The Butterly Effect, or How Tenacious D Has Shaped My Existance (And Yours!)
So lying in bed just now, not being able to sleep, for some reason, random thoughts started running through my mind. I think it was the precursor to dreams, as my mind was ready to fall asleep, but my body needed more time. I tend to have crazy visuals just before I actually fall asleep, and if anything interrupts, I realize that I've been awake the entire time. I don't know what interrupted this time, but very suddenly everything went black and silent and all I could hear was my fan. I opened my eyes and realized that about 20 minutes have gone by, though my thoughts easily filled a few hours of daydreams (though at night, I was still awake, so are they still considered "day"dreams?). Anyway, one theme in my thoughts tonight was how connected everything is. How one little thing can cause a crazy chain reaction that essentially molds an entire life and existence. If I changed one little thing in my past, how many people's lives would be so drastically different today?
The case I generally use starts with my first college roommate, Colin. There were two dorms we could have chosen to live that had the "honors" floors, Hudson or Hatch. It seemed most of our friends were in Hudson hall, so that seemed the obvious choice, but Colin and I were both big fans of Tenacious D, and one line in one song says "Here me and KG come naked out of the side HATCH." We based our entire dorm decision on that one line. Hatch Hall is where I met some of my best friends, and some people who ended up essentially abandoning me the following year. I went through a horrible depression, spurred by those around me after my best friends moved away. If we were to have moved into Hudson instead, it would have been an entirely different group of people, and it's quite possible the events that unfolded would not have gone the same direction. I may have stayed at that school, maybe even graduated and gotten a job in Columbia. I loved that town, but the way those specific people treated me, I couldn't stay.
So I left. I moved back home, went to a community college, met other friends there, and one teacher (along with my high school best friend and roommate my last two years of college) convinced me to go to Lindenwood University. I'd never even heard of Lindenwood, so the chances of me going there if I never moved back home would have been slim. I never would have met all of the people I met. I wouldn't have joined the anime clubs, never meeting my former housemate and a lot of great friends at all the conventions I've been to. Without Lindenwood, I wouldn't have met my friend Lizzy, who is the sole reason I ever started going to the clubs. Without these clubs, I never would have met even more of the best friends I could have. It seems things worked out for the better on this one. I still sometimes think, though, that if I stayed in Columbia, what kind of things I would have done, and what kind of friends I would have made. Honestly, I don't think anyone there could hold a candle to the people I've met in my actual life.
So not just the people who have affected my life, but I was also beginning to think of the lives I've somehow impacted, even if only indirectly. After browsing Facebook earlier, my thoughts crossed my ex-girlfriend Laci. We met through the church while I was at Lindenwood. Deep down, she wasn't happy in the church, but just like me, she was stuck there anyway, even brainwashed that it was where she belonged. Partially through me, she ended up leaving Alton and her church to come to live in St. Charles and go to my church. Ultimately we broke up, and through our failed relationship, she began to see the destructive nature of the church we both attended. The way people treated her in St. Charles was unacceptable, and it ended up being harder on her than if I never entered and she stayed back in Alton, possibly still believing she belonged in that church.
Anyway, indirectly, through me getting her to come to Missouri, our relationship failing, and people from church treating her like crap, she reached a realization that she didn't need that church anymore. Ultimately, she found herself, and being out of the church, she was free to live life. Being free, she found a man that she actually fits with. Honestly, we're still friends, but the incestuous nature of the church, only allowing internal dating, kind of limited the dating pool. In the real world, she definitely could have done better than me, but it was FORBIDDEN to look outside the church walls. Anyway, now she's not only with the right guy, but has a daughter on the way. I'm in no way taking any form of credit for any of this, but in keeping with the initial theme of this blog, if one tiny thing changed my past, if we picked Hudson hall, if we didn't listen to Tenacious D, then I may very well not have been put on the path that led me to the school that was taken over by the church that I joined where I met Laci and set her on the path to self-realization.
It's all very deep, and possibly I blame this "Inspire" iDose that I took before trying to sleep, but everyone out there, if you're still reading this, please share with me some stories about one tiny decision that ended up making a huge impact, either on your life or the life of someone else, and how you think it could have turned out if you were to have made a different decision. I'm expecting some good replies on this one. I've told my story, so now it's your turn!
The case I generally use starts with my first college roommate, Colin. There were two dorms we could have chosen to live that had the "honors" floors, Hudson or Hatch. It seemed most of our friends were in Hudson hall, so that seemed the obvious choice, but Colin and I were both big fans of Tenacious D, and one line in one song says "Here me and KG come naked out of the side HATCH." We based our entire dorm decision on that one line. Hatch Hall is where I met some of my best friends, and some people who ended up essentially abandoning me the following year. I went through a horrible depression, spurred by those around me after my best friends moved away. If we were to have moved into Hudson instead, it would have been an entirely different group of people, and it's quite possible the events that unfolded would not have gone the same direction. I may have stayed at that school, maybe even graduated and gotten a job in Columbia. I loved that town, but the way those specific people treated me, I couldn't stay.
So I left. I moved back home, went to a community college, met other friends there, and one teacher (along with my high school best friend and roommate my last two years of college) convinced me to go to Lindenwood University. I'd never even heard of Lindenwood, so the chances of me going there if I never moved back home would have been slim. I never would have met all of the people I met. I wouldn't have joined the anime clubs, never meeting my former housemate and a lot of great friends at all the conventions I've been to. Without Lindenwood, I wouldn't have met my friend Lizzy, who is the sole reason I ever started going to the clubs. Without these clubs, I never would have met even more of the best friends I could have. It seems things worked out for the better on this one. I still sometimes think, though, that if I stayed in Columbia, what kind of things I would have done, and what kind of friends I would have made. Honestly, I don't think anyone there could hold a candle to the people I've met in my actual life.
So not just the people who have affected my life, but I was also beginning to think of the lives I've somehow impacted, even if only indirectly. After browsing Facebook earlier, my thoughts crossed my ex-girlfriend Laci. We met through the church while I was at Lindenwood. Deep down, she wasn't happy in the church, but just like me, she was stuck there anyway, even brainwashed that it was where she belonged. Partially through me, she ended up leaving Alton and her church to come to live in St. Charles and go to my church. Ultimately we broke up, and through our failed relationship, she began to see the destructive nature of the church we both attended. The way people treated her in St. Charles was unacceptable, and it ended up being harder on her than if I never entered and she stayed back in Alton, possibly still believing she belonged in that church.
Anyway, indirectly, through me getting her to come to Missouri, our relationship failing, and people from church treating her like crap, she reached a realization that she didn't need that church anymore. Ultimately, she found herself, and being out of the church, she was free to live life. Being free, she found a man that she actually fits with. Honestly, we're still friends, but the incestuous nature of the church, only allowing internal dating, kind of limited the dating pool. In the real world, she definitely could have done better than me, but it was FORBIDDEN to look outside the church walls. Anyway, now she's not only with the right guy, but has a daughter on the way. I'm in no way taking any form of credit for any of this, but in keeping with the initial theme of this blog, if one tiny thing changed my past, if we picked Hudson hall, if we didn't listen to Tenacious D, then I may very well not have been put on the path that led me to the school that was taken over by the church that I joined where I met Laci and set her on the path to self-realization.
It's all very deep, and possibly I blame this "Inspire" iDose that I took before trying to sleep, but everyone out there, if you're still reading this, please share with me some stories about one tiny decision that ended up making a huge impact, either on your life or the life of someone else, and how you think it could have turned out if you were to have made a different decision. I'm expecting some good replies on this one. I've told my story, so now it's your turn!