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A common piece of advice that people like to give is to never leave anything to chance. It presupposes that we have to be active in our pursuit of happiness and success, but life sometimes has a funny way of altering our plans, doesn't it? Some experts even claim that 30%–50% of scientific discoveries have been accidental.
Sometimes, a chance decision or a trivial choice will result in something much, much bigger later. The lives of folks from one thread online are definitive proof of that, as seemingly insignificant decisions have turned their lives upside down. Their answers to the question "What decision did you think was small at the time but completely changed your life later?" might just show us that the butterfly effect sometimes brings us good fortune, too.
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#1
It is childish but a single fart changed my life. In 2013 I was working in the lobby of a downtown bank. Things were slow and I was trying to tidy up the lobby. I had to pass gas so I stepped outside the building. I was standing on the sidewalk and made sure no one was around. I released the fart and it was loud lol. I laughed out loud and then heard a woman laughing behind me. I turned around in horror and there was a woman who had just come around the corner and was walking. I was so embarrassed. So I apologized to her and she told me to stop saying sorry because she thought it was funny. I had never met a woman like that. Well she stopped to talk for a few minutes and I found out she worked at a corporate building a couple of blocks over. We agreed to meet at a downtown bar after work. Three years later I married her.
If I had not stepped outside to fart at that exact moment she was walking by then I may never have met her.
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#2
I was adopting a puppy and I couldn't decide between this cute little terrier and a cute little beagle. I was moments away from the terrier when the beagle nudged my hand. She became my absolute soul dog and I still miss her 16 years after she passed. Her name was Scout.
#3
When I was 18 in my second semester of college my roommate came home saying she found me a cat at a pet store while on a date with her boyfriend. She was half joking but I went for the heck of it. I found my best friend that day. It turns out that out of all the cats there he was the one she had been talking about! He passed a few years ago at the old age of 16 but that was the sweetest smartest cat I ever had. He was with me throughout my twenties and was always there with a purr and a snuggle when I needed him. Bob you are so missed.
#4
I (male) offered to be in the delivery room to support a friend about to go through motherhood on her own. I saw it as strictly supporting a platonic friend at a vulnerable moment. I never saw that I would be the father figure in that child’s (now adult) life and that would become the most important thing I ever did.
#5
When I was 14 my mom took me to a history show and the had door prizes, I won two tickets to go on the Kalmar Nyckel (a tall ship in Delaware) while on the boat I fell in love with it and then found out I could sign up to be a volunteer crew member. I eventually followed the first mate out to the west coast to work on boats, then while out here going from boat to boat and working my way up the command to becoming a captain, I then met my now wife who was a deck hand at the time and now we have a family together.
#6
I got rejected to every PhD program I applied to. I was very disheartened and about to give up. Called my brother and was like “there’s one more but the deadline is today.” He said “just apply.” So I did. They were the only program that accepted me and gave me a chance. Now 5 years later I have my PhD and a life plan that’s finally on track!
#7
I was unemployed in Edinburgh, in 1991, on my way back from signing on and a friend from my previous job pulled up and asked if I’d like to come to the pub because one of the other guys who used to work with us was in town looking for advice on making a tabletop RPG.
I tagged along and enjoyed the chat and beers with everyone returning to their respective towns. I got a phone call a week or so later to ask if I’d like to help do the book layout for the game.
Long story short, it turned out we were quite good at writing and producing games and our first RPG got us bought up by a new company that needed a UK office to sell their new card game into Europe.
We became Wizards of the Coast UK and sold Magic: The Gathering everywhere we could. This set us all up in careers we’re still related to, and we just sent the latest book of that same RPG to the printers.
One chance meeting got the core talent into the same room and we never looked back.
So, if an old friend you’ve not seen for a while asks if you’d like to go to the pub, the answer is yes.
#8
A random girl I’d met earlier that year at work sent me a form from a Japanese reality TV show. We had been speaking about dreaming of going to Japan, so she said “lol you should apply.”
I did, with ZERO expectations.
I got picked.
They flew me to Japan, all expenses paid. I ended up on TV—like actual TV—around four times over the past ten years. I became close friends with an elderly couple from the Japanese countryside.
I ended up living in Japan for a year and a half and almost married a Japanese dude. Thank god, the pandemic hit and I had to put my plans on hold - long story short, there were too many cultural differences and my partner was an alcoholic with jealousy problems- so we broke up.
