those life changing moments.

[Sparx]

This is the sequel to my thread about winning the trip to State 4H 2007 Roundup And All Star/Vol State Conference. I competed in the Home Horticulture/Garden project group. I entered a portfolio that was judged, then I made it to the second level of competition which is an interview with specialists in your area. I was interviewed by the turf specialist of Neyland Stadium (hey football fans, Thats the UT field =D) and a gardener in the UTK gardens. Well my interview went fabulously. I didn't win this year, but I've still got three more years I can compete to win. I'm looking forward to it.

I spent a week in interviews, meetings, luncheons, tours, and walking my feet off (oh and we went to dollywood ) Last night, the last night, was really a last night for so many people. For all of the graduating seniors, this is their last 4H involved thing...ever. And thats really an emotional thing for all of them.

This past year has been awful for me, 4H wise. Back in March, I was dead set, ready to leave. But I met this guy, at State 4H congress. His name was Jeremy. He is the former state 4H council president (highest office you can hold in the state of Tennessee state 4H club. Hes important.) I owe Jeremy this week. Had I not met him at congress, I wouldn't have gone to roundup, and I probably wouldn't be in 4H right now. Jeremy changed my life, just by making me make a promise. The promise was that I would make a portfolio and go to roundup. I made that promise to him.

Last night, Jeremy made his last speech. He thanked everyone for everything that has gotten him this far. He was on the verge of tears throughout the whole speech. Afterwards, when the ceremony was over, he left the stage. People were intermingling and talking. I saw him. I walked over with the intentions to thank him for making me make that promise. I asked him if I could talk to him for a second. That second turned into 30 minutes. There was a line of people standing around waiting to talk to him. I told him that I wouldn't be there without him making me make that promise. I thanked him for everything he did. And he leaned over and whispered in my ear "I almost quit last year. Don't give up...for me. Promise?" I whispered back "I promise." when I looked at him, he was crying. He leaned in for a hug and when he did I said "promise you wont forget about all of us." he said "i'll never forget this."

Talk about an emotional break down. We were a mess. Today on the trip home, he got off the bus at my stop and as he was shaking hands and giving hugs he leaned in to me and said "I'm so glad you came. everything you said meant so much to me last night."

I didn't realize it at the time, and not until months and months later, but that moment in the Sheraton Hotel in Nashville in March, I was sitting on some steps, and he was standing down in front of me. We walked and caught an elevator, rode to the 3rd floor and probably talked for three minutes, but that moment, that conversation has totally changed my life. I was ready to cut off this part of my life, and now I'm already planning next year. I can't think of one reason I would ever want to leave this program, and it broke my heart to watch those who had to leave.

I'm a firm believer that there are a handful of moments that define you and shape your life. They can be small, like a conversation while waiting for an elevator, or a quote you hear over an intercom-that you just can't get out of your mind, or they can be huge, big deals that knock the wind out of you and jump up and down in your face until you notice them. That was one of my moments. It took me several months to recognize it, but it was.

What sort of moments have you had that shaped/changed your life? Were they small and seemingly insignificant, or were they huge and unavoidable? Do you owe the person you are today, to someone else, as I owe the 4H part of me to Jeremy, if so, who is the person/people?

 

[DramaQueen]

That's a great story Shelby


When I saw this post there was was instance that came to mind.
It's not that I was inspired like you, or had someone give me some great advice, and anything like that.

from this situation I learned how selfish I really can be sometimes. And I will always remember what happened to make me change.

I was on my way home from work, and I usually call Derek when I get home. But instead of calling him, I went for a walk with my friend, and then I went on the computer and then I went to bed.
I had my cell phone on silent the whole time. I was thinking only of myself, I knew I had to call Derek, but I was being so selfish, that I didn't call him.

