...cHooSe yOuR oWn aDvEntuRe...

When I was a kid, a new series of books came out called "Choose Your Own Adventure".   As you read along, you...the reader, got to choose between a couple of different options that determined what the main character did which in turn affected the story's ending.  I used to love them! I just couldn't get enough of going back and changing which path the main character took and seeing how the story and ending changed.

I thought about these series of books as I was lying in bed the other night thinking about the twists and turns my life has made.  It was as though my life was a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book.  I went back in time to the first situations that I can recall that really shaped who I am and the subsequent choices that I made.  I tried to imagine where my life would be had certain things NOT happened to me.  I fantasized about how much more confident I might have turned out to be or how much "better" things might have turned out for me.  I walked through every step and just like the books I loved as a child, the ending was always different.  Many times, the way my imagined life turned out was simpler, more successful and almost always there were less scars from hurts and disappointments.  There was always something good, but there were also always things that were missing from the end of the story.

What if I had chosen to always take care of my body and eat healthy?  What if I had never been fat...or felt bad about myself...or been ignored by people in public...or had a jerk salesman stop waiting on me because I was overweight and a thin girl walked in?  Would things have been easier?  Would I have experienced a little less pain?  The answer is yes, but there's other things I would NEVER have experienced or learned either.  I wouldn't have the same understanding and compassion that I have.  I probably would not have a desire to help others make changes.  I wouldn't have the strength that came from overcoming those hurts and the pride I feel when I look in the mirror.  I wouldn't know how hard it can be to make good choices at mealtime and how easy it can be to turn to food when I'm feeling bad.

All of our choices...all of our experiences make us who we are.  We can become better and happier than we ever thought if we are willing to stop going down the same path and decide to make different choices. We can make changes...turn the pages back...and choose a different path with a better ending.  Your life is YOUR adventure.  YOU have to choose to work hard.  YOU have to choose to make changes.  YOU have to choose to be strong.  Don't let anyone else make your decisions or choose  where your life goes.  YOU choose your own adventure!