“I Made A Left Turn Instead Of A Right Turn”: 30 Complete Accidents That Changed People’s Lives
For all the “magical thinking” that we as humans do on a daily basis, it’s actually possible to trace many, many major life events to the most random happenstance. Sometimes, the course of one’s entire life can be shifted by the tiniest decisions.
So one internet user wanted to hear from others what little, unplanned actions ended up having consequences far beyond what they may have expected. People share their stories, from happy to sad. So get comfortable as you scroll through and be sure to upvote the ones that resonated the most with you. If you have an experience that is similar, share it in the comments section below.
Image credits: NoFile9376
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I was planning to spend $2.49 on a breakfast sandwich and go home to do some chores. They had a 2 for $3 breakfast sandwich deal. I brought the 51 cent bonus sandwich to a homeless friend. He had a tiny stray puppy following him around and asked me to bring her to the shelter because he couldn't feed her and himself. She became my best friend for 13 1/2 years! I'll love you and miss you forever baby dog!!
The water main leading into the house burst, requiring the contractors to lay a new pipe from the street into the first floor. I had to clear everything out, and then go get jugged water to last a week for a family of 4.
I asked to take the afternoon off work so I could take care of this, and they said it would be a writeup for unexcused absence. This pissed me off to no end because I had recouped hundreds of thousands of dollars that my predecessor had lost, and generally unfucked their processes. Not really intending to quit, I rage applied to jobs just to blow off steam and landed a new job with a $30,000 pay boost, WFH, and complete schedule flexibility.
I went in on my day off work thinking I had a shift that day , I didn’t but they were short staffed for the lunch rush so I stayed for a few hours . I ran into my childhood friend who moved away 15 years prior .. we are now married with kids
Was meeting up with work friend on my day off, she was just finishing up her shift (in a hotel) and asked me to go into the bar next door to the restaurant and ask the guys sitting at the bar (who were from the UK) if they still fancied meeting us at another bar in town. They did and I still am thankful every day as one of the guys sitting there is now my hubby. 26 years and 2 wonderful children later, we're still together. Thank you Debbie, from the bottom of my heart!!
I made a left turn instead of a right turn when I noticed restaurant I liked had closed. I reopened it and 35 years later we are still going strong. It's not especially heartwarming but it changed my life as well as my wife, my kids and 28 employees lives.
Not my life but my neighbors..
From 7-13 I consumed and played football religiously with my neighbor, james (he was 2 yrs younger). On a random day at 13, a couple of us neighbor kids were camped out on the sidewalk waiting for James to finish dinner.
James dad was always a weird kind of guy, from my recollection of him, and I don't think he had a job at the time.
Either way, we're camped out waiting for his dinner to pass and his dad comes out. Walks up to us, (3 boys) and starts going into a rant about us leaving his property and that James wouldn't be out after dinner.
Being the little d**k I could be, I let him know this was a public sidewalk.
Just like that, he plucked me off my bike while fully choking me, drags me up the driveway, hoists me higher into the air, by my throat, pressed up against a truck in his garage. He mumbles some words to me, which I dont recall, then heaves me into his driveway like a guy throwing a bale of hay.
Obviously I go home, tell parents, they call the cops and about 4 hrs later that night at about 10, they literally cuff that guy in front of my window and haul him away.
James mom, files for divorce, and marries a strength coach at a big time college. I lose touch with the kid as my parents also divorce shortly after and I move.That coach ends up putting James on a program for lifting, drills and such and he ends up being the most prolific running back and lineback to ever walk the halls of his HS. He goes on to being the most prolific linebacker to ever play for his div 1 college (one of the best defenses in the country), and then goes pro.
Kid went straight to the top after the incident with his dad assaulting me. Good kid, totally deserved everything he ever accomplished.
James if you see this, you're the f*****g man.
I was 10 and my mother had passed away from cancer 3 years prior so I was living with my drug addict father for those three years. We had moved to so many different places and I switched school so many times I lost count. The last place i lived with him was this above garage apartment in a s**t hole town that we rented from some 80 year old lady. Because I had no real oversight at that age I pretty much did whatever I wanted. I would stay out till the early mornings ridding my bike and hanging with friends in some very shady parts of town. I would regularly shop lift from stores. I was the definition of a feral child who gave no f***s about anything. My living situation was terrible, no food and clothes that didn't fit me because we had no money to buy new ones. I was going to school and failing all my classes and so behind. I would regularly show up to class whenever I felt like it or sometimes not at all. My morning routine for class was wake up when I felt like it, ride my bike across town and stop by a grocery store and just walk around eating food from the bakery then leaving.
My dad was full blown strung out on crack and owed everyone money even local drug dealers who would show up at all times of the day and night. They would bang on the door screaming for my dad and I would have to answer for him saying he was at work or out doing stuff. At this time I didn't really have any immediate family to rely on except my older brother who at the time, had no idea of my living conditions as he was in his early twenties. One morning I woke up from school on time for once, but had forgotten to switch my clothes over to the dryer. I switched them over and went back to sleep. Woke up around 10 am and as I was about to head to school I decided to leave out of the front door instead of the back door like I normally did. I never used the front door because I worried some drug dealer would be standing there waiting and looking for my dad. Well for some reason or another I decided to use the front door and as soon as I opened the door it was local sheriff with two guys standing there.
I figured they were there due to truancy issues with school however come to find out, they were serving an eviction notice. Apparently my dad had been threating to harm this 80 year old lady and not paying rent. The sheriff asked for my dad and if she could come inside to which I said sure. She seen the state of our house and myself and asked if there was a way to get ahold of my dad or a family member. The first person that came to mind was my older brother and he was there in half an hour after talking to he cop on the phone. He showed up and after never seeing where i lived took one look at me and said "get your stuff and put it in my truck, you're not staying with your dad anymore".