When I finally decided to call him at around 1:00am, he was hysterical. I could hear the fear in his voice, he was in his car on his way over to my house. My heart sunk into my stomach. I never had felt so guilty in my life.
He was crying.
He told me about how his brother had a girlfriend a few years ago and she was killed by getting hit by a car. And that was all he could think about when I didn't call.
He said he had been freaking out and crying and calling and calling me.
Even thinking about it I get a knot in my stomach.

Ever since that happened, never ever have I let Derek think I was in any sort of danger.

At that moment in my life, I had never felt so loved. Or guilty.
At that moment I changed, and never will I ever do anything so selfish again.

 

[Sparx]

That's a great story Shelby


When I saw this post there was was instance that came to mind.
It's not that I was inspired like you, or had someone give me some great advice, and anything like that.

from this situation I learned how selfish I really can be sometimes. And I will always remember what happened to make me change.

I was on my way home from work, and I usually call Derek when I get home. But instead of calling him, I went for a walk with my friend, and then I went on the computer and then I went to bed.
I had my cell phone on silent the whole time. I was thinking only of myself, I knew I had to call Derek, but I was being so selfish, that I didn't call him.

When I finally decided to call him at around 1:00am, he was hysterical. I could hear the fear in his voice, he was in his car on his way over to my house. My heart sunk into my stomach. I never had felt so guilty in my life.
He was crying.
He told me about how his brother had a girlfriend a few years ago and she was killed by getting hit by a car. And that was all he could think about when I didn't call.
He said he had been freaking out and crying and calling and calling me.
Even thinking about it I get a knot in my stomach.

Ever since that happened, never ever have I let Derek think I was in any sort of danger.

At that moment in my life, I had never felt so loved. Or guilty.
At that moment I changed, and never will I ever do anything so selfish again.

I remember you posting when that happened. Reading that story made me obsessive about not missing phonecalls. I used to not really care, then I read your story and thought about it differently.

 

[xxvampiregrl]

When I was in 8th grade, I had no friends. My grades in school were very low. My mom was sick at the time and I was in so much fear of losing her that I couldn't take it. I was feeling hopeless. Like I had no one to turn to.

Then I met this guy named Roger. Roger was already a freshman in highschool and had come to this highschool from a different town so I had never met him. When we met, we immediately had a strong bond. We had so much in common we couldn't believe it. I shared everything with Roger. I told him how I was afraid to go to highschool, that I might not even pass 8th grade to GO to highschool, and about how my mom was sick.

I hung out with Roger a lot, and his friends. I appreciated this so much. I finally had friends! I had never known what it felt like. Roger's friends would often do drugs and smoke and drink, but Roger would tell me not to. Although I didn't appreciate him doing that, I will always appreciate how he wouldn't let me do it.

Towards the end of 8th grade, my grades started to go up, and my mom started to get better. I had gotten my grades all up to A's and B's and my mom was well enough to attend our graduation ceremony.

So it was the night of graduation and we are all in own gowns. I couldn't be more excited to graduate now. I knew that once I got into high school I would have friends. They started giving out the awards at graduation and I got most improved. When I went up to recieve it, I looked in the audience. I saw my dad, my sister, my mom, and Roger and all my other new friends. They were standing up and applauding me. I wanted to cry.

The summer before High School was not a good one. Roger was involved in a car crash due to drunk driving. This changed my life. I wish I could have done something to make him not drink, like he did for me. I wish he could have stopped himself, insteading of stopping me.

But I never got bitter about this. I attended his funeral and was even able to smile. This was only goodbye...and I will never forget the life lessons that he taught me

 

[DramaQueen]

I remember you posting when that happened. Reading that story made me obsessive about not missing phonecalls. I used to not really care, then I read your story and thought about it differently.

yeah, it honestly like completely changed me. before I never cared.
i call him EVERYNIGHT before I go to bed no matter what now.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I just thought of another situation that sort of changed me as a person;


In grade 11 I had this boyfriend who I really liked, but then I got a crush on this other guy.
To makea long story short, I dumped my boyfriend, because the other guy was totally leading me on.

