What Seemingly insignificant event changed the course of your life?

[Praying Colonel]

I was selected to work as a counselor at a summer program that was on 2 college campuses. I wanted Campus B and got Campus A, instead.

I went to the selection person and asked if I could switch to Campus B. She said she'd be glad to do it, but she hand-picked the team to be at Campus A and thought I'd really be a lot happier if I stuck with that choice. So I did, eventually starting to date another counselor who became my DW.

If the selection person hadn't tried to talk me out of my request the whole course of my life would've been different.

 

[OhhBother]

Accidentally signed up for a senior-level class when I was a freshman in college. I met my DH (three years older than I) there. It's unlikely our paths would have crossed otherwise, as he was in his last semester before graduation. We've now been happily married almost 24 years.

 

[GreatLakes]

The one that comes to mind is a five minute conversation I had with one of my friend's brother about 20 years ago. I was trying to decide on what I wanted to major in and had a completely different plan. A seemingly throw away sentence in that conversation that wasn't even about college made me look into a different field and that is ultimately what I majored in. I rarely even see that friend any longer let alone their brother but it pushed me to a totally different path in life.

 

[Buckeye218]

Answering a PM I received on the dis

I did this and ended up marrying her in less than a year. Just a simple, random thing that ended up changing my life forever (and hers!).

 

[Christine]

Taking the Metrobus (DC) to work in the 1980s. I was working at a bank's corporate office and chose to take public transportation every day. An older man used to sit next to me and engage me in conversation. I decided to be friendly. He took a liking to me. When the company his daughter worked for won a new contract, he referred me to her as he felt I was smart and conscientious. I took a job and it changed my entire career path for the next 20+ years.

 

[Floridaman999]

The one that comes to mind is a five minute conversation I had with one of my friend's brother about 20 years ago. I was trying to decide on what I wanted to major in and had a completely different plan. A seemingly throw away sentence in that conversation that wasn't even about college made me look into a different field and that is ultimately what I majored in. I rarely even see that friend any longer let alone their brother but it pushed me to a totally different path in life.

I bet they'd love to hear this.

 

[mamamary]

When I was 15 I went into a pharmacy to buy something and met my future husband. He was visiting his friend who worked there part-time while in college. Been together ever since.

 

[leebee]

I know I've posted this story before, but it's worth retelling. It's a decision that affected my life, for sure, but it was actually my BIL's decision. He'd received a speeding ticket on his way home from work one day. Heaven knows he might have deserved it; he works in Boston but lives in southern Maine and we all drive too fast on the highway. Whatever the reason, he decided to fight that particular ticket in court, so called in sick the night before so he'd have the day off to protest the ticket. My BIL is a flight attendant for United Airlines, and his court date was 9/11/2001. He had been scheduled as flight crew on United Flight 175, Boston to LA, one of the hijacked flights that crashed into the Twin Towers in NYC. His decision to NOT work that day didn't change our lives, but if he had gone in, our lives would have been drastically, tragically altered forever. Needless to say, he did not go to court that morning; he went to his base to see what he could do to help, as did most United employees around the country. He has no idea who United scheduled in his place but struggles with the survivor's guilt to this day. It is sometimes hard to be grateful for our good fortune when we understand that some other family faced tragedy.

 

[MrsDuck]

My mom hired a new teacher to join her department. That new teacher had a very cute son that I started being friends with, then dated, and then ultimately married.

 

[Floridaman999]

I woke up one day about 3 minutes earlier than usual. I met my wife that day and we've been together ever since.

 

[cabanafrau]

I've attended a few parties that resulted in being introduced to various people who changed the trajectory of my life.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

When I was filling out my application for college(last submitter day of course). Well I wasn’t 100% sure how to spell Engineering. A wee bit before auto correct and no dictionary in sight, I decided that finance might be fun. The world is probably safer that this all went down this way. God knows how many structures might have collapsed if I had a Webster at my disposal.

 

[neverlandsky]

Was unwilling forced to accept a work transfer to another location that led me to meeting DH almost 20 years ago. I even put in my 2 weeks notice at the new location and my gut told me to retract it to stay. Months later me & DH started dating.

 

[quandrea]

Instead of doing my usual errands after dropping my then dd, 5 off at school, I headed home to check on dh, who had what we though was a cold. Turns out he was having a very bad bout of an irregular heart rhythm he’d had since a child. If I hadn’t gone home that day, I’d be a widow. I was ten weeks pregnant at the time with our twins. That day’s arrhythmia was so bad that he had the electrical heart defect repaired a month after the incident. Something called me home that day and I am forever grateful.

 

[eskskick]

I went on vacation to the Dominican Republic when I was 22. It was February, I was from Canada and "knew" it was warm other places during our winter but didn't really "get it." After that vacation I thought I would like to move somewhere warm. Two months later my company opened a yard in Texas and I applied to move. Eight years later I am still in Texas, met my husband down here and have a beautiful daughter.