Taking Chances...

Written by Ben

Hello!

I wish to start this post off by apologizing; I have been slacking at writing, and it is because I really wanted my first post to be this amazing thing, but it just never really felt like that. Although I will indeed try to make this post short, it will probably end up being lengthy and full of ramblings.

It is hard to believe that so much has happened since the idea of this blog was stormed up by my family and I. It has probably been almost a year now since then. So again I apologize if this post is a tad all over the place. I can scarcely believe what has happened in that relatively short time though; things such as: vacations, break-ups, really sick days, a new nephew (who is just over a year old now), and many other adventures and happenings for my family, myself, and those whom I love.

Truthfully though, this is one of the core topics I want to talk about in this post. Namely the many amazing and wonderful people I have had the spectacular opportunities to meet and get to know in this life. I have truly been blessed to become acquainted and even simply meet or associate with some truly incredible people. If I could I would name all of them, but it would simply take too much time, and they would probably get mad at me, so I will focus on a select few. First off, my family; now yes I understand that many people would say the same thing about their family, and I have no doubt that they are great in their own ways as well, but I wish to speak about mine. My whole family has given up so much to help me in this life, I cannot express how much this means to me. Each individual member of my family is a stalwart example of just truly outstanding people. Of course we all have ours flaws and my family is perhaps especially full of them, but that is what makes it fun, and truly all the better. I would go through each member of my family and praise them, but it would take far too long and you would probably get bored. So in this post at least I want to focus on who I would say is probably my best friend in the entire world, My Dad.

 He and I are two peas in a pod, and we have a knack for adventures that are full of craziness and fun. We have what I would call a very particular talent, that of being in the right place at the right time. Now not only do we position ourselves to be in these places and moments, but we are willing to do what it takes to seize those and every moment. This leads me to the other main topic I wish to discuss in this blog post, but I will get to it a little later. My Father has been an example to me throughout both his life and mine. He tells me stories of his hard times, and somehow miraculously it helps me through mine. I hope that every young boy can have a relationship similar to that of my dad and I. Now there are times when we don't get along or get mad at each other or what have you, but that is just life. My father has shown me what it truly means to be a man of word and deed, he shows me everyday how to be better, and then helps me accomplish it. Our adventures are the stuff of legend and our heart to heart discussions could make grown men cry. I cannot express the love I have for my father, and even though I am lacking for the skill to express it, I hope and pray that he knows how much he means to me. I could go on for decades about my pops, but I will continue on.

We are in this life to meet people and experience the joys and sorrow of this mortal life. Every person that I have had the blessing of getting to know has shown me some of the great joys of this life, many of them in ways they themselves do not even realize. Every person we meet has the opportunity to bless our lives, and we have that same opportunity to bless theirs; at times I feel it is more like our obligation to those around us. I am not very good at this, but it is something I am trying to get better at. I want to be a bigger blessing in the lives of people I know, and even in the lives of those I don't, but I have a long way to go, and a lot of improving to do. Like the old saying dictates though, you have to begin that thousand mile journey with the first step.

