Little changes

Sometimes I think about how EVERYTHING could be different if one slight thing changed. I imagine how one little decision could alter the entire way that I live my life.

What if I hadn't heard about this job and decided to randomly apply for it? What if I didn't sit next to Chiara on the airplane on the way to Florence? What if I had skipped happy hour that one time and hadn't met the Chemist, who has now introduced me to all of my friends at work? What if I had decided to drop pledging from my sorority?

Or what about changes that aren't my decision but others... all my best friends from home are right now located throughout the major cities of the east coast. One in Boston, one in Chicago, one in NYC, and one in Washington D.C. However, for a little while during senior year of college, Teenie was interviewing for a position with my same company at a location 10 minutes away from where I work and Heart was looking at grad schools in this city. What if they'd made those decisions and instead of moving here alone, I'd moved here with Teenie and Heart and the 3 of us lived together? What if Smack had taken the job that was offered to her by last summer's internship and she lived in NYC with K8?

It is sometimes fun to think through these different little paths that life could have taken us on. Although sometimes, it can just be dangerous as well. Did anybody else ever read those books with alternative endings when they were younger? At the end of each chapter, you'd make a decision as to how the character could act and it would direct you a certain page and you'd keep reading on to see what happens. If at the end of the story, you aren't happy with the way things turned our, or if you were just curious as to what would have happened if you went the other way, you could start over and find out.

I'm kind of happy that real life isn't like that. Although scary, each and every decision we make can't be undone. There is no flipping to the beginning of a certain chapter and starting over. Even if you are lucky enough to be able to have the opportunity to try things again or take another stab at something... it will never change that original decision you made.

Just some food for thought...