Jump

     As my sophomore year comes to a close, I'd like to reflect a bit. I promise, I won't be too wordy. :) One word can sum up this year - risky.
     Risky. Dictionary. com defines risky as, "hazardous." Not the best definition I've seen before, but it'll do. If I could define risky after this year, and definitely after this semester, I would say it means jumping without knowing where you might land, taking a chance on someone else and trusting that everything will work out the way it's supposed to.

     I lived in my safe, little box my freshman year. It was nice, sure, but it wasn't different. I went through the same schedule day in and day out...no surprises, no moments of spontaneity and definitely no moments that took my breath away (in the good sense and the bad sense). I told myself things needed to be a bit more "unsafe" next year. So I promised myself at the beginning of this year that I would take some risks, jump once in a while, and with the help of few unnamed people (you know who you are), I think I did a pretty good job.
     I'm not one to like change, and I'm still working on it, but I do think this year was a good starting point for me. I began some friendships with people I never thought I would speak to in my life, I took some classes I wasn't sure I would get an A in and I learned a lot about myself, helping me to grow.
     I know I'm being beyond vague in this post and I apologize, but a lot of the risks I took this year were personal and I'm not one to put a ton of personal information out on the "world-wide Web." The way I look at, the only people really reading this post are the ones who helped me take these risks. They're the ones who pushed me, held my hand, caught me when I fell, gave me a shoulder to cry on and bestowed me with some of the best advice I think I will ever get in my life. So if you're one of those people who helped me out, first off, I think you know what I'm talking about and second, thank you. And for those of you who don't know what risks I took, I guess you can let your imagination run wild...or just ask. :)
     This year wasn't easy. There were moments when I truly questioned why I was here, why this was happening to me, what I was supposed to learn from this trial and if anyone really cared. I learned that there are times when you've only got yourself to rely on and there are other times when the person you least expected to be there for you, opens his or her arms as wide as possible to embrace you.
     I had my triumphs and my failures. And although I'm still having a tough time accepting those failures as learning moments, I've gotten better. I think the one thing that I have to remember, and everyone should, is that we won't get yesterday back. We can only look back on yesterday and reflect on our actions. And when I look back, I want to look back with a smile on my face and know that I took every possible opportunity to live and learn. I don't want to have regrets.
     So yes, this year has been risky. I'm not happy with all the choices I made, but I learned from them and that's the most important thing. I took some risks, I could have taken more, but it was a good start. I learned I'm worth it and that living my life for me is just as important as living it to help others.
     Advice for fellow "Good Journey-ers?" Live. Take some risks. Jump. Learn something new each day. Whether it's about you, someone else or just a fun fact. Look back on yesterday and be happy you took the risks you did.
     I took a risk, and I'm proud of it.