Things I don't regret...

I saw this post from Leslie this morning, and I felt inspired to make my own list of decisions that I wouldn't take back, even though they seemed crazy at the time.  (Thanks, Leslie, and I hope you don't mind that I shamelessly pilfered your creativity. :))

- Turning down that scholarship to Austin College.

I graduated valedictorian of my high school class (there were only 83 of us, though, so I swear I'm not bragging), so I had a scholarship to go to any state school in Texas for free for the first year.  But an ex-boyfriend of mine (who graduated as valedictorian the year before me... apparently we nerds stuck together) had gone to a small private school north of Dallas and loved it there, so I applied there as well.  I got a half-scholarship there, but the tuition and living expenses would still have been pretty expensive for my parents.  Plus, I was dating Micah and already had an inkling that he might be the love of my life.  So I turned it down in favor of going to the University of Texas at Dallas, which was closer to home and had a great natural sciences and math program, for free.  I feel sure that my pocketbook and my marriage to the most wonderful man in existence are much better off today than they would have been if I hadn't.

- Spending every penny I had to my name to take that trip to New York City.

My senior year in college, my roommate suggested that we take a trip to NYC together.  My parents had recently split up, and money was tight, but I had never been and had always dreamed of going.  So Rebecca and I scraped together every spare dime we had, booked the cheapest flights and hotels we could find, and went.

That trip was more amazing than I could even begin to describe.

- Getting a butterfly tattoo on my 21st birthday.

I don't really drink, but I still wanted one crazy moment to put down in the books for my 21st, so I went and got a teeny little butterfly tattooed on my right foot.  It's "absolutely adorable" (as a federal judge once told me on the first day of my internship when I forgot to cover it up... I was mortified), and I've never regretted it.

- Getting into a car with the Air Force guys Lauren met at the mall.

I've told this story before, so I won't repeat it here, but I'll always look back on that night with a smile.  Plus, how terrible would it be if I had never discovered my love of all things Harry Potter?

- Splurging at Pottery Barn.

As you probably know, I have quite the addiction to Pottery Barn and have spent entirely too much money there over the past couple of years, but there are two purchases, in particular, that I know I'll never be sorry about:

My coffee table.

via

And my $100 throw blanket.  Both still make me giddy every time I look at them (or curl up in them, in the case of the blanket).

- Deciding, at a young age, to give my heart away for good to a wonderful man.

It didn't take long for me to fall for Micah.  We just knew, early on, that what we were feeling was real.  And at 17, there were so many people who told me I was crazy for thinking I had found the person I was meant to be with forever.  They told me that we'd change and that, in ten years, we wouldn't be the people we were when we met.  That it'd be better for us to date other people so that we could be sure of our feelings for one another.

But I can tell you, with certainty, that I will always look at Micah and see him as the adorable boy with the puppet.  His eyes will always mesmerize me, and I will forever get butterflies when he touches me.  No amount of time could have ever made me feel any differently.  And to be fair, we did wait another six years before we actually got married.  But my heart was unquestionably his long, long before we walked down the aisle.

It's so wonderful to me how much these decisions, some made on a total whim, ended up being some of the best decisions I've ever made. :)