I was not meant to live there. 6 years after that I'm very happy in another country with my current partner.
Life's crazy. I got plenty of stories like this, idk why but I'm a freaking magnet for weird stuff.
#9
I was working retail as a manager and loved it.
I had a repeat customer who would always come in and talk to me. One day, he offered me a ride along for a job and mentioned that he was trying to recruit me. I assumed it was just some larger retail company based on how this guy dressed.
No, I just followed him in my car. In case anyone is wondering.
We meet up at a Best Buy, and I find out he's a senior product manager at Microsoft, promoting and marketing the Xbox gaming console. I was impressed as a gamer, but confused as to why he approached me. We went to several stores that day, and I loved his job and how people kept stopping us when they saw his Xbox shirt. At the end of the day, he offered me the job. Said that he felt my retail experience would help, along with all the projects I had completed. He was recently promoted and was looking for a replacement.
Fast forward to today as I sit as a CIO. He helped me get into tech, and I realized how much I loved it over retail. Glad I met him, or I wouldn't have gotten into tech.
#10
Applying to a front desk job at a health care practice for $1.50 more than my current crappy desk job. I had no healthcare experience and relied on my "customer service" experience to get the job. I literally started in the mail room. I switched roles at that company, gained more actual healthcare experience. A few jobs later and I am a clinical informatics manager making great money at my current job. So, take the risk into industries you might not have any skills in, on the job training is still viable.
#11
My old manager reneged on my leave request 6 months out (already approved earlier as I was taking a years leave without pay to travel).
In spite, my colleague and I searched a job site online, I applied for a job in Antarctica, interviewed, accepted the position and resigned literally with the minimum of notice from the job with a jerk manager.
Went on to spend 13 months in Antarctica, traveled the world (still do) and have changed to a career with much more money and experience and passion to live life.
Living my best life now. Ha!
#12
My friend asked one of his work colleagues for a date, she wanted him to bring a friend for her sister, and I accepted the blind date invitation. That was his only date with his colleague but 35 days later I proposed to her sister. That was 54 years ago and we're still blissfully married today.
#13
I don't even remember making the decision, but this is how the story goes.
In the late 80s, when I was just shy of 5 years old, my parents took me to the movies foe the first time. This was before Disney VHS, and the theater was showing Cinderella.
Preschool-age me left the theater saying, "Call me Gus." I apparently just adored Gusgus, the dang mouse.
My parents humored me, thinking it a phase.
When I started school, I took the name with me. I'd get roll call "Sandra?" And I answered, "Call me Gus."
Fast forward to me in college. Still going by Gus, struggling with gender identity (we did not have all the great terms as I was growing up so I was very lost and lonely) but I wanted to legally change my name. I finally settled on August, so Gus would finally FINALLY become a logical nickname.
I'm now a happily-myself trans man named August. Have been loving my name for 18 years. Even better, a few years after the name change, I discovered August is a family name. I'm just the first one in 3 generations, but 4 generations ago there were a TON in my family.
So, I renamed myself permanently at age 4. Nailed it, too.
#14
I decided to take a different route to work. On this different route, I wrecked my motorcycle and shattered my leg which is now held together by rods and screws. The long-term issues with my leg caused me to need a career change away from construction. I went back to school for engineering, which opened up the doors to a much more rewarding ans lucrative career. And while in school I met the woman that would become my wife. All because I took a different route to work.
#15
I wore a nerdy t shirt a college friend gave me to a film festival. There were some vendors there and one recommended a comic series that I might like based on the joke on the shirt. That led me into a local comic shop, which led me to join a game night there, which led to me making friends, which led to the formation of my primary adult friend group. That wasn't a shirt, it was a bridge.
#16
Snuck an issue of Cosmo into high school journalism class. There was an article titled “Trendy at Vandy” - I’d never even heard of Vanderbilt, and my friends informed me I was the least trendy person they knew, so I filled out a common app that day and applied on a whim.
Got in, met my husband there, made amazing friends, even developed a sense of style!
#17
In 2015 I was in something of a rough patch. About 6-8 months out from getting dumped from a long term relationship with who I’d thought was the one, struggling at a dead end job that paid basically nothing, my truck had just broken down, and I was barely getting by because I was renting rooms in my house out to friends (not close friends, but people I’d been friendly with at previous jobs).
