It all started innocently enough. I went to a bar that was having karaoke and a costume contest on Halloween. I went dressed to the nines and hoping to have some fun. I discovered that this was no ordinary karaoke. This was a live band, allowing for the full rock star experience. I got up and sang some classic Britney Spears (I'm trash, I know), and you know what? It was a blast. I found out that this particular band does karaoke at several bars throughout the week, and now unless I have something else going, Tuesday night is karaoke night. It's a nice way to break up the monotony of the week.
I generally sing a couple songs a night, but I also get to watch other people sing. There are regulars, people just there for a special occasion, all ages, all styles of music, and all levels of talent and training. One thing I noticed watching all these different performers: no one regrets doing karaoke. Even those that have to be dragged onto the stage or can't carry a tune in a bucket don't regret it. They may not wanna do it again, but they're all glad they did it. And I think I know at least part of the reason.
Karaoke is permission to fail.
Everyone expects karaoke to suck. Untrained random people singing songs they may not know very well and possibly battling stage fright are par for the course. Anything above that is a pleasant surprise. And, honestly, there is something freeing in doing something with permission to fail. There is nothing at stake here. No judges to hit buttons, no million-dollar recording contracts, just a bar and people of questionable sobriety who are just as bad as you. Sure you don't gain anything if you're good, but you don't lose anything if you fail either.
I'm a competitive person, I always want to be better, to stand out from the crowd, but karaoke brought to my attention how powerful the permission to fail can be. It shifts the focus from getting the approval of others to how the activity affects you internally. If there is nothing external to affirm you, why are you doing it? Is this honestly something you like? Does it teach you something? Does it help give you a sense of identity or self-awareness? Maybe this is just me overthinking things (as I tend to do), but hey, if anyone else benefits from my ramblings, that's great. If you haven't given yourself permission to fail in a while, find a place to do it, you might be surprised at what you find out. Try something new with almost no risk. you lose very little if you fail, you gain very little if you succeed. You only get what you get from the process without anyone saying that you should or shouldn't be doing it. I know our society values risk taking, but sometimes it's good to step back from that, recharge for the next risk.
Speaking of risk, I really risked failure with these scones. I scaled the recipe by 2/3 (why I put myself through that much math is beyond me), and in the process of making them, I discovered I was low on flour. Greeeeeeat. And the dough was dangerously liquid, so it needed extra flour. I put in what i had and managed to get them onto the baking sheet without turning into little puddles, and baked them. Thankfully they came out fine and were a great treat for my boss' birthday.
Aren't they cute? I found the sprinkles at JoAnn and couldn't resist
So, here's my recipe:
Sprinkles of Kim:
-Obviously I had to use slightly less flour than the recipe called for because I was almost out. Don't do this. It makes the batter have the consistency of taffy. Thankfully, these are a moist, cake-like scone and still taste fine with less flour.
-I used frozen fruit since blackberries and peaches are out of season
-I dyed the glaze purple and added the heart sprinkles to be festive.
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