I felt the such an overwhelming joy of happiness when he said that and moved my s**t out of that house so fast . I went form having a U Haul full of stuff to two small card board boxes worth of belongings. I stayed with him for a few months till my moms sister was contacted and took custody of me. She did so much to change the course of my life. She put me into therapy, gave me a safe and normal home environment to live in and helped guide me through my teenage years into adult hood. Now I'm married with a wife and kid, stable six figure income, living overseas, and pretty damn happy. Its nice to not be so poor and wanting of things and its even better my own child doesn't have to experience what I did growing up.
Knocked on the wrong dorm room in college.A guy answered he asked if I was there for the card game I said “sure.” And ended up meeting an amazing girl. We’ve been together for 25 years
Went for a coffee with a friend before he went out to pitch a tv show in LA. He asked what I was up to and I mentioned the comic book I was planning to write. His pitch went well and the studio asked if he had any sci fi ideas. He pitched my idea and a month later I was in LA with a bunch of agents and managers wanting to sign me.
I was solo travelling to Peru at the end of 2019 and spent a week in Cusco doing a trek and visiting Machu Picchu. At the end of the trip, I had a 6 hour layover in Lima where a guy who I was practicing Spanish with met me at the airport so we could hang out in person.
We really hit it off and knew we wanted to be more than friends but circumstances (like living in two different countries) didn't make it possible. As I was getting ready to board my next flight to Mexico, security asked where my entrance stamp to Peru was.
I said it's in my passport of course. But it wasn't. I didn't have an entrance stamp into the country, therefore I couldn't leave the country.
So I called my Spanish practicing partner and told him the situation. He came back to the airport and we ended up spending 4 more days together because it was Friday and the immigration office was open Monday (for me to get my stamp) and then I was rescheduled to fly out Tuesday.
It was an amazing four days.
Long story short, we are now married almost 4 years later!
Working in a large state park as a guide/docent while finishing up my geology degree. Was only interested in science. Talking about rock types and tectonics and what not.
It got cold and windy FAST, and snow started coming down and soaking my clothes. I admittedly was not prepared, and ducked into a cabin I came across that I thought would be empty. It wasn’t. There was a historical interpreter doing traditional chair seat weaving in the cabin. Fire in the hearth and all. He said, “take your shoes off and stay a while.”
Let’s just say “multiple” years later, I own one of the most respected furniture restoration businesses in the state and specialize in antique Appalachian rockers. Visit the old man in the nursing home weekly. I go out to the cabin once a month or so to relax and demonstrate to passersby.
Took my shoes off and stayed a while.
P.S. Geology is still cool.
I almost became a geologist :( My college geology professor talked me out of it back in the 90s because he said “There are only two jobs for geologists these days… teach, or work for an oil company.” I got really disheartened and stopped pursuing geology as a career. I wish I had stuck with it >:( but I was young and believed my elders implicitly back in those days.
I got into some trouble while very, very drunk.
When I got sober I wrote a thank you note to someone who treated me really well and urged me to get help.
He was friends with the editor of the local newspaper and thought my letter was well written. He asked if he could show her and I said yes, then kinda forgot about it.
A few months later the editor came to find me to offer me a part time job filling in for someone.
I've been working in journalism ever since. The pay sucks but I love it.
I had major depression and anxiety and asked the universe for help. I said it should be walking distance from my home (since I couldn’t drive or take the bus because of my anxiety), it should be cheap because I’m poor and It should be Wednesday evenings because I work all other evenings. Next day I found a little poster in a grocery store that said : Buddhist meditation class, it was a 10 minutes walk from my home, only 5$, Wednesday evenings. I said f**k yeah and went. 16 years later I’m a Buddhist chaplain working in federal prisons, I give lectures all around the world and I’m completely free of depression and anxiety! To this day, I’m so grateful that I found this poster. Hope you find your poster that’s gonna change your life. You never know!
I accidentally logged into my ex-girlfriends Facebook on my PC only to see messages pop up with f**k plans with her co-workers.
The next morning I pretended I went to work, but I really went to Uhaul, then I waited for her to leave for work and then I packed all my stuff and I drove to my landlords and explained I'm paying my half of the remainder on the lease.
I had also printed out the FB conversations and left them in the kitchen.
6 years together to complete silence in less than 24 hours. Never spoke a word to each other.
That changed my life because it allowed me to take any job I wanted, nothing held me back. I can still feel the October air blowing on my face as I drove away in my Uhaul without a care.
It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.(Paraphrasing quote from Chuck Pahlaniuk)
Applied to, got into and accepted the completely wrong school. I had done all the research and taken tours of the campus of a school by a very similar name but ended up applying to the wrong one by accident. Never did end up applying to the first school I meant to apply to. It ended up being the best mistake of my life, met amazing people explored a part of the state I had never considered and got a degree from a program I wasn’t aware existed but was very engaging nonetheless.
It baffles me that someone applies to college without knowing exactly what field and what major they will be pursuing.
It would have helped me vastly to have had permission from society to go to college WITHOUT knowing
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My mum broke her arm and I moved in to help her...I was in a bad place in my life and we both think she saved ME...was doing way too many drugs etc now I'm actually happy :)
aw congrats you deserve a llama congrats hug * llama congrats hug*
I had a serious health scare with physical symptoms to the point that I believed I had developed cancer, so did my husband.
During the first week of doctors appts. he revealed his work affair with a 28-year-old colleague to me and ended our marriage over her.
Then I found out I don’t have cancer! Just something that can be repaired easily with minor surgery. Best day of my life, and he was with her when I got the news 😜
Right after, he actually used my medical situation to try to coax her away from her live-in partner at the time - so she ended their affair. They still work together every day. He looks deeply unhappy now.
I feel so healthy now, getting healthier every day, and I’m really excited for the next chapter in my life!
Dropped my phone from my bed onto the floor and the screen (with the protecter) COMPLETELY shattered. Which is weird because I’ve dropped my phone from bigger heights and bad angles and there’s usually just dents in the protecter.