Anyway...I wa slike totally obsessed with this guy. I would stay up on MSN til like 3am talking to him.
I really thought I LOVED him.
It was eating me up inside, I was honestly going CRAZY.
So one night I decided to just tell him how I felt.
So I did. (on MSN) It was so scary, I was shaking and crying when I told him because I was terrified.
He told me he didn't like me back.
It crushed me, but honestly, it was TOTALLY worth it.
I was upset for a couple of days but I felt better knowing the truth.

From then on I decided I was going to be the type of person to just take chances, and not leave anything up to fate. If I wanted something, or needed to tell someone something, I just dive in now.
Sometimes it's scary and the outcome is a bit upsetting.

But when everything is said & done, it's always better to have taken the chance than to be left forever wodnering.

I applied what I learned from that situation to my relationship with Derek.
I've always just....taken chances that alot od people are scared to take.
I took the plunge and kissed him first. I took a HUGE risk by telling him I loved him.

So I learned from that crush, that life is about taking chances and not waiting for things to happen for you.

 

[DramaQueen]

I have another one!!!!
(quite a few lifechanging moments in my 18 years lol)
I'm too lazy to type it all up right now. It will be REALLY long.


I actaully wrote a paper about it, if anyone is interested in reading it PM me and I'll send it over


I'll probably post a VERY summarized version on here later though.
(i don't have time right now)

 

[disney100666]

that's a great story shelby!

OT:
and caitlin I love the sig, Link; your pork is ready!

 

[rutgersdeb]

When I was in 8th grade, I had no friends. My grades in school were very low. My mom was sick at the time and I was in so much fear of losing her that I couldn't take it. I was feeling hopeless. Like I had no one to turn to.

Then I met this guy named Roger. Roger was already a freshman in highschool and had come to this highschool from a different town so I had never met him. When we met, we immediately had a strong bond. We had so much in common we couldn't believe it. I shared everything with Roger. I told him how I was afraid to go to highschool, that I might not even pass 8th grade to GO to highschool, and about how my mom was sick.

I hung out with Roger a lot, and his friends. I appreciated this so much. I finally had friends! I had never known what it felt like. Roger's friends would often do drugs and smoke and drink, but Roger would tell me not to. Although I didn't appreciate him doing that, I will always appreciate how he wouldn't let me do it.

Towards the end of 8th grade, my grades started to go up, and my mom started to get better. I had gotten my grades all up to A's and B's and my mom was well enough to attend our graduation ceremony.

So it was the night of graduation and we are all in own gowns. I couldn't be more excited to graduate now. I knew that once I got into high school I would have friends. They started giving out the awards at graduation and I got most improved. When I went up to recieve it, I looked in the audience. I saw my dad, my sister, my mom, and Roger and all my other new friends. They were standing up and applauding me. I wanted to cry.

The summer before High School was not a good one. Roger was involved in a car crash due to drunk driving. This changed my life. I wish I could have done something to make him not drink, like he did for me. I wish he could have stopped himself, insteading of stopping me.

But I never got bitter about this. I attended his funeral and was even able to smile. This was only goodbye...and I will never forget the life lessons that he taught me

That's a really nice story, Madi. It touched me a bit.

 

[Mr. Grumpy Gills]

Mine pales compares you your stories, both of you. But it affected me greatly.

I was out driving with my one friend Alexis, who was the first of my friends to get her license last year. We were driving on a highway to a nearby mall. It wasn't busy or anything, just your average sunny day. We were driving along, listening to music, talking every now and then, barely doing the speed limit, being safe and all. We saw a car in the next lane start drifting towards us. We were going about 65mph, and they were a little faster but still right next to us. Alexis honked the horn, but I guess the person was preoccupied. I'm pretty sure they were on their cell phone. She couldn't slow down because there was a car behind us, and there was a car infront of us too, so we couldn't really speed up and get away. The car was so close, when finally the driver realized where he/she was and jerked the car back over into their lane. It was so scary, because I could feel the accident right there. If we had an accident, it would've been bad, atleast 3 car would've been involved, ours, the one next to us, and the one behind us. I doubt the person behind us could've stopped in time. It made me realize how quickly life can be taken away or changed like that. I, like you DramaQueen, don't leave this undone and I always take the "plunge". You don't know if you'll get another chance.