One night, one of my roomates had people over when I got home from work, and a couple of them were people I actually knew, and we all realized that we were friends of friends with each other. They were pre-gaming and about to head out, and invited me to tag along. I’d had a rough day, had to work early, was dead broke, and they were going to a country bar, I hate country and bars in general. They fed me a few beers and convinced me. While there, I realized all these guys had girlfriends or wives, but were all talking about meeting or hooking up with girls while there, and I was just really sort of disgusted, so as soon as we got there, I just kind of separated from them and went to the bar. Interesting thing was Guinness was like $2, so that was already a win.
Anyways, I had a few girls come up to talk to me, and I was sort of talking with them, and these guys would almost always come up to sort of steal them away, which I found gross but was generally depressed so didn’t really care about. At some point, a girl with a massive and fully displayed chest kind of pulled me onto the dance floor and started ‘dancing’ with me (I’m not a dancer, especially country, I can’t imagine how terrible I was, especially after having been drinking). Next thing I know, I’m surrounded by girls dancing, and they are all sort of teaching me the different dances and we are having a good time. Suddenly, all of them disappear except one, who pulls me off the dance floor to catch our breath and talk. We had some chit chat, exchanged numbers, and called it an evening.
We’ve been together for 10 years and married 5. I later found out that the whole thing was a trap, from the moment I walked into the bar. She says she saw me walking in and told her friends that they needed to help her get me away from my friends so she could talk to me. So, they naturally assumed the chesty one would get my attention (I’m not a chest guy, but whatever) and get me on the floor, where they would all surround me so that no other girls could approach or dance with me. Then, once I was comfortable, they would all disappear to give us time to chat.
I’ve always been simultaneously flattered but terrified at how well it worked.
#18
Literally happening right now,
I was vending at LA Comic Con last year (We 3D print stuff to sell, and I made a lifesize Shadow the Hedgehog).
My cousin kept bugging that he wanted food and we headed off to go look for food. When we were going back he kept going to different aisles and we happened to run into the voice actor who plays Shadow the Hedgehog. I told him about my statue and brought it over to him. Him and a few other Sonic voice actors were super impressed and mentioned that they had a mini reunion a few weeks later and if I would be willing to make more of the characters for them.
I did and took them to the event. They all loved it and we've kept in touch and now I'm hosting my own Sonic convention and technically it's gong to be the biggest reunion in the world.
Everyone with me are still super excited to see how it turns out.
#19
I declared my major and needed to be assigned an advisor. I asked for Prof. Y, but Prof. Y was on vacation so they asked me if I'd be ok with Prof. Z instead. I said that was fine.
Well, Prof. Z had just gotten a big grant from Google to help them develop an app but everyone on their team used apple products. I showed up for my intro meeting with an android and was offered an undergraduate research gig on the spot. Me and that professor did a lot of good research together, and the research kept working, and sooner or later they looked at me and said "have you ever thought of making a career out of this?"
So now I'm almost done with my PhD in mechanical engineering at MIT. It's mind blowing - not even something I thought I could never do, but something that never even occurred to me as an option.
So what's the small decision? Well, my whole family ALSO uses apple products. I was the rebel who wanted an android in high school because the apple store didn't have emulators yet, and I wanted to play pokemon on my phone during musical rehearsals.
Videogames cause PhDs.
#20
I was in a mild depressive slump in the fall of 2018. I was just shy of 25 years old and my mom saw an ad for auditions for a local community play at a nearby church. I was in drama club in high school and my mom said I should try out so I thought "why the hell not."
I got the part of the wife in a young married couple. One night the guy who played my character's husband approached me in the parking lot after rehearsal and ask if I'd like to go to dinner. I was single and he was pretty good looking and a good actor. Sure, why not.
We went to dinner at a local tavern and had a great time.
That was seven years ago.
We've lived together for four years now. This year on October 18, we got married.
Thanks, mom, for keeping an eye out in the newspapers.
BookFanatic 3 hours ago
Moms are awesome like that. I was laid off from a job (day before my health insurance would have kicked in) and after I finished feeling sorry for myself Mom showed me a "help wanted" ad for a local library. Decided to apply on a whim, and now I've been there for 22 years. Thanks, Mom!
