#LifeChangingDecisions #ButterflyEffect
Hey there! So, have you ever made a tiny decision that ended up totally changing your life? It’s crazy how the little things can have such a huge impact, right? 🦋
For me, it was choosing to study abroad for a semester in college. At the time, it seemed like just a fun adventure, but it ended up shaping my entire career and life path. While I was abroad, I met someone who connected me with an incredible job opportunity that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. This led to so many other amazing opportunities and ultimately set me on the path to where I am today. 🌍
It just goes to show that even the smallest decisions can have a ripple effect and completely change the course of your life. So, the next time you’re faced with a seemingly insignificant choice, who knows what kind of impact it could have down the road! 😉
Going to rehab
Worked at an office store selling business machines, computers, etc. I did it as a throwaway job to hang out with my girlfriend (now wife) because she worked there. One of the guys in my department showed me how to upgrade memory in computers and install 56k modems. Got my A+ certification and I’ve had a reasonably successful IT career for the last 25 years.
I truly considered dropping out as an undergrad, and just working at the mall (minimum wage) and marrying my high school gf.
The girlfriend cheated on me, I went on to get a phd, later met and married my soul mate.
it makes me shudder to think of how I could have wasted my life, if I had made the easy decision.
I did not study hard in highschool that lead me being accepted in CS major that was considered to be low merit major back then. This ended well for me
I randomly joined a kickboxing class one day, and now I’ve got the most kickass group of friends and a newfound love for punching things
Agreeing to a last minute date.
I’d been talking to this guy in Tinder but we had busy schedules. We messages for a couple days and then he asked to go out that night a couple hours before. I don’t usually like last minute plans but I said sure why not.
Now I’m sitting in our house and watching our toddler play. It worked out very well.
Sending an online rando a message asking them what they were up to when I was a bored teen who was much better at having online friends than ones in person.
Coming up on our 8th wedding anniversary. Moved to different regions of the country twice with this person. Had someone to lean on and was there for them to lean on during our darkest moments.
I met my wife when I went outside in front of the Student Union building to have a cigarette.
23 years later we’re still together and quite happy and I haven’t smoked in over 15 years.
I randomly joined a weekend hiking group because I was bored, and now I’m in a serious relationship with a guy I met on one of those hikes.
took the wrong train to a minimal pay job in a new city, which I didn’t want, but I had to have at the time. asked a stranger for directions because my phone’s GPS was still a little off.
By coincidence, he was travelling in the same way. Together, we took a train ride and became film geeks. He was an aspiring filmmaker at the very beginning of his dreams, while I was just a movie enthusiast with no plans to “break into the industry” or pursue schooling beyond high school. Eventually, we became housemates and collaborators. About two years ago, we sold our first movie to IFC.
Deciding at the last second to join band and pick up the Trumpet in 5th grade. Most of my friends today stem from this decision.
I didn’t want to go to a party and only went in the door because someone behind me rang the bell and the door opened immediately. I decided to stay for an hour and just as I was getting ready to leave the man who is now my husband arrived and started talking to me. If that person behind me hadn’t rung the bell I’d never have met him because I probably would have just left without going in.
I randomly decided to join a friend for coffee one day, and now I’m in a kickass job I love because I met my future boss there.
I went to a music festival.
I was job hunting and decided to say fuck it and started applying to positions I was far from qualified in but figured I was already getting tons of no’s so what’s the worst that’s can happen? I saw one specific listing that I thought “idk what any of this is but they make good money so I’ll apply” Well, I got the job. And it’s the best goddamn job on the planet. I am treated with respect, dignity and kindness, I work with the most fantastic and intelligent group of people and have made some lifelong friends, the benefits are outrageous and my husband and I don’t pay a dime for healthcare including our deductible. We have season box tickets to NBA/NFL and NHL games. I went from graduating college at 28 and scared I was going to be nothing to someone with an incredibly important job that I thoroughly enjoy.
Getting lasik or rather PRK at the time. Not insignificant by any means, but my vision was so bad I literally had to hold text to my nose to read it. My eye glasses were SO thick even after they went away with glass and got lighter composite plastic. PRK got me from being almost blind without glasses to 20/20.
Changed my life. I could finally swim, got into snorkeling, then scuba diving and now go on vacation 2-3 times a year in SE Asia to dive.
I remember one time i nocked my glasses off my bed stand. I crawled around for 10 minutes trying to find them.
