Step Into The Unknown

In the fall of 2008, I found myself staring into the mirror in an abandoned airport bathroom. Mascara smeared, eyes redder than fire, body weak and heart broken, I wondered what the hell I was doing here. Why had I left Texas? Texas: the home that had held and rocked me 18 years in its warm embrace. My luggage was gone, my ride delayed, my license stolen, my heart aching for having left the familiar and the lovely. Was it a mistake? Perhaps- but it was too late to do anything now. The loans had been taken out and there was nothing for it now but to gather up all the courage I had and step into the unknown. There I was- exhausted, scared, unsure, homesick, lonely; driving away in a white van; off to college.

The next four years can only be summed up in a simple yet appropriate word: unforgettable. It was there that I met my husband; it was there that I grew into a young woman; it was there that I was formally educated in the ways of the world; it was there that I made friendships that would last a lifetime, and memories that would never fade. What would have happened if I had decided to turn around and take the next flight out? Where would I be now if my courage had failed me and brought me back to “safety”? There really is no way of telling. I trust, however, that the path I chose, though scary and unknown, was the right one for me to take. I’ve often found it the case that the thing we fear the most is the very thing that opens up new layers of our best self. The future we fear is usually never the reality we experience.

So today, I challenge you to look at your life and face what scares you. Maybe there’s something you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t seem to shake those feelings of anxiety and paralysis. Don’t be afraid to step into the unknown, especially if you know in your heart that it’s right. You never know what’s just around the corner; it could be the very thing that could change your life in ways you never would have imagined.