#21
Looking for a job within my field of what I studied. Walked by an office for temporary work. My girlfriend now wife says I should go in maybe they have something.
They didnt really have something, only some logistics stuff not at all in my field of work and was only for a few days.
Took it anyway just to earn some cash.
16 years later stil working there and part of management.
#22
I made a spreadsheet at work when I was working as a courier driver to help out a coworker. Mentioned it offhand to a manager.
Got me promoted twice, launched me from a courier driver to an IT associate. 7 years later, I'm considered a subject matter expert in our niche little corner of my industry, I've spoken at conferences, and folks from all over the country reach out to ask me about things.
No idea where I'd be if I didn't make that little Excel sheet back in 2018.
#23
I got a job that ended up leading to my lifelong career because I helped a woman with her rental car.
I had recently applied to a role at a local university, and while deemed appointable, they hired someone else with more experience. Not even a week later at my rental car job, one of the supervisors from that university came to pick up a car after a late night flight. I was surprised because I didn't have any other customers on my itinerary for that night. Turns out her employer had accidentally booked it to be picked up in a completely different city, and even though we were really low on available cars and changing corporate bookings was very restrictive, I worked something out.
She called me the next day to say she had seen my resume on her boss's desk, and immediately offered me a job. She even honoured the fact I needed part-time because I was studying, despite it typically being only a full-time role. I started working there 2 weeks later, and I decided to pursue academic librarianship thanks to discovering my love and passion for academia. I now work as a senior librarian at this same university.
And on a personal side note, I really struggled with feeling like I'm forgettable and unmemorable. So for someone to remember my name and my actions and feel strongly enough to do something about it was a really big moment for me and changed how I started to see myself.
#24
I was a divorced single mom without a college degree, working retail and barely making ends meet. I'd always been involved in the arts when I was younger, and at a party a guy I met told me that he was a graphic artist, and that it wouldn't take a four-year degree (at that time) to get into the field. I ended up going through a 40 hour a week, six-month course for those with low income, and that jump started my career. I was a graphic designer for 30 years before retiring.
One day about 20-some years after that party, I ran into that man again, and told him how that one conversation had changed my life.
#25
At a language department fair in college (tables with professors for different languages, to encourage freshmen to pick one), I stopped to talk to the Russian professor, just because he looked lonely, with everyone mostly interested in French and Spanish.
I was already taking French, had zero plans to study Russian, but after a couple minutes conversation and looking at the intro course materials, I thought, eh, what the hell, I’ll take one semester for fun…20-odd years later I’m a Russian translator :)
That one chance decision to stop and chat changed the course of my whole life.
#26
House got broken into and robbed while I napped on the couch. Had I woken up I could have died (you never know, they might have had a gun...)
Anyway, was in a bad mood after that. Friends called and reminded me about a party and they were about to swing by and did I still want to go? I really did not, considering my mood, but then for some reason, changed my mind.
At the party I met a guy who was opening a bar, (I was looking for work at the time.)
A few years later I ended up buying that bar from him which is where I eventually met my wife, when she came in for someone else's birthday party that she also initially did not want to attend.
#27
It was Sunday, Sep 24, 2023. My wife with 34 weeks of pregnancy was having a little breathing issue, refusing to go to hospital, saying “it’s just a small issue, it will settle,” we had a complete gynecologist checkup just on the evening of the last day and everything was fine.
I convinced her to go, and that small decision changed everything. At the time we arrived at the hospital, doctors discovered through CTG that our son’s heartbeat was in danger of severe bradycardia. They asked me to sign documents of emergency C-Section and prepare your mind for anything. The wife having breathing issues and anesthesia could affect her in this case and the baby is already stressed inside. Waiting outside OT my mind was wandering in thoughts about what will happen. The doctor came and told me that we are done with Operation your baby needs an immediate NICU as he had two knots of umbilical cord around the neck. in NICU He was immediately put on a ventilator, and for days we didn’t know if he would survive. Surfactant doses for lungs, pentagloin injections, NGs, pulmonary hemorrhage, Recurring Pneumothorax, sepsis, multiple CPRs… every moment felt like a battle. Doctors even told us his chance of survival was less than 1%.
Yet, he fought for his life. By blessing of God he got recovered. After 28 days in the NICU, we finally brought him home. Today, he’s a healthy, happy 2-year-old.