Anyways, I’m out a phone and super broke, don’t have the $$$ to get it fixed right away. None of my friends have extra phones so I post on my then-company’s slack channel asking if anyone has a spare phone I can borrow, just for calls and texts, nothing fancy, and I’d be super grateful. Was also going through a terrible heartbreak where I’d been love bombed and then dropped in a second. Just an awful time.
So one person responds to my shot in the dark and offers this extra phone he has. I have no clue who he is or what he even does in the company, even though I have several friends in the company. We’d never met because we both worked remotely and no one ever mentioned him to me. Our departments were also very different so there was no interaction ever. I was also bit confused why he’d offer a phone to someone he didn’t even know. Thought he was too trusting lol.
Anyways, he couriers me the phone, I end up needing it for longer as I save up, and we finally meet up in person a few months later. Long story short, it’s been a couple years and he became my best friend and then my SO. For the first time in my life, I know what healthy, unconditional love is, he is the embodiment of love that keeps on giving. I grew up seeing an abusive marriage so my idea of love and relationships was completely skewed (still learning in progress). But with him, my heart’s calm. He’s my biggest fan and my rock whenever the going gets tough. There’s no one like him. I don’t know anyone as generous in love as he is.
I remember that time and being absolutely gutted that not only had I got my heartbroken in the most miserable way but my phone freakishly completely broke from the shortest of falls, all in the matter of a week. I felt so unlucky for the longest time. But looking back now, I’m so so glad my phone broke that day (and my then-bf ghosted me). Or there was just no way I’d have ever met the love of my life.
i didn't sign up for enough optional courses in high school because nothing interested me. I By chance got put into Biology among several other options. and got an awesome teacher who made me love the subject. i constantly got really high grades that carried me all the way to university. now im getting into prehospital medical care. I have zero clue what i'd be doing if not for that little bit of luck back then.
Oh this! I ended up going to university because I was always good in school with not much effort (I don't mean to brag that I am vErY iNteLLigEnt, I just do well learning by the book so to speak) and I didn't know what else I should do. Also going to a world top 100 university costs you like 800 dollars a year where I live. I picked business administration and computer science pretty randomly, was doing projects for a company as a side job and ended up getting employed as a business analyst there. I absolutely love it and my team mates are truly amazing people.
My third child in April of this year at 20 months old began losing all of his abilities like walking, crawling, and even sitting up on his own in a matter of weeks and was diagnosed with a rare terminal genetic disease called krabbe disease. My wife and I had no evidence in either of our families to suggest that either of us could have been carriers of this disease, and both of our older children do not have it, so it completely blindsided us. My state of South Carolina did not test for krabbe disease when my son was born, just like 39 other states in the US, so it wasn't caught on a screening. If caught on a newborn screening, a stem cell transplant can allow the child to live a fairly normal life for many years before the disease takes over. It's very rare for children who already have symptoms to be eligible for a transplant, but miraculously, my son was in a gray area for the opportunity. We traveled 10 hours from home to Pittsburgh for the chance. They said with the transplant he would most likely lose all movement in his arms and legs and may not be able to breathe on his own, but without the transplant, he would most likely pass away by the end of the year. We had 24 hours to make the choice. We have been here for 5 months, away from work and our two daughters and family, and my son has gone through the transplant successfully and is recovering pretty well. He has defied all odds and can move his arms and legs and hold his head up fairly well. We are hoping he can get into a clinical trial going on right now for gene therapy to search for a cure since the transplant is only a bandaid used to prolong his life. We went from never knowing what leukodystrophy was or krabbe disease to it encompassing our entire lives in an instant.
In addition to going through this journey that no child or family should have to go through, we are trying our best to spread awareness however we can. My son has a page that we use to update and spread awareness. It's called Prayers for Arthur, hope for a cure. He's such a sweet boy, and we will do whatever we can to keep him with us in hopes a cure is found. We want everyone to have all the information we didn't have. No family should have to endure this.
A good friend of mine was struck by a car and killed. This allowed me to look at my life with a new perspective: if I was hit by a car and killed, would I be happy with what I did with my life?
The answer was “no”. So I sold everything I owned and moved across the country to New York City with three suitcases.
It’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. I’m so much happier, I’ve met the love of my life, and the only regret I have is wondering why I didn’t do this sooner.
Accidentally accepted a friend request of (my now husband) thinking it's another guy I knew with a similar name. I was ignoring the request before. And the rest is history. Married 12 years now with two kids.
The website was orkut. If any of you are old enough to remember it. 🤭
Covid. I hate to say it but Covid changed my life. Moved back in with my folks in 2020 on a whim as I was getting depressed living alone and after getting laid off from a crappy job that barely kept me above water.
Managed to get a good gig in tech working from my parents’ home. Cause everything was shut down I spent my time with my family and on inexpensive activities like walking/hiking, and saved pretty much 80% of my take home (my mother cooked and my parents insisted I save all my money- for once I listened).
Paid off my consumer debts. I then got recruited for a higher paying job in 2021 and managed to save enough to buy a car and a house in 2022 (I genuinely used to think purchasing property wasn’t in the cards for me). Managed to get an additional contract on the side and my money woes are gone.
None of this was planned and none of this would have happened without the weirdness of the whole Covid situation (world shutting down, v low interest rates which fuelled the tech hiring boom, work from home, etc)
I managed to pay off my student loans 2-3 years early because of Covid. I suddenly had no commuting or socializing expenses and one of them (Canadian govt student loan) froze the interest on all their loans for 6-8 months so I threw everything I could at them.
My Dad stubbed the tip of his finger and had a hematoma under his nail. A blood clot travelled to his brain and gave him a stroke and heart attack. He turned into a veggie.
Small things, like a fingernail...big things like his life, and his family's life.
