“Nailed It!”, a Netflix reality show that showcases home bakers, who simply, cannot bake.
Even before I clicked the play button, I knew that this show would be life-changing. And no, I am not exaggerating.
Growing up, I have always enjoyed watching cooking shows on television. When my favorite show, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was not playing, I would immediately change the channel to 58-3, where my eyes would settle on and stay glued onto the chefs and bakers as they carefully placed their masterpiece onto beautiful dishes. That was my early childhood.
When I grew a little bit older, I resorted to watching cooking survival shows. I would often settle in for a relaxing episode of “MasterChef” with my bag of popcorn sitting right beside me. I would occasionally jump up and spill handfuls of popcorn at the screams of Gordon Ramsay.
At this point, you would expect me to say that I was greatly inspired by these shows and that my greatest passion is cooking. However, it is quite the contrary. I can’t cook. I can possibly cook a maximum of two dishes, and even then, the kitchen would be a complete mess and the food would receive an “Is this even edible?” commentary.
Therefore, the 2018 show, “Nailed It!” caught my attention immediately. As I watched the contestants struggle with the most basic steps of the recipe, I related to them. In fact, I was almost more impressed by some of their final products of desserts than by the applauded dishes from “MasterChef.” Moreover, I became motivated by the endless encouragements from the judges. Yes, some viewers of the show simply saw it as a complete joke and waste of time. Others, like many of my friends, enjoyed laughing at the drooping cakes and horrendous final products of these home bakers. However, I became inspired by the spirit of the show. Indeed, the judges were often horrified or amused at what the contestants created. I would be too if I were presented with a dilapidated shark-themed cake. However, in the very end of each episode, it ended with positive remarks, smiles and good spirit.
Up until now, my whole spiel about cooking shows was all to set up an analogy to the general high school environment. As I reflect back at my middle school and high school years, I realize that we have all been contestants of “MasterChef,” where we faced pressure, stress and occasional meltdowns. I have even touched upon how to deal with this stressful environment in my Issue No. 2 article, “A vaccine to prevent stress.” However, I would like to further encourage all of us to take breaks and participate in environments such as “Nailed It!”. It is okay to fail. We need to realize and acknowledge that we cannot be robots and create a perfect dish. Our dish can be plated beautifully, yet taste awful. Our dish can be the most delicious food anyone has produced, yet not look appetizing. Our dish can be completely perfect or completely terrible as well. However, we should embrace our final product in the end and instead of erasing our mistakes, we should build upon them to create a healthy life as students.
If we follow this recipe, I am positive that we will create a healthy school environment that we all strive to produce. We will truly nail it.