I followed my crush/ on and off HS boyfriend to the college he picked
I got a random roommate in the dorms
It’s been 16 years and my random roommate is still my best friend. I was her roommate for 4 years, her bridesmaid. I love her whole family
Her middle school best friend is also my best friend of 15 years now. Her entire family is my second family and where I will be spending thanksgiving. I was also her bridesmaid and she is basically my sister
Their other friend became like a sister to me as well. She is one of my best friends of ab 14 years and we see each other weekly
I don’t talk to my high school ex… we only hooked up the first few months of college and never talked again but there’s got to be at least the 20 closest people in my life besides my own family came from having matched w the perfect random roommate in college and I’m so thankful
I applied for a job I thought was overwhelmingly under qualified for. Half-assed everything because I knew I wouldn’t get it. Ended up getting the job, they relocated me, and I’ve been there ever since.
I bought a walking pad and it completely changed my sedentary lifestyle
Deciding to randomly join a yoga class one weekend led me to meet my now-boyfriend
Starting to work out regularly. I did it at first just based on a recommendation from a family member. It’s had a huge positive impact on both my mental and physical health
After never going out to party I decided to go out with my friends that one night. Met the love of my life ❤️
Flipped a coin to decide what uni I’d go to for an exchange semester.
First week there, I met the girl who a few years later became my wife. She makes everything better. ☺️
I watched the Anime Durarara, in which there was an online Chat where people anonymously talked to each other. I found that there’s an exact copy of that chat on the internet, joined it for fun and talked with random people. Did that for a while and met that one dude there. We got closer and started playing games together, watching anime etc.
Well fast forward 8 Years, that one dude I met there is my best friend for years now. We’re living 600km apart but everytime we meet it’s like we’ve seen each other just yesterday. It’s such an immense trust and family feeling we both share, i trust him even more than my own family lol. Anyways, best friends through random internet chats, yay
My college had an info session about a post-grad teaching program in Japan. I didn’t really have any interest in the program, but one of my friends wanted to hear about it and asked me to go to the session with her.
I went, thought it sounded cool, applied, and now I’ve been living in Japan for the past five years. If my friend hadn’t asked me to go with her or if I’d said no my life would be pretty different now.
40 years ago, a friend at school invited me to go look at a computer (these were times when computers were large and inaccessible to ordinary people. And yes, this was in the USSR). and …. I’m already in my sixth decade and I’m still a programmer 🙂
In high school a girl asked me out but not directly so it went over my head and I didn’t realize until a few years later. Now she’s happily married and retired with wonderful grown children and I’m still living in my mom’s basement selling weed to high school kids.
I said hi to a guy when returning something at my mom’s old office. Started talking to him and he asked me if I would want to work there. Two months offered me a very good job….. I couldn’t imagine where I would be today if I didn’t see him and started chatting.
Decided to walk into an office building and hand in my resume in person rather than go through the whole online process of applying.
They decided to give me an interview on the spot and I’ve been at that company every since.
A small decision I made that had a profound impact on three lives other than mine…
Late one night I got a collect phone call from a jail. This was new and unexpected, but if somebody’s calling ME from JAIL then I’d better check it out.
It was from my buddy’s (let’s call him Steve) disaster of an ex-girlfriend (let’s call her Brandy). She was busted for a DUI and she couldn’t get ahold of anyone else.
Brandy was vacationing at a timeshare in the mountains with her 10-year-old niece. When the niece was asleep in bed, Brandy had drunk-driven out to buy more liquor and gotten busted. She needed someone to get to the timeshare so the niece wouldn’t wake up alone and unaware.
I didn’t give a shit about Brandy, but there was an innocent little girl in the mix and I couldn’t let that go. So I went to Steve’s place, let myself in, woke him up, and explained the situation. He grudgingly agreed that something needed to be done, and drove off to the mountain timeshare. Steve took care of the niece, and bonded Brandy out of jail the following morning.
Well Steve and Brandy got back together. And she lied about being on birth control. Then they broke it off. Then Brandy had a baby (and yeah, it’s his). Now Steve’s on the hook for child support and trying to be a positive influence on his daughter’s life, while Brandy’s full-blown BPD makes everything super difficult for everyone.
Steve doesn’t blame me for the choices I made, but we both know how very differently things could have gone if I had just declined the phone call.
Tl,dr; I accepted a phone call from a jail, one thing led to another, and my friend’s toxic situationship led to an unplanned child.
I was flying to Costa Rica to go backpacking south from there, my sister told me to fly into Guatemala, I had to see it. So I did, and here I am still 10 years later, with a son and a life I never imagined.
There’s this specialty store in my area that I went to with my dad as a kid and he always told me what a great company it was and how cool it would be to work there. Well, they also have a reputation of being tough to get hired in.