I'm so sorry for your family, my heart really goes out to you all. I had something similar: Spot on my shoulder turned into blood poisoning, crippled me for life. It's a long story but that's the gist of it. Much love to you all xx
My mother went to the doctor for a routine exam and her doctor noticed a bump on her arm my mom passed off as a cyst. She removed the bump, which she also believed was a cyst and sent it for a biopsy to be safe.
Results came back and they weren’t really sure what to make of it. It wasn’t cancer but it wasn’t nothing either.
Turns out she had a very rare cancer that appeared benign but behaved malignant.
The doctors had no idea how to treat it, even reaching out to other doctors all over the world.
She died two years later once it had spread all over her body.
The kicker is they believe if the initial bump would’ve been left alone it wouldn’t have spread and killed her.
It’s been 2 years, 5 months and 17 days since she’s been gone and I will never stop missing her.
Getting my class A commercial drivers license.
Basically tried the majority of work that an individual can get into with a ged. Randomly searched the internet for truck driver jobs out of curiosity. Top of the list was a small form to fill out. A recruiter called me within 5 minutes. They set me up with a bus ticket to their training facility 2 states over and lodging for the duration.
All I had to do was bring enough cash and clothes for a week. They paid enough to feed myself the rest of training. Had an over the road job lined up for me right out of training. All I had to do was stick it out with that company at least a year to cover training cost.
Boom, entry into a skilled labor field at damn near no up front cost, and a guaranteed minimum 1 year of incredibly valuable experience. This was back in 2008.
And for what it’s worth. I didn’t even own my own vehicle yet back then. And I only tried manual transmission vehicles twice for maybe 10 minutes total prior to learning how to drive a 10 speed.
Now, I can simply email or walk into a job that interests me with my resume and my experience speaks for itself. I don’t have to sell myself to an employer. They have to sell the job to me.
Currently about to start up with a local company less than a 5 minute drive from home. Hauling mostly oversized loads up into and out of the mountains. It’s the highest starting wage I’ve ever had, with a guaranteed multiple $/hr raise once I demonstrate I can do everything they’ll need me to do.
Moral of the story, don’t be afraid to try something new or different. You might just be great at it.
My parents made a typo on my FAFSA, Saying my stepdad made $500,000 a year, not $50,000 a year. We discovered the mistake too late and all funding was gone. This was in 2005 when FAFSA was first come first serve. I couldn't go to college like my whole graduating class. I was depressed and humiliated. Then my aunt stepped up and invited me to come live with her in Europe for a year. Needless to say I went and had one of the most amazing years of my life, and I had a hell of an essay for when I applied for colleges the next year. I got a ton of aid and excelled in college. I paid off my loans 6 years after graduation. Needless to say I did my own FAFSA from then on, and just asked my parents for their taxes each year.
All from a typo that I didn't even make.
Edit: forgot to mention the year I was in Europe, my mom and stepdad split, so I didn't even need tov include his $50k on my FAFSA. This was back in the day when FAFSA included "separated" as a parent designation. They didn't have to be divorced yet. I ended up rolling in aid. I heard they killed that clause.
My mother locked me out of fafsa and wouldn't give me the information. In 2009 I enrolled at university of phoenix to get my teaching certificate after I dropped out in 2005. Had to drop classes with no aide. I never went back to school.
When I was younger I had a neurological condition called hydrocephalus, which required me to have a shunt in my brain to keep me alive, and every few years it would break or get infected and have to be replaced. About 20 years ago I developed an infection that my neurosurgeon refused to take seriously, so it wasn't properly diagnosed for about two years after I moved away from that hospital and ended up in the ER. Long story short, thanks to some faulty medical equipment that by some weird coincidence wasn't doing its job properly, while I waited for surgery we discovered that I wasn't actually using my shunt and I didn't need it anymore. So surgery was cancelled and once the infection cleared up I was sent home.
It was a really really awful couple years, but it ultimately gave me my life back. I'm now 15 years surgery-free and as much as I hate the way it happened, I wouldn't change a thing because if it had happened any other way I would have just had another brain surgery, and then another, and so on.
Almost failed out of college. Tried to up my GPA by doing research WAY too early in my academic career. Met a professor who didn’t even work at my Uni. Had a brief conversation with him in lab and he said “you’d make a great professor one day”. Changed the course of my life. Scraped by with my BS. Was one of the top students in my MS. Got a 4.0 for my PhD with several first-author papers. Now work for one of the top profs in my field, I’m talking top 3%. That conversation was over 10 years ago. Thank you Dmitry. I would’ve never met you if I wasn’t failing.
My brother asked out a girl when they were 17.
My brother started dating this random girl. He needed a job so he started working t the company where her family worked. Next year I needed a summer job so they got me a job at the same company. I liked the job and kept working at the company long after my brother and her broke up. At 21 took a job in another state to further that career and moved 700 miles away from home. Now my partner, all my friends, my hobbies, everything that is my adult life is because of that move.
My brother randomly dating a girl for a year when we were teens changed literally everything about my life.
Went to a party in November 2017 for a friend of mine expecting/wanting to see my ex there. I did see him, and we did talk, but the friend whose party I went to was the one I actually ended up with. We had barely spoken before that, but he actually approached me first, totally innocently, thanking me for coming to his party and we made plans for 2018 New Year’s with friends. From then we talked daily, sometimes for 10+ hours.
I showed up late at 2am New Year’s Day after work held me back and he was waiting for me after everyone else but one friend left, he did know I’d be late though. We kissed that night, and though we’re not together anymore we had a great 2.5 year relationship, and we now have a beautiful 2 year old child. Though we didn’t work out as lovers I can confidently say he’s a great father and still one of my best friends.
It's always great when people are able to have a good relationship as friends after breaking up. A friend of mine is like that; she had two kids with this guy before they mutually ended the romantic relationship, but they consider themselves best friends now and are happy spending time together with the kids. :)
Ruptured my Achilles tendon.