Also, relating to this story, I have an older cousin who at the age of 16 was diagnosed with Leukemia. She survived, but it was close. That also made me realize that I'm no invincible.

 

[Sparx]

When I was in 8th grade, I had no friends. My grades in school were very low. My mom was sick at the time and I was in so much fear of losing her that I couldn't take it. I was feeling hopeless. Like I had no one to turn to.

Then I met this guy named Roger. Roger was already a freshman in highschool and had come to this highschool from a different town so I had never met him. When we met, we immediately had a strong bond. We had so much in common we couldn't believe it. I shared everything with Roger. I told him how I was afraid to go to highschool, that I might not even pass 8th grade to GO to highschool, and about how my mom was sick.

I hung out with Roger a lot, and his friends. I appreciated this so much. I finally had friends! I had never known what it felt like. Roger's friends would often do drugs and smoke and drink, but Roger would tell me not to. Although I didn't appreciate him doing that, I will always appreciate how he wouldn't let me do it.

Towards the end of 8th grade, my grades started to go up, and my mom started to get better. I had gotten my grades all up to A's and B's and my mom was well enough to attend our graduation ceremony.

So it was the night of graduation and we are all in own gowns. I couldn't be more excited to graduate now. I knew that once I got into high school I would have friends. They started giving out the awards at graduation and I got most improved. When I went up to recieve it, I looked in the audience. I saw my dad, my sister, my mom, and Roger and all my other new friends. They were standing up and applauding me. I wanted to cry.

The summer before High School was not a good one. Roger was involved in a car crash due to drunk driving. This changed my life. I wish I could have done something to make him not drink, like he did for me. I wish he could have stopped himself, insteading of stopping me.

But I never got bitter about this. I attended his funeral and was even able to smile. This was only goodbye...and I will never forget the life lessons that he taught me

that story almost made me cry.

 

[MuNkY]

I'm glad you got involved in this. I'm supporting you with it. =)

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

All of you have such touching stories. I have one that changed my life for the better, it might not be greatly amazing to you guys; you might not even care. What happened is turning out to be the foundation for my future, and my future carreer.

I love science. Always have, always will. I've gotten outstanding grades in science for as long as I can remember. I used to want to be an astornomer, but I changed my mind- I want to go into forensics.

In my county, there are several career acadamies. One of them specializes in the sciences. Particularly forensics/chemistry. I went to a summer camp that the school offered last summer. I got to learn about what I had in store for me, if I chose to apply there. I also got to talk with several of the students who already attened the school. This school was turning out to be the school of my dreams. I had my heart set on the school until...

Late October / November. All of the schools were having open houses. I was debating whether or not science was my 'thing'; I was really getting interested in writing. I went to the open house for the science school, and the school that specializes in creative writing. I was starting to set my heart on the writing school. I asked my mom for her opinion, and she told me to apply to the science one.

I could only hand in one application, so I debated with myself for a few weeks. I decided to listen to my mom's advice.

In January, I had to go to the science school to take a two hour entrance exam. I was so nervous. When I got there, I nearly panicked because hudreds of kids applied to this school - and only about 80 students were accepted. I calmed down, and took the test. I tried my damned hardest. After handing in the test, I had to wait, and wait, and wait.

February 28th (Yes, I remember the day; that's how important this meant for me.) I was walking home from the bus stop, when I see my mom running down the street, waving a letter in her hands. This was it. I ran all the way to the house, and dropped my books along the way. the two of us ran into the kitchen. I was trembling, holding the letter. I was getting closer and closer to my fate. As I was about to open the letter, my mom told me,

"Jaimie, even if you don't get accepted, I want you to remember that daddy and I will always love you no matter what happens, and what you do."