I wish to tie this in to the point I said I would bring up earlier, and that is of seizing the moments placed before us. I am going to share a story, and I haven't cleared it with the other person in the story, so hopefully she is okay with it. Close to a year ago now I was an aid for the Anatomy lab at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). I had just gotten out of the hospital from my fifth surgery and it was part way through the summer semester, so I had to just jump back into aiding kind of mid stride. It was an afternoon class that was once a week during the middle of the week, I was shy and kind of scared because I knew none of the students, and to top it off I didn't know the teacher either. Well during the class I got to get to know the students more and ended up loving the class, they were fun and made the three hours go by quickly. At this time I was going through kind of a hard time in my life, not just because of my health, but because of a break-up I was in the process of going through, so overall I was kind of crabby to say the least. Despite this I got to know this really cool young lady, she was friendly, beautiful, funny, and a decent student. Sadly because of the place I was at in my life, I didn't take the opportunity to talk to her more, and the semester ended. She faded out of my life, just as quickly as she had appeared. Almost two months later I was at a devotional for the Young Single Adult (YSA) members of the church (LDS/Mormon church), and I had arrived just moments before the devotional was about to start. Now if I am being honest, I kind of had to drag myself there; I didn't really want to go, even though I knew it was what I needed to do. I had so many other things I needed to get done, but I figured "what the heck" and went. Upon arriving I quickly realized I was by myself... Now you would think it being a YSA activity that this would be normal, well let me tell you, it is NOT. Despite it saying "single" no one is actually single, they just aren't married yet, but oh man are they taken, and if you aren't there with a significant other, you are there with a bunch of friends and are not looking to "mingle". So I (feeling extremely alone) consigned myself to the fact that I would be sitting by myself, and it would be some good "alone time" (yeah right). Well as I was chatting with my Bishop I heard this voice say "Ben...?" I turn and look, and what do ya know it was the girl from the anatomy lab with a friend of hers. I am thinking "she remembers me? Sweet!! and than a rush of ah crap, I look like a freaking scrub!". All of the excitement was dashed when in front of my Bishop she exclaims with some excitement, "I didn't know you were LDS!?" at which point my bishop shoots me a sideways glance, and all I can think is "great, that is gonna come up on Sunday...". After some brief introductions I decide to take a chance and ask if I can sit with them, and after what felt like an eternity of waiting (which I am pretty sure females do on purpose) she said "of course.". We chatted throughout the devotional and as it was getting ready to end I had a decision to make. Should I ask this girl out so I can get to know her more, or should I just say it was a pleasure to see her again and run away to my comfort zone. Well I figured it was "balls to the wall" time (pardon my vernacular) so as it ended I got her attention and said something a whole lot less graceful than "hey I really enjoyed sitting with you and chatting, and I was curious if you would like to go on a date with me?". Again after an eternity and a half she said YES!! I of course felt like the king of the world, and happily got her number and had a little jam out session of celebration once I got to my car.

Now this is just the beginning of our story together, but it would take far too long to tell about all the amazing adventures and stuff that have happened since. But I owe it to that moment, that chance I took of seizing the moment, that I now have one of my best friends. It now feels as though we have known each other for much longer than a year, in fact I feel like I have known her all my life and more. We are as close as can be, and she has changed my life for the better in so many different ways, and I feel she doesn't even know a fraction of it. Now I am sure you have many questions on what happened and what is happening, but that is for another day. She is one of the closest and most dear people to me in my life, and I don't even want to think about where I would be without the experiences and lessons I have learned through simply knowing her. Hopefully she isn't ticked I shared this story, I cut out a lot of details (like how she made fun of me) and many others, because I only have the highest of regards for her and it would quite frankly take way too long.

 Now sometimes taking those chances doesn't turn out the way we had planned, I know mine didn't, but it turned out and is turning out the way it is/was supposed to. I have found that whenever it comes to taking chances, going "balls to the wall", making the leap, or daring to do something, even when it goes south, we never regret taking the chance. We never regret stepping out of our zone and taking a chance, no matter how it turns out. However we almost always regret the chances we didn't take, the dreams we stopped pursuing, or the faith and hope we let dwindle into nothing. So I encourage you to take chances, be bold and daring with your life, truly live this glorious thing called life. That way when you come to those crossroads (as I have recently and will continue to do) looking back at everything you have done, you can seize that moment and be happy knowing you dared to try, and have truly lived an amazing life.

Well I have rambled, talked in circles, and overall probably wrote too much, but I hope this helps someone, I know even just writing my thoughts and feelings helps me, so if that is all it does than that is enough for me. I am just a young kid with very little experience, and still so much to learn. I am scared of the future and extremely excited for all it has to offer as well; I hope to continue to be open with my thoughts and feelings on this blog. I hope I have not or do not offend anyone, and if for some reason I do, know that it was not my intention and I simply wish the best for all who suffer through reading my thoughts and feelings. Well I will probably write again here soon about my first week in Cleveland, because man has it been an adventure, but I had to get this post done and start this journey off with the first step.

-Ben