As a result, I got very VERY depressed, sought help and entered therapy and consistently went for two years. It was so worth it. I figured out what I wanted with my life, and living where I was living wasn’t it. I had a great job. But I moved to San Diego shortly after, got an even better job and have never been happier.
I burnt a pair of welding glove while I was at welding school,(Re educating after a failed career in engineering technology)and had to buy some in a hurry. The supply store two doors down had an inside sales rep who loved his job enough that he shared his happiness with me as I shopped. A few years later once I’d divorced, subsequently had gone bankrupt and was having trouble welding due to hand pain a career councillor suggested I get into welding sales. I put in one application to the place with the happy employee. I got a job there, proceeded to meet my soulmate there, get several promotions and have been able to put able to put all that ugliness behind me. I have a great life
My Mexican great grandma hooked up with my American great grandpa in Mexico on a one night stand. It turns out my great grandpa was some big chief of a tribe in the US. His status helped my grandma get citizenship to the US back in the 60s and in turn my dad. Because of this, we were able to move to the US from Mexico when I was a teen in the 90s. Yes, the US has its issues but it’s not Mexico.
When I was 21, I was a personal trainer in a gym. I hated it, but had worked hard to get taken seriously when this one gym member (not a client) came in and said “Ummm…hey. Can you type?” I jokingly said “100 wpm on a computer, a little less on an ancient typewriter.”
He gave me his business card and told me to call him later.
He was a lawyer.
He’d overheard me talking to my clients over the past year, explaining various things to them, etc. , but he’d also heard me say that I actually couldn’t stand the job. (For a million reasons that I won’t get into.)
Anyway, I called him and he explained that his secretary left due to a family situation that became long term. She’d recently called him to tell him she couldn’t come back. She’d said “…there’s that one girl at the gym that has legal experience…the blond haired girl…she might temp or even replace me.”
Problem was, I was only *just* blond and had zero legal experience. I was trying to figure out a way to tell him this, but he was talking so fast and just told me to come to his office on Thursday (my day off).
I arrived and we went over some stuff. He was a solo practitioner, so there was no “Partner/attorney/paralegal/secretary/mail room” structure. He was the attorney and this spot was paralegal, secretary, receptionist, office manager, and mailroom all rolled into one.
He literally wanted me to answer phones THAT DAY. I was TERRIBLE. I was able to squeak out “L-law offices…” But I was intimidated and didn’t want to keep going.
Anyway, at the end of the day, I was like “Look…I don’t know which of the other female trainers at the gym (there were only two others, both blond) you were supposed to talk to, but it wasn’t me. I can’t do this. I’m so sorry I wasted your time.”
He laughed and told me that I was being too hard on myself. I still declined, but we shook hands and I left.
A week later, he saw me at the gym again and said that his old assistant meant “a different blond at a different location” and that he’d interviewed her and there was no way he was hiring her. He told me if I came in on my days off for the next few weeks to just keep trying, he would appreciate, compensate me well, and if I didn’t want to stick with it after that, he’d understand.
Well, that man and that “mistake” launched a decades long career as, at first, his secretary and then to as far as I could possibly go as a paralegal in the area where I lived. I worked for him for about three years when he told me that one day, my talent would outwork his ability to pay me and I’d have to move on; that he wouldn’t hold me back when that day came. He didn’t lie. Two years after that, I got snapped up by a mid-level firm, a year after that, poached by a slightly better firm and one year after that, by one of the best firms in our area. I stayed there until I had to make the choice to either a) move to a metro area in a different state for more money - an offer had been made or b) stay and marry my boyfriend at the time.
I chose love. Wisely or unwisely, whatever. But the “accident” changed my life from one of insecurity, struggle, and a history of being told I’d never amount to anything into a life of learning that I COULD learn, that I had value, talent, and skill. I have never, ever forgotten him or his former assistant (RIP) and I’m forever grateful for their “mistake.”
finding a ContraPoints video titled "The darkness" in my recommended videos. This was the first thing that opened my eyes to the possibility of trans people just being normal people living their lives, and the technology actually is kinda there. This was after years of knowing I would rather be a girl if I had the option but not knowing that the technology actually exists, as all media representations of trans people I saw prior were over the top negetive and heavily made me internalize the message that we don't have the technology yet, but in reality we do, these were deliberately bad representations to scare people out of being trans. Starting hrt in January has made a night and day difference in my mental well being. If I hadn't started I probably would have killed myself in July, but instead I've had the best year of my life so far dispite being out to less than 10 people and still boymoding (presenting as male while on estrogen).
I'm so glad you were brave and reached out! Good luck and wishing you all the very best! Big hugs xx
Got injured at work. Lifetime permanent injury. So now. Instead of working ‘til 60’s, I was forced retired with lifetime pension. And not a small one. Instead of working 10+ hrs a day and feeling good about it, I sit around all day… feel like a leach and am in constant pain due to the injury. And further limited by not only the injury and pain, but by the restrictions placed on me due to the pension requirements.
I ordered two pounds of chicken wings from my local place. My order got messed up or the cook didn't understand but they fried and sauced my wings and then put them on the grill. The sauce carmelized & burnt a little.
Oh. My God. These were the very best wings I've ever tasted. When the server came back I said "how did you order these? Because I want these every time. She laughed, told me to order them "sauced then toss them on the grill for a minute", and my life was never the same.
20 years later I still order them like that.
Mine is crazy all based on a lunch at Taco Bell . One day in a state college, I went to lunch by chance to a Taco Bell if never been too. Bumped into my teacher and as he was leaving mentioned that he would like to talk if I had the chance. I grabbed my tacos and sat with him. After a long conversation he encouraged me to change colleges and go to a private school that would really challenge me and give me the education he felt I deserved. I did and graduated with knowledge and skill I would have never gotten at the original school. Trying to keep this short - I met my wife while in the city for my first job that I would have never gotten if not for this school. Have two girls that agin would not exist if not for this lunch. My sister married one of my best friends while in the dorm at the school I went to and they have a kid (my nephew) and my brother married a girl who was a year younger than my class. The amount of lives and existence thanks to a random lunch at Taco Bell is crazy.
