beyond avoidance

Another day, another reverb 10 prompt! Before I hop into it, I want to take just a second to say thanks for all the positive feedback I've been getting about writing. You guys are incredible and it touches my heart to think that you actually take a minute to read this. Tonight's response is a little more on the lighthearted side, but I think it was time for a change of pace.

the  prompt: What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?)

a piece of the answer: 
Here's the deal: I usually read the prompts when they come out at midnight and try to think about it progressively through the day. That being said, I read this last night and probed my mind for things that happened (or didn't, rather) in the past year that I regret not doing or wish would've happened differently. After all the thinking through missed opportunities, this is the best thing I could come up with:

Learning to drive a stick shift.

Yep, that's it. I sincerely do wish I had taken that learning opportunity, but I didn't. Other thoughts I had included: keeping up with old friends, taking more pictures, being there for a friend in the midst of difficulty, and telling other people about Christ. Most all of those boil down to me being too busy or too scared to actually complete them. But why? That's dumb. What fears do we really have? Life is short and we can't make excuses, we can only try and do our very best the next time around.

So the next piece of my thought process was how I could write about living with no regrets, but I don't want to fool you by painting the picture that I have figured life out and done everything perfectly. That, my friends, would be a lie. However, I legitimately don't believe in regretting things that have happened... 2010 was a fantastic year and to change even one piece of it would change the outcome and would change who and where I am today.

And so, because I'm lacking in words tonight and feeling that my blogging is getting a bit monotonous, I'm going to leave you with an original poem. I'm making this up on the spot so it will likely be terrible and nonsensical, but hey, why be afraid to fail?

Give every day your very best
And don't regret your choices.
Listen to the ones you love
But hear the others' voices. 

Don't regret the choice you made,
But don't miss any chances.
Forget about the laughs and stares
And even dirty glances.

So ride your bike, or make a speech,
Or tell someone you love them.
Decisions can be far between
so make sure you're proud of them!

This poem's getting cheesy,
and so to you I say
I might not be so great at blogging
every single day.

But guess what, I enjoy it!
I hope it makes you smile!
I like to write out what I think
once in a, once in a while.

So keep on reading,
or even don't
But remember just one thing:
You'd rather read my blog sometimes
Than ever hear me sing.

True life, I was once published in a newspaper. Shocking, isn't it? And yes, for the bonus points, one day I hope to learn how to drive a stick shift.