All of this started with what seemed like a small, ordinary decision—to go to the hospital for a small issue. That tiny choice completely changed our lives.
If we hadn’t gone to the hospital, we would have lost our child—and it would have been the greatest loss of our lives.
#28
Don't know when or how I started, but at the peak of my chaos, I thought to myself if the world was against me, why would I add to the pile and be miserable? So, decided to just be kinder to myself. And from there, kind of relearned to love and respect myself, give myself enough leeway and space to never justify wasting time when I shouldn't, take time to feel things rather than run away from them, little by little I'm reclaiming my place in the world.
I'm not sure how long or how far this will take me, but so far it's been going great. And even if things go sideways, I have enough belief in myself now to not fall too far.
#29
In 2012 I was signing up for college classes at my local community college (fashion merchandising), my best friend’s dad approached me with a job opportunity to work as a manager at custom suit shop. On a whim I said yes.
Fast forward 13 years later as a millennial I completely avoided student loans by not going to college but I now own my own custom suiting brand and make significantly more than many of my peers who attended school. All of my friends who went to fashion school (my dream way back then) are working 9-5’s in retail or adjacent fields (honest and definitely hard work). I work a 30 hour month and am averaging about 14k - 16k in income (before taxes).
That decision really changed the entire trajectory of my life for the better. I’ve seen so much success and I’m eternally thankful to my best friend’s dad for helping it happen.
Chrissie Anit 9 hours ago (edited)
Proof that it's connections that help and not (only) talent or hard work.
#30
When I was 10, I did 20 push-ups for the first time in my life for a gym test, after struggling for almost my entire time in elementary school. After that accomplishment, I wanted to always be able to do 20 push-ups, no matter how old I got. It helped start me on a path towards maintaining my strength and building my fitness. Fast forward 30 years later, I'm still able to do at least 20 push-ups, and so much more. 😊.
BookFanatic 3 hours ago
This reminds me of a library patron who's in his late 80s. He attended a general "fitness as you get older" class here and on the first day of class the instructor had everyone go around the room and talk about their current fitness routine. My guy casually says "Oh, I do 60 pushups in the morning and another 60 at night" and then proceeds to drop to the floor and bust 'em out. He happened to be the only man in the class and was VERY popular after that.
#31
I ended up trauma dumping to a new online friend in January of 2020. My partner at the time had become entirely dependent on me for cooking, cleaning, and finances, pretty much everything. This girl that barely knew me helped me to leave her which I did right before the pandemic set in. By the end of the pandemic we were dating and now we’ve been married two years. As for my ex. last I heard she eventually got help and was diagnosed with a plethora of mental illness. Shes getting disability and much happier with her new partners.
#32
I was casual friends with a guy both my roommates were friends with. I added him on Myspace. That led to us becoming Facebook friends when we switched over. Ten years later, I was posting about a string of bad first dates I'd been on, including one guy singing Memory from *Cats* to me. He sent me a message asking for my number and I thought, what the hell, why not? We started dating, and another almost ten years later, we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary in May and our daughter turns six in a couple weeks.
#33
Forgot my glasses for a class in college. So, I had to sit in the front row to see the board and chose a table next to the door. A classmate came in late and sat next to me. I asked her why she was late/dressed so spiffy and she said she just came from a job interview. Told me I should apply. I did, I got accepted, and I moved to NYC and got my masters and kicked off my career/life.
Thanks, myopia! .
#34
I had a migraine. My colleague recommended I got it checked. Long story short, I’m losing my sight.
Never take eye issues for granted.
Chrissie Anit 10 hours ago
Dang it, as someone who is right now scared of a migraine coming up, that hits hard.
#35
Met someone who worked in IT and who belived in my skills. Took some exams and now I work in IT, too.
#36
Listening to my ex's mother in law when she said "X" university was giving scholarships. Without her, I wouldn't have gone to university.
#37
Moved to Canada to date a guy I met in 2000... watched twin towers fall from outside the nation and decided to wait it out... still waiting.
#38
One week before our high school band trip, my friend who was supposed to be my seat buddy got a girlfriend and wanted to sit with her instead. I asked a classmate of mine if he'd like to sit with me - we were friends but not particularly close. He had the same situation happen with his original seat buddy, so we sat together on a 22 hour drive, twice.