And a teacher who saw your potential and encouraged you to reach higher!
I don't know if this qualifies as an "accident", but maybe a happy coincidence.
The summer after my freshman year of college; it was 2013, and I was 19. I had spent the year in a horrible, abusive, toxic, on-again, off-again relationship. My friends decided to try to help me get my mind off of him during an "off" period, and took me to an acquaintance's house for a last minute party. A friend of mine started dating a new guy, and he had brought his friends. I didn't really want to go, but begrudgingly tagged along.
I hit it off with one of the new guy's friends. We spent the entire night talking and laughing.
Little did I know, that night, that same guy I hit it off with wasn't actually planning to attend the party, but made a wrong turn on the way to his intended destination. He saw his friend's cars in the driveway, and decided to stop by.
We just celebrated 10 years together, and 6 years of marriage. He is truly my best friend and has shown me what love is supposed to be like. We have a beautiful little boy, and I'm so thankful we both "accidentally" ended up at that party.
As for the terrible ex I had, he actually called me that night while I was talking to my now husband, presumably to try to "fix things" and love-bomb me as he had so many times before. I'm so glad I didn't answer the call, and after spending the whole night talking and laughing with my now husband, I found the strength to block my ex's number, and I never looked back.
I started subbing as a way to make money until I finished college for computer technology, I wanted to go for animation and art but it wasn’t really a paying gig. The goal was when I got married I would move away and use my degree to work. When my fiancé and I split, those plans got ruined and I dropped out of college ( I didn’t want to go anyway but did it for my fiancé) a week after my fiancé and I split I was planning to kill myself, I got a phone call from the school I was subbing for and they offered me a full time position as an art teacher. That job saved my life.
Wow! You never know what you contacting someone can do in their life.
I got super high on some heavy drugs and took the police on a low-key chase throughout my city until about midnight. I ditched my car and started running away on foot. I dodged them for about an hr until they got to me and told me to stop running lol. The situation was never too serious so they held me and put me in a drug facility the next week. Up to that point my drug use was a secret to everyone around me ( at least I thought it was a secret, but now that I think of it they prolly knew). When I got to the treatment I got cleaned up and decided to go to university and get a degree. I finished my bachelors in mathematics and now work as an engineer. I am in my second semester of my masters in computer science. If that day never happened I would prolly be dad right now.
Btw the story is much deeper than what I wrote as WAY more stuff happened that day that lead up to the conclusion but for time purposes this is what happened and I am super grateful for this
Back in 2013 I was bored as f**k in grad school and scrolling Imgur. They had just started their “sort by new” feature where you could refresh every second and never catch up to where you were. So I’m scrolling, it’s beginning of December and I see a selfie of a guy still showing off his beard post no-shave-November and I’m smitten. He’s the one. I message him, we talk back and forth, and in 2 months we’ll celebrate 10 years together. The shear timing and happenstance of me finding his pic in all of those images is wild.
Randomly decided to take German instead of French when in school as my foreign language the day before class started. I'm now a German teacher. It's wild how such a small decision shaped my entire life.
Several years ago, I asked a friend where to donate clothes locally that my kids had outgrown instead of Goodwill. She turned me on to a small organization in our state that helps kids in foster care. I ended up falling in love with their mission and becoming very involved, eventually on the board and helping grow them.
The impact of learning about the foster care system, and how ordinary people can unite to make a difference in the lives children has and continues to add a profound and positive purpose to my life, for which I'm very thankful.
I was at my lowest point last year around March.
Had just been cheated on by my girlfriend who I had been dating for 4 years. I caught them doing it. I was depressed, diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, self harming and abusing medicated drugs.
This one night, I was on Instagram with a fake account and was just scrolling randomly when this book review came up, it was of ‘To Paradise’ by Hanya Yanagihara. I loved how accurately that review described the book itself and I texted the person who’d posted it that it was a great review. Then we got to talking. Now I’m in a different city, with a job at google and she’s sleeping next to me, with a few snores Ofcourse. There’s an engagement ring in my locker for the coming future.
Diagnosed with Lupus at 17 years old. My world was shattered and never recovered. I don't feel like I ever got to experience being a young adult or adult and moved straight into a 90 year old body.
After I got out of the military, I went to law school and became an attorney that practiced in a fairly niche area of the law. While the money was really good as a practicing attorney, the hours and the firm life was making me really unhappy. I had a feeling I wanted to go back to the federal government so I went on usajobs to see if there were any postings for government attorney jobs in my area of specialization. I stumbled across a posting from a large three letter agency for special agents conducting criminal investigations in an area adjacent to my field of legal practice. I randomly applied and got the job. It has changed everything in my life for the better and I'm so unbelievably grateful I randomly happened across it. I was nervous about making a sudden, unplanned career change on such a whim but im so happy I did. Every aspect of my life has improved.
I was working at a nuclear power plant in New York and was in the process of leaving and going back to Idaho Falls, Idaho. A guy that I barely knew caught my eye as I going out the door. He reminded me that he had contact information for a recruiter in Tennessee (my home state). I stuck the slip of paper in my wallet and forgot about it for nearly a year. Found it and called the recruiter. Turns out we had both served in the same unit in Vietnam. The guy hired me over the phone. A month later l'm in a U Haul headed to Knoxville, Tennessee on a GE contact to TVA to help restart the Brown's Ferry Nuclear Power Plant. Met a girl, she got pregnant, got married and had three children. One slip of paper!
Got pregnant the first time I slept with a brand new boyfriend of only 5 weeks.
