Calculated risks
What constitutes being a chicken? Does going the safe route when you could be trying out a new, untested route make you a full-blown chicken? Or just a slight chicken? Or not a chicken, but a good example of someone who looks before she leaps? I have spent my life playing it safe. It's worked out pretty well for me. People are always championing doing the reckless, doing the dangerous, living on the edge. That probably works for a lot of people, but I know I am not one of them. Emotionally, I'm not terribly stable. I have a short fuse. I used to get hurt pretty easily. I'm a pouter. I don't live life wholly on the sidelines, but neither am I careering down the fast lane. I like taking calculated risks. I go pretty much go with the tried and tested (though that's not a hard and fast rule, especially when it comes to snacks), whether it's an essay topic or someone to go to the movies with. Do taking calculated risks make me a chicken? Then, darn, dip me in batter and sell me to KFC.
Final thought: Cock-a-doodle-doo...oh, wait, that's a rooster.