We're married now and have a 7 month old baby! If it wasn't for multiple tiny decisions from us it never would've happened. From him deciding to join a club on a whim (where we met) to my mom signing me up for band (where we grew closer) to me deciding to sit next to him on the first day of junior year, all the way up to me asking him if he still needs a bus buddy. It was meant to be, haha!
For my husband, if we never got together he would've likely never changed majors, transferred colleges, gotten his big internship, and thus gotten his job now, so agreeing to be my seat buddy got him a wife, a baby, and a career 😅.
#39
In my freshman year of high school, I overheard the cute girl that sat next to me in class talk about swim practice. I realized she was on the swim team. After school, I stopped at the pool locker room to join the swim team, thinking I could socialize with the cute girl swimmers. Coach said welcome to the team and handed me a speedo. I changed in the guys locker room, and all the guys seems pretty cool and welcoming. I went out for warmups and quickly realized after we started our warm up laps that it was not a co-ed team. The girls swim season had just ended, and the mens just starting. Oh boy.
I almost left, but decided last second to stay and at least finish practice. The guys there were really cool and welcoming and said "see you tomorrow!" as I left. So the next day... I went back to practice. And again, and again.
In a roundabout way, I did end up socializing with the girls swim team, since swimmers were a pretty tight knit community and had a lot in common anyway. Every girl I dated in HS was a swimmer. I became a lifeguard and swim instructor as a summer job until I graduated. Right after graduation, a girl was hired as a lifeguard and we started dating. We dated for a few years, on and off before I joined the military. While away, we talked on the phone daily and realized how much we loved each other. We decided to get married.
That was 22 year ago. We're soulmates now and have two wonderful children. My entire high school career and every job I had up until I joined the military was related to swimming in some way.... all because I overheard a girl talk about swim practice and I made a last minute, rash decision to attend a practice to get to know her... and stuck it out because the guys on the team were cool. I sometimes wonder what would've happened if I never heard that comment, or chickened out on staying on the team.
#40
Took a last-minute decision to drop a course with a famour professor to take a super nerdy seminar. Met my husband.
#41
Taking that job interview with a no-name tech startup. Ended up working there for almost 4 years and gained tremendous experience in the field I do now—HR. My life would be completely different if I decided otherwise.
#42
Listening to the radio instead of a CD one day as I was driving to work. I was working a terrible job and feeling really lost about what I should do next after I got kicked out of college (academic failure related to untreated ADHD). I heard an ad on the radio for a 12-week intensive medical transcription training program at a nearby large healthcare organization. The program paid for your tuition and books and a full-time hourly wage while you attend school and you were guaranteed a full time job at the organization if you successfully completed the program. I thought to myself "I should apply for that, it would be way better than slicing pork chops with a band saw." So I did, and 26 years later, I'm still working there. It gave me excellent health insurance that allowed me to access mental health care, a position where I transcribed psychiatry and psychology reports which stimulated my interest in the mental health field, tuition assistance, a flexible schedule that made it easier to go to school, the ability to reduce my hours to part time so I can continue to have really stable employment and excellent health insurance while I'm getting established in my new career, and when I reach retirement age, I'll have an actual pension.
Edit: Oh yeah, and the radio station was based in the same city as my employer, and I ended up dating one of the station's DJs after I moved there.
#43
Taking a student job doing tech support for the university. Ended up liking it way more than what I was studying, was basically doing it full time by graduation, carved out a 30-year IT/sysadmin/systems engineer/architect career out of it completely in spite of not being a classically trained computer science grad.
I wonder where I would have wound up if I was just driving the espresso machine at Starbucks or something else.
#44
I quit a job with no plan that I hated. I pulled in for my thanksgiving day shift in 2023 and legitimately quit. That was a horrible idea, but turned into the best decision of my life. I then got hired out of pure luck by an accounting firm as the office secretary. I had no office job experience. Well, I just hit two years here and after the first of the year will move into my own office as a full time accountant. also start university next month for accounting in hopes of getting a CPA license in a couple years.
#45
I took a dual credit course on the fly. I had five minutes to decide as they had one seat and the sign up closed in those five minutes. Best decision of my life, as I work in the culinary field with no student debt and happily making bank.
