The following post originally appeared on Skirt.com on September 8, 2011. Circumstances in my life and the lives of people I know have inspired me to share it again. Life is too short to leave blanks.

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I took my second test of the semester today.  As the instructor passed out the test, he reminded us all to answer every question.

“DO NOT LEAVE BLANKS.  Even if you do not know the answer, write something down.”

Just last week my Spanish instructor gave all the students the same advice, practically begging us to make sure something was written down so she could at least give partial credit.

“Even if you don’t know the answer, write something down.  Chances are you will be able to write something worth partial credit. DO NOT LEAVE BLANKS.”

Tests are not the only places where it is tempting to avoid trying rather than risk getting it wrong.  We are probably all guilty of leaving blanks in life.  We’ve been silent when we should have spoken.  We’ve stood by the side when we should have acted.  We’ve let experiences pass us by when we should have embraced them.  We’ve let something get in the way of writing down an important part of our life story.

Do not leave blanks.  Sometimes you will fail but more often you will succeed.  Sometimes you will say the wrong thing but more often you will find that your words are just what someone needs to hear.  Sometimes you will find yourself all muddled up and questioning where everything began to go wrong but more often you will think back on your adventures and smile even if they did not turn out as expected.

Write something.  Do something.  Say something.  Change something.  Try something.  Just do not leave blanks.