I was working for an auto parts chain and recently transferred stores for a better position. But it was an hour away for not a lot of money. Everyday I would pass by that specialty store until one day I saw a “Now Hiring” sign.
That night I applied just for the hell of it and 3 days later I had my first interview. 2 weeks and 2 more interviews, I somehow got the job.
I’ve been there for 8 years now and it’s been such a great place to work.
decided to drive home at night instead of in the morning from our thanksgiving trip. ended up hitting a puddle, the car flipped 3 times, hit a tree which crushed the roof into my head. i’m now a quadriplegic.
Got a crappy job that led me to a particular colleague/friend, then a house party, then from there the best lifestyle and friends I could ever ask for. Full domino effect. Been an exciting and affirming life so far.
I told the truth. When I was 20 and still living in the crappy town in the crappy state that I was born in, I applied to the fire dept. I’d just partied my way out of an Aerospace Engineering program and was ready to give up my dreams of moving away and having an interesting life. I aced the written test, slayed the physical test and moved on to the final step of background/references check. Dad was a cop, uncle a fireman in said town and my references were solid. On the 20 page questionnaire it asked if I’d ever used illegal drugs. I told the truth. I’d tried pot once over a year prior but that’s it. Boom. End of application. Thanks for applying. With that option gone I embarked on a music career (failed but had tons of fun and great experiences), travelled a ton and moved to a great city and completed an associates degree program which led to a great career that allowed me to pursue my musical interests while working 3 days a week and getting paid well. Had an awesome 20s and 30s. Met my future wife at work. Got married after the partying left my system. Moved to an even better (imo) state and city where I get paid very well to do relatively little work and now have 2 young kids and a wife (same one) who are amazing. If I would have lied on the application I would’ve been hired, probably get married way too young and spent the next 30 years living a life of quiet desperation. The truth truly set me free.
Worked in a kindergarten during my gap years between high school and university (I didn’t even plan to go at the time). A kid with speech and social issues happened to take a special liking to me, resulting in me ageeing to work closely with his speech therapist, despite only being the teachers assistant. This reignited my interest in language and made me apply to be a linguistics major. My high school grades made it a long shot, but it turns out that very year they tested out a new system of accepting 50% of students based on motivational essays, to try to combat a high drop out rate in linguistics. I made it in on that, they ditched it the next year cause it didn’t work. I now have masters in Language Psychology and start teaching at the same university this semester. If I had applied literally any other year, my chances would have been like lottery odds.
Was at a conference and stepped outside for a smoke. Bumped into a friend of mine who introduced me to the man he was walking with. That man encouraged me to apply for an opening in his office and, six months later, he hired me.
It was the job that jumpstarted my career, changing my trajectory. And all because of a bad habit.
I majored in Biology in college. Most of my classes were animal focused; evolution, systematics, behavior, that sorta stuff. I even went on to get my Masters in behavioral biology. But during my undergrad, I took a single class in freshwater ecology. Never thought it would be important, but my advisor recommended it. It was a fun class, but not something I was terribly interested in. Flash forward to a few months ago, I was at the end of my rope doing wildlife rehabilitation. Shit pay, shit conditions, shit upper management, the whole works.
So I started to apply to other jobs. I found one posting for my state’s environmental protection agency doing freshwater ecology. The application was relatively easy, so I took my shot. Turns out, that single class I took pretty much gave me the answer to every interview question they had for me and I absolutely killed the interview. Now I’m sitting at my desk going over sediment data with a pension, union membership, amazing healthcare, and a whole-ass career plotted out for the next few years. I went from making $16 an hour to $50k a year to start (with twice annual raises) in 4 months. In a year, I’ll be a full environmental scientist who actually makes a fuckin’ difference. For the first time in my life I have weekends off. It’s absolutely wild.
All of this is thanks to a single class I took on a whim. If you’re out there Dr. Torres, you absolutely changed my life. You kick ass.
Went to a new year’s party I wasn’t particularly bothered about
Met my wife
I had a machine design group project in my 2nd year of university: I designed the device and a guy in my group *”knew a pace in the university”* that would 3d print it for us. A few days later, the guy was sick and because I had nothing else better to do for the rest of that day, I volunteered to go pick up the parts from the place.
That “place” turned out to be our university’s Maker Space, which had 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC machines, electronics stations, the whole shebang.
I was instantly intrigued by the Maker Space and came basically every day and became so well acquitted with the equipment that both students and university staff would come to me for guidance and help. They hired me and that was my first real field-related job, and it would lay out the ground work for my future (now current) career in Optics and Laser Research as well as in rapid manufacturing and prototyping.