Nobody Likes You When You're Twenty-Three

Something you wish you had done in your life.

Didn't I answer this on day four? That question was, "Something you hope to do in your life". Similar question, but not exactly the same, I guess. My answer then was a short tour with a band. I guess since I said that already, I'll have to think of something else.

I guess there are a ton of things I wish I had done...chances I could have taken.

The first one that comes to mind is that I wish I would have pushed more with Anthem. While that sounds good on the surface, I know there is no way we would have actually made a real career out of it. We just would have lasted longer and ended later. Brent, Jason, and Carrie may not have moved to Orlando...which would have changed a lot of things. Brent and Cyndi probably wouldn't have gotten married (Brent has told me that the year in FL away from Cyndi was what made him sure she was the one for him). Jason and Carrie might not have gotten married, either (who knows, right?). Had they not gone to Orlando, Jason wouldn't have gone to Full Sail, and may not have the sweet freelance gig he has now. A lot of people would be in different places right now, and this is likely a bad thing.

So strike that first answer.

Another thing would be my track record with girls back when I was a teenager. There were opportunities to date certain girls that I didn't take. This was mostly a result of my shyness and insecurities. Had I dated (or made a move on) some (or even one) of those girls that I totally had a chance with, my entire "romantic history" could have changed. If I was dating Girl A, then maybe I wouldn't have dated Girl B. If I had kissed [name withheld] back, when she kissed me that one night, then things would have been different and I wouldn't have started dating Kimberly a couple of weeks later. Therfore, I likely wouldn't be where I am today.

So strike that second answer.

OH! I've got it! Here's an opportunity I wish I would have handled differently that wouldn't have had a lasting impact on where I am today.

When I was 12 years old, I played in the youth church basketball league. We weren't really that good. If there were 12 games in a season, I bet we lost 10 of them. However, on one (nearly) glorious Saturday morning, we were playing Donelson First Baptist, who was in first place in the league. We were down 28-27, with less than a minute left in the game. They took a shot and missed. I got the rebound with less than ten seconds left. I dribbled downcourt and at (what I thought was) the last opportunity, I hurled the ball toward our goal. It fell short. Really short. Like, 8 feet short.

I was upset, of course. What was more embarrassing that losing the game, though, was my terrible time-management skills. There were a full 5 seconds left on the clock when I made that shot. In reality, I had time to run all the way down and drop in a layup. Instead, the ball went out of bounds, and DFB had the opportunity to inbound it and hold on to it for the remaining few seconds. Had I not gotten caught up in the moment, I could live my life today knowing that I was a hero that one day in 1990.

That's something I wish I had done.