. I didn’t want to admit that I was jealous, and that feeling was eating away at me more each day. I used excuses, telling myself that whistling wasn’t in my genes and that I could never learn.
I practiced in secret until, eventually, I gave up. My powers lay in waiting, year after year. But now, I am a master whistler; it turns out it was always in my heart. Things changed. I changed. I tried to whistle and failed, but I refused to accept defeat. I practiced for eons, slowly growing my arsenal of whistle power.
Finally, after centuries of persistence, I whistled for the first time last month. I have never felt more joy in my entire existence on this mortal plane than when I first discovered my innate ability to whistle. In the weeks that have followed, I have honed my powers even further. I dedicated myself to the art of whistling, practicing morning, noon, and night for every second that I could. My journey challenged me, especially because I learned how to whistle by inhaling, not by exhaling.
To this day, I can’t whistle the “normal” way. The haters frequently try to hold me back, but in the wise words of JoJo Siwa: “Won’t let the haters get their way. I’mma come back like a boomerang.” I know my journey to whistling is deeply inspiring, but what’s the moral? Well, it’s so simple I could laugh (hahaha)! My message for you readers is that you, too, can whistle. In fact, you can do anything.
Through the long and tedious process of becoming the best whistler in the world, I learned many lessons. Most importantly, I achieved the ultimate knowledge that everything and anything is a learnable skill. People put so many limitations on their own capabilities, which harms society as a whole. By the way, when I say anything is a learnable skill, I mean anything. Don’t think you can perform surgery? You don’t know until you try it!
I suggest everyone should go out right now and just go for it. The haters will try to tell you that you can’t do it, and that you “don’t have the necessary qualifications to operate on another human being.” But never let the haters tell you what you can or can’t do. If I can whistle, you can do anything. So please, go out there and try everything. If you are one of the billions in this world who think they can’t whistle because of genetics, then just try whistling anyway. You might surprise yourself. Never be afraid to become the person you want to be. Never back down and never give up. Today, all of you readers should make a promise to yourself to actively commit to changing your life for the better. Go out right now and do that surgery, fly that airplane, and most important… whistle!
The Mainsheet 