The "What If..." Post

While I work on an ode to Zelda ("My Legend With Zelda") for a near-future post, I present a rather special piece tonight that sees me diving deep into my personal past. Enjoy.

An intriguing idea struck me at work today, albeit one that has interested me in the past: what if a certain event in my life didn't take place? Would I still be where I am today? Would I have the job I have, or know the people I know? What if...? is a big question, with infinite branches of possibilities littering the past. Today, I ask the question "what if?" to several definable moments in my life. Deciding if an event was important enough to consider for my list was simple: was this event in my life something that opened up many branches of possibility for me? And if it did, is the branch that I choose worth questioning?

Thus, without further ado, what if...

The Event: I finally decide that Lindsay Queen isn't worth my time in high school.
The Fallout: I begin to find Lindsay's best friend, Lacey, extremely attractive.
What Happened: I discover my first true love, my first reason to live, and my first heartbreak.
What If... I didn't ever like Lindsay in the first place? I believe I would first and foremost be stuck on one of my previous crushes, all hopelessly not interested in me. Also, I could have certainly moved on to someone else, but given my track record of crushing on girls far out of my league, the rest of high school could have been a real stooper for me.

The Event: I lose my virginity to an ex-girlfriend, and lie to Lacey about it.
The Fallout: Once Lacey learned about my lying, she never again fully trusts me.
What Happened: Although Lacey was at the center of so many great things in my life, our relationship was ultimately tested throughout because of trust issues. Although I was loyal and honest with her to the end, she never could quite get over the initial lie that I told to her before we even ever dated.
What If... February 14th, 2003 never happened - what if I never slept with my ex-girlfriend? I certainly would have never blabbed about it to everyone at school while simultaneously lying to Lacey, only to get my butt kicked in the end - and I might have just lasted a bit longer with Lacey.

The Event: After high school, BGSU is my college of choice.
The Fallout: I eventually get together with the girl I love - for about a third of college.
What Happened: I knew in high school that Lacey meant a lot to me, and I wanted to be near her however possible. Although we spent a period of time separate from one another after graduating high school, we eventually did meet back up in college (at BGSU), and became instantly close and meaningfully in love a short time afterwards.
What If... I grew some balls and went to college where it mattered to me? I would most certainly have never dated Lacey, but instead maintained a meaningful long-distance friendship, and might have even opened up a ton of possibilities for my love life elsewhere. Life right now would be so different if I didn't stay around Bowling Green.

The Event: A chance encounter with a friend, Aryn, leads me to learn the name of a cute girl.
The Fallout: I learn the name of a girl who spent months prior intriguing the hell out of me, and ultimately becomes my best friend.
What Happened: During my sophomore year at BGSU, I made passing glances on a weekly basis to a girl with beautiful long hair, loud pants, and a quirky smile (she walked past me frequently in the student union, third floor lounge). At the random advice of my friend Aryn one day, I visited the game room - only to discover that the mystery girl with the long hair also hangs out in the game room - bingo! The rest is (developing?) history.
What If... I said "no" to Aryn's invitation that day? I most likely would not have made the game room connection, nor would I have ever worked up the balls to introduce myself to the girl with the long hair, meaning I would likely have never figured out that her name was "Colleen." Enough said.

The Event: Laura introduces me to her friend, Kristin.
The Fallout: Laura's dream backfires, and I find myself strangely attracted to her best friend.
What Happened: A cute blond girl at work, the young Ms. Kolpien, invites me to meet her friends at Dairy Queen one day. What happens next is quite a year-long journey: plenty of fun trips all over BG (sledding, Grounds, late nights, etc.), but filled with plenty of drama (indecision, crushes, hopes, urges), and ends with hatred all over the place (sex, old anger, lost lust).
What If... I was never introduced to Kristin? Laura and I might have grown considerably closer (dated, even?), there would still be one more virgin in the world, and I wouldn't be so uptight about growing close to my friends. Still, a whole year of my life would have been a lot less stressful, but at the same time, a lot less interesting.

You may have noticed that the above events generally concerned my social life. With future iteration of this series, I will approach different aspects and periods of my life, so stay tuned for a future article similar to this one.

B3 out.