I thanked my mom, thinking, "I JUST WANT TO OPEN THIS LETTER!"

I ripped open the letter:

"Dear Jaimie (Last name),

Congratulations on your acceptance to (acutal name of the school)..."

That's all I remember. I didn't read the rest. I didn't have time to. The shock was setting in; I GOT ACCEPTED! my mom and I read the letter at the same time. We turned to eachother. I threw the letter on the table, and we started jumping up and down, screaming, hugging, laughing, crying...

That feeling of euphoria was amazing.

 

[meeshheartsdisney217]

Meeting my life heroes.
being with my real family. not just those people who are related to me.
telling my friends how much they mean to me.
dreaming about all my friends dying.
hurting myself. many a time.
telling a guy how much they mean to you.
that one week in july every year.


i have not had a major life changing moment. nor do i plan to.

i change from minor experiences i have. the major minor ones are listed above.

 

[Tinkerrat]

here is my life changing story

this summer i went on adventures by disney vacation before the vacation i was in a rut i had no inspiration no hope no reason to live then i met nick on adventures by disney he changed my life the way he would always help others and be kind to every one he gave me a reason to live for he inspired me he changed he made me who i am suposed to be
i think people can inspire you more than anything else because they are so real and there for you
all the people on the vacation were amazing they all had great hearts and i miss them all i hope i can see them again
i know this might not be amazing to some people but it is for me this is something i will remember for the rest of my life i am a completley different person now than who i was 3 months ago
they all changed me for the better

oh and if you want to know i am crying while i write this
i have teardrops on my keyboard

 

[Sparx]

Meeting my life heroes.
being with my real family. not just those people who are related to me.
telling my friends how much they mean to me.
dreaming about all my friends dying.
hurting myself. many a time.
telling a guy how much they mean to you.
that one week in july every year.


i have not had a major life changing moment. nor do i plan to.

i change from minor experiences i have. the major minor ones are listed above.

you don't plan these things...

 

[JulielovesDisney]

When my brother was diagnosed with Leukemia when I was in 2nd grade. (Made me realize that life is short and you don't live forever.)
When my brother was in a serious motorcycle accident. (Helped me realize I should help others and put others before myself.)
When we took my grandfather off life support. (Helped me realize that death isn't something that should be feared.)
When a soldier from my town died in Iraq. (Made me realize what a mess the world is in right now.)

 

[UxhrtXmyxfelines]

One time,

I was over at my friends house. We did as we always do, we lit up some good ole wacky tabaccy (weed if you don't know). SO we were really blazed, and we decided to go lay on the trampoline under the night stars. Laying there, looking up, I had an epiphany. It was like Polaris (Big Dipper) was touching my soul. Everything came into focus. I knew my calling. Now I live a more simple life. I'm an aspiring cattle rancher.

 

[iluvMCRplz]

One time,

I was over at my friends house. We did as we always do, we lit up some good ole wacky tabaccy (weed if you don't know). SO we were really blazed, and we decided to go lay on the trampoline under the night stars. Laying there, looking up, I had an epiphany. It was like Polaris (Big Dipper) was touching my soul. Everything came into focus. I knew my calling. Now I live a more simple life. I'm an aspiring cattle rancher.

oh, good for you!

 

[rutgersdeb]

One time,

I was over at my friends house. We did as we always do, we lit up some good ole wacky tabaccy (weed if you don't know). SO we were really blazed, and we decided to go lay on the trampoline under the night stars. Laying there, looking up, I had an epiphany. It was like Polaris (Big Dipper) was touching my soul. Everything came into focus. I knew my calling. Now I live a more simple life. I'm an aspiring cattle rancher.

Interesting.

 

[meeshheartsdisney217]

you don't plan these things...

i meant that i don't need one to inspire me.

i'm inspired everyday.

truthfully, i am more inspired by what i am feeling and doing now. and that could pretty much keep me through till next summer.