The five greatest moments of your life...

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

1) Coming to the US in 1985 (I was 10) for vacation and staying. I wonder how my life would have been if I had stayed in India....probably married with kids, being dependent on my husband for everything.

2) The day I picked up my college diploma, gave it to my parents, and moved out of their house to pursue my freedom.

3) November 24, 2003--My sobriety date...I realized that if I don't change and quit drinking and doing drugs that I would die....I made a committment to myself and recovery.

4) January 5, 2007--When I held Micro (my first pet) in my arms as the vet gave him the injection and feeling his life leave his body....the hardest decision I have had to make in my life. The most critical moment in my sobriety as I learned how to walk through that, rather than escape from it.

5) The day I knew in my bones and the core of my being that I was put on this earth to be an artist.

Wow. Thanks.

 

[Helen]

On a lark I quit my job, sold my stuff, and got in my car with a few boxes of stuff and about $20k I'd saved. Drove cross country to california to hang out with an old ladyfriend who was going to school in the SF area.

Will, is that you ? That's just like the ending in the movie, "Good Will Hunting".

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Isnt that funny? I never saw that movie. I had it on the tivo for a while and I think I even own the DVD, purchased in some bulk load years ago.

Guess I'll have to go watch it now...

 

[Helen]

Isnt that funny? I never saw that movie. I had it on the tivo for a while and I think I even own the DVD, purchased in some bulk load years ago.

Guess I'll have to go watch it now...

Oh crap. Sorry, I didn't mean to ruin the end of the movie for you. Let us know what you think of the movie.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

No, its ok. You spurred me to read the whole plot line. Several eerie similarities. Now I have to see it...

I even met Robin Williams once. I was doing a conference in NY and had one of those big doofy "My name is..." badges on. Walked out of the building with a couple of other guys and here comes RW walking up the sidewalk. Of course I'm gawking and thinking "is that...?" when he steps briskly up to me, starts shaking my hand and says "Oh my god! Its xxx (my name, read from my name tag)!!! I'm your biggest fan!!! I cant believe its actually YOU! Holy crap I'm excited!!!". Chuckles and claps me on the arm a couple of times and continues on down the sidewalk.

I later used the same gag in reverse when I ran into Steve Young at the San Jose Jet Center while I was waiting for the company jet. He was still playing for the 49ers at the time. He walked in, I was looking at him thinking "that looks like..." and he noticed me staring and started to look a little uncomfortable. So I walked up and said "I know what you're thinking...is that xxx?!? Well it is!!" and started shaking his hand. He laughed and relaxed and we chatted for a while. Really nice guy. Only thing that had me befuddled for a while was that he was kind of small. Later I looked up his stats, he's only about 6' and 190lbs.

Those two meetings are pretty amazing moments. Not top 5 material but...

 

[HFWR]

Getting past a fairly miserable first 23 years of life, and getting off a set of rails that would have ended with being a nonperson in a nonlife. Homelessness, suicides, abuses, severe illnesses, disconnected family members...its all in there. I was in debt, substance addicted, had a bad crowd of friends, and was likely to either land in jail or be persistently unemployed. I pulled myself up by the bootstraps, quit the bad stuff and bad people, got a couple of extra jobs, dug myself out of debt, got my career straightened out, and went from there. I remember the day I decided to change everything, and that was a very defining moment. I spent some time in the last few months digging up all the people I hung out with back then. Dead, jailed, overweight functional alcoholics, stagnant lives, single room apartments, smatterings of children and spouses. But i'm not one of them and I easily could ... have been.

1. Ditto... (except the age was 27)
2. Summer, 1966 - last year of Little League. Played the best baseball of my life that year.
3. 1972 - last year of high school. Became more focused, got better grades, had good friends/good times, GRADUATED!!
4. Separation/divorce in 1986; last remaining remnant of past life (see #1).
5. Received associate degree and got a REAL job for REAL money...

 

[deserat]

Wow - these are great - I'll add my meager list - it's a combination of achievements and moments where I understood myself and life better:

1) 1994 - I've written about this before - I had to do my long cross-country for my pilot's license - I had flown from Ryan Airfied in Tucson to Blythe, CA. Along the way, I had noticed some thunderheads building - I decided not to fly back that day but wait until the next morning - now this was also the last day I saw my first husband - we were divorced and he had come out to pick up his 'stuff.' It is very hard to fly when one is emotionally upset. However, the best part was when I took off the next morning early - the air was beautiful, I spiraled up and got to altitude and had one of my most memorable flights ever - the thrill of being in the pilot's seat, flying the plane and the views were phenomenal. The ultimate in independence.

2) 2000 - I spent a night mentally working through emotional pain of a serious and final break-up from my fiance at the time. I had never known that emotional pain could physically hurt - I also allowed myself to visualize being alone the rest of my life - after that night I had a profound sense of peace. I would be just fine and life would be just fine if I did not have a 'partner.' From there my life changed dramatically.

3) 2004 - the day I married my now husband and partner

4) 1989 - when I received an acceptance letter by Johns Hopkins for my master's degree...and turned them down for, in retrospect, the best program for what I'm doing now in my career - I didn't pay a penny for any of my education but I still proved to myself that I am 'capable' of being accepted by a big name school....vestiges of issues from high school and undergrad experience

5) Bonus - having had the opportunity to have a 'real' relationship with all of my grandparents - I am the only grandchild to have had that (they are all dead now). Both my parents thought it important for me to have that and by not taking sides in at times difficult family fueds, I was able to benefit from their collective wisdom