Over at RevGalBlogPals, Singing Owl writes: I am at a life-changing juncture. I do not know which way I will go, but I have been thinking about the times, people and events that changed my life (for good or ill) in significant ways. For today's Friday Five, share with us five "fork-in-the-road" events, or persons, or choices. And how did life change after these forks in the road?
1. My choice to skip most of the 6th grade, which ultimately meant I graduated from high school at 16, affected so many more elements of my life that it's impossible to calculate. It wasn't easy, especially from the social standpoint. But it shaped me in so many ways... for example, if I hadn't been on track to graduate early, I wouldn't have encountered my future husband the summer before my senior year!
2. College is an easy one. Had I gone to a state school, I wouldn't have had student loans to pay off when I graduated, but I also wouldn't have several of the friendships I cherish today.
3. Buying our house. It's amazing how where you live affects your life's pattern; if we'd bought a house even half a mile away from this one, life could very well have been totally different.
4. Getting fired from a job that I wouldn't admit I hated. I was incredibly angry, hurt, and scared at the time, but it opened up amazing possibilities -- for starters, rescuing a certain stray puppy, and getting a new job that paid 40% more than the one I'd lost.
5. Visiting Church A first, even though Church B is closer to our house. I'm not sure why, but we decided to try them in alphabetical order. We never left Church A to try Church B. And a year after starting that new, higher-paying job, I walked away from it to work part-time for Church A (confusing the living daylights out of my sweet husband). It was the beginning of discerning my calling to full-time lay ministry.
12 comments:
Some tough choices there seem to have led you in the right direction!
I have some forks in the same pattern as yours! I imagine this will prove true for many of us. I also graduated early from high school, and was also fired (asked to resign) from a job. And you're absolutely right about how a place/location impacts life. Ah, choices...
Very cool. I can relate to a number of these.
Excellent play. Those are important forks - all of them!
Courageous you. Good play.
So, do you live closer to First UMC or Holy Covenant? I wish you were at HCUMC -- but for selfish reasons that probably wouldn't fit you. =)
And I keep meaning to ask you when you were at Governors School. One of my best friends was there, too.
Getting fired turned out to be a good thing. Isn't that the way life can be, the hard stuff sometimes turns out to be the most beneficial? Thanks for playing!
My husband skipped a grade too; had he not done so, we would never have met all those years later. Great play. (Word verification is tonituna. I thought that was supposed to be charlituna?)
Isn't it amazing when you start thinking about those "if we'd done this instaed of...." God's hand is so clear in it all, yes?
It was fun to read about another person like my daughter who skipped a high school grade. She's done amazing things, just as you are.
Interesting how the hard choices give way to the good things in life. We're praying for daughter #1 as she starts college -- in a private school -- with fears of her loan. But it is her dream and passion...
Anyway - I enjoyed this.
enjoyed your play. sometimes I think everybody should get to skip 6th grade--it can be such painful year, whether in middle school or at the end of elementary school. I taught sixth graders for a couple of years, and absolutely loved them...but it was rough for some!
Interesting forks, all of them!
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