CHOICES

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          I’ve been thinking lately about my life and how I got to where I am today.  I was definitely not a perfect teenager!  But as I think about how I “turned out,” I am reminded of some key friendships I had and how I think they helped me navigate through high school and focus on my future. 

I had a friend who was so smart – she was going to college and everyone knew she’d “be somebody someday.”  She even got to go out of the country on a summer long research trip with an elite group of people while she was in high school.  Being friends with her made me want to get good grades and look into various colleges that I could attend.

I had another friend who genuinely loved others.  This guy didn’t go to any of the weekend parties, but everyone knew who he was – and they knew they could talk to him if they ever needed to.  He was “cool” without having to go to parties, drink, do drugs, or have sex in order to fit in with the popular crowd.  Being friends with him made me want to be a better friend – to be real in my relationships and not try to be the most popular person by doing all the things I thought it took to become popular (having the right boyfriend, going to the right parties, and getting drunk on the weekends). 

By observing these friends I was able to make some choices to change my behavior and become the person I wanted to be.  I didn’t let my environment or past choices decide who I would become.  Like I said, I had made plenty of mistakes – but I chose to allow my past to remain in the past.  I chose to focus on my future goals of going to college and pursuing my dreams.  I knew I wanted to do something with my life that had meaning.

I went to a 4 year college and then on to graduate school.  I am in my third year of marriage to a wonderful man who loves me and cares deeply about others.  And I am currently a manager at a non-profit organization that believes in youth and encourages them to focus on their future goals and make choices that will help them reach those goals.  I believe in youth and their ability to be the best that they can be.  I believe in our organization and the truth we teach young people to help them make positive choices for their lives.

I realize that I still have a lot of life to live, but reflecting back on how we got to where we are can make us thankful for the people we’ve had in our lives.  It can make us thankful for choices we’ve made that have helped us get to where we are, or it can help us decide to make better choices now and live differently so that our future will be more of what we want it to be.

So what about you?  What do you want your future to look like?  Are you making choices that will help you reach those goals and dreams?  Let us know!

 Carrie Harrell