#46
My first year out of college my uncle was visiting me in the city I lived in. My friend's birthday party was Saturday night, and I had originally said I couldn't go because of my uncle's visit. He ended up being tired and wanted an early night, and although I had work the next day, decided to go to the party for a bit. Ended up meeting my now husband there and we're still together 14 years later.
#47
I had to teach myself if i cant change a situation I shouldn’t worry rather look for a solution or move on . I allow myself to cry,stress for one day and think of a solution the next day.
#48
Parents made me start saving at 15. Made me save a portion of every paycheque directly after that.
Didn't think it was a big deal until I got much older and realized almost all of my friends and family of similar age weren't saving until their 20s. Or later.
Katja Katze 8 hours ago
I'm tired of reading about these savings successes because the texts are always written as an accusation "why don't others think of this". Where there is nothing left, nothing can be put aside. Saving requires that I earn more money than I need to live on. And so many of us worry about how we're going to pay for food at the end of the month.
#49
Decided to check the church’s P.O. Box. What I thought was a check ended up being an anonymous letter to the pastor complaining that he wasn’t telling my (now ex-) wife she shouldn’t divorce me.
#50
Freshman year, I broke up with my girlfriend who I only saw at church once a week to pursue someone at school. Not only did that not work out, church girl was my first real love and at 32 years old, not a day goes by that I do not think of them. I am haunted by my selfishness and at the thoughts of what could have been.
What do you think ?
Bill Swallow 15 hours ago
It was August 2004. I had been laid off in April, and four months later, I was still unemployed. I got a phone call from my best friend, buddies since 1982. He had run into a rough situation; he and his wife were unemployed and about to lose their home. On the spur of the moment, I said "Why don't you move down here and live with me? We can all look for work together." I had a 750 sq ft. apartment near DC. I hung up the phone and wondered if I had lost my flippin' mind. Then I headed for Pittsburgh to help them pack and move. Best decision I ever made. By the end of the year, we all had jobs. We moved from rental to rental for ten years while we built up a stake and then bought our Forever Home for our artificial family. My buddy's Mom moved in with us, and we make it work. We're good friends and all support each other, and I can honestly say that without them here, I would now be unalive.
Zig Zag Wanderer 8 hours ago (edited)
I was trying to get to Australia from the UK. I had lucked into a job from a random recruitment agency email to another colleague. I interviewed and got the job. Like an idiot, I jacked in my job, bought tickets for the entire family (4) to Australia, THEN went for my visa. 4 to 6 weeks wait! I said I had a government contract already. Tough excrement, matey. I saw a pile of applications marked 'express' behind the counter. It turned out that was for express applications, if you had the right skills. I did! A week later, I was in Australia, a year later I had my own business, and another contract and a sponsor for permanent residency. 15 years later, I retired to a tropical paradise 😎 if I hadn't seen that pile of express applications, I would have probably failed completely.
Bill Swallow 15 hours ago
It was August 2004. I had been laid off in April, and four months later, I was still unemployed. I got a phone call from my best friend, buddies since 1982. He had run into a rough situation; he and his wife were unemployed and about to lose their home. On the spur of the moment, I said "Why don't you move down here and live with me? We can all look for work together." I had a 750 sq ft. apartment near DC. I hung up the phone and wondered if I had lost my flippin' mind. Then I headed for Pittsburgh to help them pack and move. Best decision I ever made. By the end of the year, we all had jobs. We moved from rental to rental for ten years while we built up a stake and then bought our Forever Home for our artificial family. My buddy's Mom moved in with us, and we make it work. We're good friends and all support each other, and I can honestly say that without them here, I would now be unalive.
Zig Zag Wanderer 8 hours ago (edited)
I was trying to get to Australia from the UK. I had lucked into a job from a random recruitment agency email to another colleague. I interviewed and got the job. Like an idiot, I jacked in my job, bought tickets for the entire family (4) to Australia, THEN went for my visa. 4 to 6 weeks wait! I said I had a government contract already. Tough excrement, matey. I saw a pile of applications marked 'express' behind the counter. It turned out that was for express applications, if you had the right skills. I did! A week later, I was in Australia, a year later I had my own business, and another contract and a sponsor for permanent residency. 15 years later, I retired to a tropical paradise 😎 if I hadn't seen that pile of express applications, I would have probably failed completely.
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