Something I Would Never Do

This is Jason's drug of choice, not
my professor, though I can see how
you'd get the two confused.

One of the most influential teachers I have ever had the privilege of knowing was my English 2010 professor, who by virtue of his degree and his father's last name was literally named Dr. Pepper. I don't even like Dr. Pepper (much to Jason's chagrin) but I sure did love my professor.

On the first day of class he introduced our final project so that we could be thinking about it throughout the semester. The project was this: Think of something you personally would never do, something that makes you uncomfortable to even consider doing, and then go do it. 

The point was not to make us reject any moral values or to place us in mortal danger--in fact he told us to avoid both of those things at all cost. Rather, he intended for us to step out of our comfort zones, to embrace the opportunities in the world around us, to abandon our stereotypes and learn to accept all kinds of people, regardless of if they are "our kind of people" or doing "the things we would do". 

That became my personal theme for the semester, and I hope to make it something I think about often throughout the rest of my life. Something I would never do. 

Unfortunately we never learned the
name of our eternal friend... :(

If you told me six months ago I'd have done half the things I did this semester I would've thought you were crazy. I used to have a very clear idea of who I was, who I would be and how my life would turn out. But the more time that passes, the more I realize that the beauty of life is found in the spontaneous, unplanned moments. 

I would never sing karaoke on a whim.

I would never beg for tickets to a football game. 

I would never sing a song I'd just learned the day before in front of a crowd of my peers while playing the rainstick. 

I would never devote an entire wall to taping up pictures of men. 

This was back when we didn't have
real men to talk to...

I would never crash a mansion party I wasn't invited to, or stay out until 1:00 a.m. playing baseball and longboarding and drinking root beer floats with two boys we'd just met.

I would never hang out exclusively with people who are three or more years older than me. 

I would never intentionally embarrass myself at highway truck stops. 

I would never go on a blind date.

I would never spend three hours cooking pizza rolls by myself instead of studying for a test. 

I would never get in a Jeep that belonged to someone I'd never met and go get pizza with him and spend two hours talking to him at his apartment.

I would never set foot in a Victoria's Secret.

I would never get my ears pierced. 

I would never agree to steady date someone I'd only known for three weeks. 

Four weeks later, I've
finally figured out how
to take those earrings out.
Just shows you how
girly I really am... or not. 

I would never spend a day walking the streets of Salt Lake looking for homeless people to give chicken sandwiches to. 

I'd never bring home a boyfriend I'd only been dating for three weeks to meet my family. 

I would never get pulled over for going almost twenty miles over the speed limit. 

But I did do all those things, and I don't regret a single one of them. 

The old me would never have done any of them, but because I've done them, I've changed. I've learned to be spontaneous, to accept changes to my plans, even big changes. I've learned to trust my Heavenly Father and approach every crossroad with excitement. I've learned to take risks and appreciate the beauty of not knowing. I haven't anticipated the consequences of any of the decisions I've made this semester, and sometimes those consequences aren't exactly fun to deal with. But such is life. We live, and we learn, and we grow and change and become something we never planned on becoming. 

And that's okay. It's a good thing. 

I have learned that God has something great and wonderful in store for each of us, if we will only be willing to sacrifice our plans to His. We have to trust Him, trust what He wants for us and who He wants us to become. My plan was a good plan, but His is better. 

I can't wait to see where it takes me. 

Side Note

Here's something I would do: I'm officially discontinuing my posts about camp, but that's okay because if you remember I specifically said that project may or may not reach completion. Which isn't to say that you're never going to hear about the rest of the summer, just that my life at present is far more intriguing than I ever expected it to be and I'm learning to live in the present rather than the past.