Mind blowing.

I like to do weekly (sometimes daily) checks of my life to see where I'm at and just to stop and think, "How did I get here?" and "Where am I going next?"  I've had the conversation with multiple people in the last week about how we got to the exact moment we were in having that exact conversation.  It went a little like this..


I know you already know this but I don't think it's until you really sit down and think about it that it really starts to blow your mind..

The fact of the matter is that every decision you make in life not only plays a huge part in where you get in life but it plays a part in the people you meet, the lessons you learn, and the things you do because of those people you meet and the other people you meet because you met a certain person.  Whoa.  Mind blowing yet?  Let's take a trip to the past. 

Sophomore year, high school--Went on a college trip to BYU-Idaho. Loved it. (of course you're going to have to factor in all of the decisions made by other people to get me to the point of living in Parma and going to school at that exact moment so I could even make the decision to go on that one college trip where I decided that would be the college I attend..but this blog post would be a BILLION pages long if we did that.  So we won't. Back to it.) High school BFF--Hyrum and Kelli who were a year older than me.  Fast forward a few years.  Hyrum and Kelli go to BYU-Idaho leaving me to finish my Senior year of High School.  Hyrum mentions me living with his older sister Savanna (a senior in college) and Kelli for my first semester while he was on his mission. Became instant bff's with sav. eventually met multiple people through her.  namely Alex.  Fast forward through many decisions and dramas to my college graduation.  Because of the decisions my sister made I was able to move in with her to SLC where I began searching for a job and found my job.  Sister's new BF lived in Kaysville (factor in all the decisions he had to have made to get him to that point.)  End up moving in with sister's BF further north for a month or so until I find my own place.  Decide to get an apartment in Layton to be closer to them since they were getting married at the end of the summer and so I could be closer to Alex would would be living in Ogden all of August.  Go to the SW Single's ward with Alex because he had a mission buddy that went to that ward and quite frankly, I didn't have any other friends here.  EVENTUALLY made some friends.  Continued going to that ward even though it wasn't my assigned ward. Cole moved in.  Started hanging out with people from ward/SW together.  Tried to move to salt lake to be closer to work.  Got the STRONGEST feeling I shouldn't..sick to my stomach even. (thank goodness I listened.)  Fast forward a year and you can account for relationships, deep friendships, trips, conversations, many laughs and good times [yada yada]..all of which would have never happened if each person didn't make all of the choices that they made to get them to that point. phew. 

Ever think you don't matter in someone else's life? or that the things you do are insignificant?  Think again.  The decision to buy a new car or move into an apartment could determine who you meet and maybe eventually fall in love with. And that group of friends you have right now might not even exist if you didn't make the decisions you made to get you to that place.  If you didn't have a hard time and decide to move back in with your parents, where would you be? If you were still dating that one guy what would you be missing out on? what lessons would you have learned? Who would you be? If you would have decided to not give that 'crazy person' a chance...then what?  

See? I mean, I could go on.


I don't know about you but I think that we all need to be grateful for the opportunity we have to make our own decisions.  But I think the lesson in all of this is that we have to remember how important it is to make smart choices because they don't just effect your life and the person you become but they play a huge role in the people you meet and in each of their lives as well.  

Is your mind blown yet?  If not..just think about your life.  How did you get to this EXACT spot in this exact moment, reading THIS blog?

Like Whoa, right?  Let's just assume that each of you reading is a friend or a family member of mine.  To you people--I'm SO glad that we are friends/family or even frienemies.  I've learned lessons from each of you and you've made me the person I am today.

Today is the beginning of a new week.  The sun is shining, the clocks are set forward to give us longer days--it's beautiful!  Now, let's go out and make good decisions so we can keep meeting all the right people and learning all the right lessons we need to be learning!  

Life is crazy. Life is beautiful. 

In the words of Drake..
"You only live once, that's the motto--YOLO."
so make it a good one.  not a boring or dull one. 

Here's to making it count!