3 years later we got married, been together 16 years in April and just had our 3rd child. The absolute greatest thing that ever happened, we are totally blissfully happy and in love still. And neither of us were really looking for something serious so thanks universe, I probably would have fumbled the bag.
My brother passed away from a drug overdose. We weren't close and to be honest I wasn't too sad, as it was not a surprise when I got the call. However, at the time I was working in healthcare (during the pandemic) working more than 40hrs a week while also doing 40hrs a week at an internship. I was extremely depressed and had planned that the last day of my internship I was going to kill myself. I had it all planned out, how I was going to do it and worked on getting my affairs in order for it.
I got the call on a Friday morning from my dad as I woke up late for my internship, only about a week and a half left til it was done and I could kill myself. Went in like nothing happened bc all that was going through my brain that day was "well now I can't kill myself bc everyone will think it was due to my brother's death" and what am I going to do now. At the time I had a pretty strong hate for the things he made me go through in life, and it was a selfish thought, but honestly the only thing that kept me from doing it was that if I killed myself right after he died, people would think his death effected me that much. I feel guilty for thinking that way at the time, but have worked through it a lot.
His death prevented me from killing myself, I got into therapy, started on meds for my mental health, and am finally working at a job I love, plus I'm in a way better position mentally, physically, and financially than I ever believed I could be. I still struggle a lot, but I'm far better off than I ever have been in my life and unfortunately if it weren't for his overdose, I wouldn't be here anymore. It really pushed me to take care of myself bc in my mind my only options were to suffer for another few years then commit suicide, or at the least try to get better so if I still come to that decision at least the last few years won't be so terrible. At a place where I don't want to do that anymore and if I can't thank my brother for doing anything else for me in my life, the least I can do is thank him for saving me even though he doesn't know it and it wasn't on purpose.
My brother, who had serious behavior problems, was very abusive to me. He had a fatal accident when he was 34. Seeing him all hooked up to machines, knowing that he wasn't in that body anymore. I took his hand, and I gave him the only thing I could. I forgave him.
My mom choiced my sisters and I into a different middle school from the one my elementary fed into. As a result, I only knew a few people at that school going into 6th grade.
I was very lonely for about two days before I saw someone by himself and decided to sit with him.
It turns out, he was always the first one in his friend group to sit down. Soon more people arrived and nobody really talked about how a complete stranger was at their table. Except for one kid who asked what my name is and introduced himself to me.
I got absorbed into that friend group really quickly and wouldn’t have made it through middle school without that.
Unfortunately, COVID severed my ties with them, but I wouldn’t be the person I am today if that meetup didn’t happen.
Meeting the love of my life through tinder. Literally didn’t think it was possible. Also don’t use tinder it’s hot garbage.
Ditto.. and just looked over at him curled up on the other side of the bed and am going to do my best imitation of "big spoon" *side note...all my life as a 6ft tall woman I thought I could always be the Biggest spoon...figure I end up with a six foot four Biggest Spoon Significant Other
I was diagnosed as infertile, went through fertility treatments to no avail. This eventually led to my divorce. I got pregnant a year later. Best accident ever!
I have a severe estrogen deficiency and had cervical cancer twice in my early 20's, having part of it surgically removed. Was told I'd never be able to get pregnant on my own. Recently divorced, I was on birth control and used a condom with new bf. Had our son when I was 28, our daughter at 35. Best "accidents" ever! Been married 26 years, son 29, daughter almost 23.
I had a chance meeting on an online game with a guy, and struck up a conversation. We became fast friends and eventually decided to give a relationship a go, since we didn't live too far apart. We've been together for over 3 years now.
lol, my ex-wife and the guy she decided to throw away our 10 years of marriage for have almost the same origin story.
Just met my boyfriend on a dating app from which I was expecting no serious responses. We met up and we had everything in common. I've never been in a committed long term relationship and it was like he fell from the stars. I've always suffered from serious depression and anxiety issue. I had my life in order, but no one to share it with. Now it feels like the sun has come up and heavens have parted for me. We already love each other very much and I've never been happier in my entire life.
In the course of three weeks, I applied to and accepted a job transfer from my hometown to their headquarters- partly due to me finally having enough of my toxic and unsupportive family, and partly because I wanted to follow a guy I was seeing at the time because I thought we had a future. My life has been quickly moving upward ever since. I lost that job and the boyfriend, but I leveled up to a company I want to retire at if they'll let me, met my forever man, and the best group of friends I've ever known. I also don't need antidepressants and my blood pressure has gone way down. I wish I had done this ten years ago.
I was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed extended release adderall. It lead to medication induced psychosis that ended my career path, 7 year relationship, and all of my friendships. I ended up hospitalized inpatient and they documented meth use instead of my prescription because my ex/family failed to tell them it was prescription.
My life is 100% different now. That was a year ago and I’m a fundamentally different person as a result.
Getting together with my first husband. At that point I worked in tourism and I literally only hooked up with tourists because I didn't want a relationship. I met him through a coworker and through miscommunication I thought he was a tourist in town for the weekend. He was actually someone who used to live here in town for the weekend to set things up for his move back the following month. So I brought him home that night thinking I'd never see him again and then he popped up a month later. 🤣 He supported me while I ran my own business for a few years then took a job at a college so I could get a free degree. We also did a lot of traveling and had a lot of great adventures together. We just got married way too young and when we were looking down 30 we realized we wanted very different things in life. We both kind of knew about a year before I graduated but had to stay married so I could get my degree. Still hurt a little to walk away, but honestly by that time we sort of aggravated each other so no regrets. 🙂
21 years ago, I got an amusing email begging me to resume translation work on a project I had been forced to abandon due to lack of support and interest. Against my usual policy I responded to it. An amazing series of events transpired after that which ultimately led to the project getting done, many friends being made, and (2 years ago today) the girl who emailed me that day marrying me.
