Take The Chance

I know I've been missing in action for over a month now, and life has been a bit of a roller coaster in between, to be sure. But after all the highs and lows, I feel like I've finally found some middle ground and I have something to say.

Don't waste a minute of your time on this earth, never miss an opportunity, never let fear hold you back, and never rely on second chances. Our time is precious, we only get so much of it, and we can't waste any of it not pursuing the things we want in life.

My blog has been a bit of a record of my struggles with fear and anxiety, struggles that I've been grappling with since as long as I can remember. For years, my fears have held me back from going after the things I wanted. I would sit in fear, and not act, because the possibility of messing things up trumped the possibility of achieving happiness. This is no way to live your lives. I am still a good way away from conquering my anxiety for good, but I am certain I'm going in the right direction, and I'm here to say, if you're sitting on the sidelines, and you're scared, do it. Jump in. Shut your eyes, hold your breath, and dive into it because you'll regret it so much more if you don't even give it a try. Life isn't a spectator sport.

We all get chances that we don't take. And often, we'll look back and wonder if we did the right thing. We'll ponder our decisions, and question our reactions. And we're not always going to make the right decisions. But the worst decision you can ever make is no decision. Theodore Roosevelt once said "In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." And it's absolutely the truth. This summer, I begged the universe for a second chance to do something I had missed out on because I had been too afraid, and had done nothing. The universe gave me that chance, and I took it, and maybe it wasn't the best decision I ever made, but it wasn't the worst, and I don't regret it for an instant. The experience was invaluable.

Life is about experience. We live, and we learn. Without the experiences that we have, we would be nothing. Our experiences and our decisions shape us, and if we draw away from these experiences out of fear, we don't grow and we don't change, and we don't learn. You will not always be happy. You will not always make the right choice. But life is too short to live with regrets, and trust me when I say you'll regret the things you didn't do a lot more than the things you did do.

So that's what I'm here to say today: take the chance, take the risk, make the jump, dive in, chase your dreams, and for God's sake, live your life to the fullest because it's the only one you're going to get. Live. Laugh. Love. With all your heart, embrace this world.



~Jessica