I've posted this before, I think, but I love telling the story. I went out to a bar in Soho, in London with my ex. I'd split us up, but he was trying to get us back together. He wasn't a bad guy, things just seemed to be going nowhere. He swore that things would change, he would commit, we should get married. There was a big group of people standing next to the table we were sitting at. Suddenly a guy leans over and says to my ex, "You make a great couple, you should marry her." "Thanks very much," replies my ex, " That's just what I was saying." Then the guy turns to me and says, " I don't think you should marry him though, I think you should go out with me instead." He waited till my ex went to the bathroom and got my number. That was over 28 years ago. He's sitting next to me now. If I hadn't gone to that bar, with my ex, all those years ago...
i have three degrees and none of them have any relationship to law enforcement. like any graduate, i was desperate for a job so i put in applications everywhere - from mc donalds to the district attorney. ended up getting hired by the d.a. and felt it would do until i could get something in one of my fields of study. ended up retiring from there because i realized that as much as i didn't like some of the laws and/or the way people were often treated i could do the job and help people who may have found themselves in bad situations. even those people who deserved to be in the system still needed to be treated as human beings. i did end up being kind of an office pariah because of my belief that all people deserved to be treated decently, even those who had done some terrible things, because i was an officer of the court and not the judge and jury. of all the cases i honestly say that i only made a difference in a few but it meant a lot to those people.
Got accepted into university but the letter was sent to the wrong adress, it reached me a week late and on the last day to sign up to the first course. As I got there only one of the three groups had spots, so I ended up in that group. The same one as my future husband and father of my children was in. Had the the letter reached me on time, we could have ended up in different groups and never gotten to know each other.
Shortly after Halloween, shortly before Thanksgiving, my 13 yr old high functioning son had a meltdown and screamed and slammed a door. We were living in an adorable little 2 bedroom, 2 bath patio home which I had every intention of buying. I walked out front after the meltdown to clear my head and calm down and my landlord & his wife we're standing on their driveway (they owned the connected patio home as well). When I saw them, I started to apologize and she cut me off and said "If that ever happens again, we will evict you!" (I am not exaggerating when I say it was a short burst of yelling and one slammed door). I walked back into my house and text my realtor friend that I was ready to buy. We moved into our 3/2 private home on a huge lot in January of 2020. 2 months later the world stopped.
This is one of the best ever and it is oh so true. Much that happens in our life is indeed happenstance. We only have partial control of whatever happens in our life. Chance events happen all the time. When we are in late adolescence and early adolescence, and even later on, career choices and personal choices may come about because we just happened to be in a particular place at a particular time!
I took a day off from my rotation outside the city to work on residency applications. I lived in Manhattan. That day was 9/11.
I received a random text from a number that I didn't recognize, replied back that they have the wrong number. They text back apologizing, I text back accepting the apology......and the texting continued for HOURS. Now, she's one of my best friends.
21 years ago, I got an amusing email begging me to resume translation work on a project I had been forced to abandon due to lack of support and interest. Against my usual policy I responded to it. An amazing series of events transpired after that which ultimately led to the project getting done, many friends being made, and (2 years ago today) the girl who emailed me that day marrying me.
I've posted this before, I think, but I love telling the story. I went out to a bar in Soho, in London with my ex. I'd split us up, but he was trying to get us back together. He wasn't a bad guy, things just seemed to be going nowhere. He swore that things would change, he would commit, we should get married. There was a big group of people standing next to the table we were sitting at. Suddenly a guy leans over and says to my ex, "You make a great couple, you should marry her." "Thanks very much," replies my ex, " That's just what I was saying." Then the guy turns to me and says, " I don't think you should marry him though, I think you should go out with me instead." He waited till my ex went to the bathroom and got my number. That was over 28 years ago. He's sitting next to me now. If I hadn't gone to that bar, with my ex, all those years ago...
i have three degrees and none of them have any relationship to law enforcement. like any graduate, i was desperate for a job so i put in applications everywhere - from mc donalds to the district attorney. ended up getting hired by the d.a. and felt it would do until i could get something in one of my fields of study. ended up retiring from there because i realized that as much as i didn't like some of the laws and/or the way people were often treated i could do the job and help people who may have found themselves in bad situations. even those people who deserved to be in the system still needed to be treated as human beings. i did end up being kind of an office pariah because of my belief that all people deserved to be treated decently, even those who had done some terrible things, because i was an officer of the court and not the judge and jury. of all the cases i honestly say that i only made a difference in a few but it meant a lot to those people.
Got accepted into university but the letter was sent to the wrong adress, it reached me a week late and on the last day to sign up to the first course. As I got there only one of the three groups had spots, so I ended up in that group. The same one as my future husband and father of my children was in. Had the the letter reached me on time, we could have ended up in different groups and never gotten to know each other.
Shortly after Halloween, shortly before Thanksgiving, my 13 yr old high functioning son had a meltdown and screamed and slammed a door. We were living in an adorable little 2 bedroom, 2 bath patio home which I had every intention of buying. I walked out front after the meltdown to clear my head and calm down and my landlord & his wife we're standing on their driveway (they owned the connected patio home as well). When I saw them, I started to apologize and she cut me off and said "If that ever happens again, we will evict you!" (I am not exaggerating when I say it was a short burst of yelling and one slammed door). I walked back into my house and text my realtor friend that I was ready to buy. We moved into our 3/2 private home on a huge lot in January of 2020. 2 months later the world stopped.
This is one of the best ever and it is oh so true. Much that happens in our life is indeed happenstance. We only have partial control of whatever happens in our life. Chance events happen all the time. When we are in late adolescence and early adolescence, and even later on, career choices and personal choices may come about because we just happened to be in a particular place at a particular time!
I took a day off from my rotation outside the city to work on residency applications. I lived in Manhattan. That day was 9/11.
I received a random text from a number that I didn't recognize, replied back that they have the wrong number. They text back apologizing, I text back accepting the apology......and the texting continued for HOURS. Now, she's one of my best friends.
