30 Seconds That Changed My Life

I was reading over on the Oprah website today about topics for upcoming shows, one of which is "30 Seconds That Changed My Life", and almost instantly, the 30 (or less, actually) seconds that changed my life came to mind.

When I was a Junior in college, I was having a really hard time. I wasn't eating much, I was partying way too much, and I was crying all the time. I had my worst semester in school the previous semester, and already a week into the spring semester, I was completely miserable.

I called a guy I knew, named Matt, who lived around the corner, looking for somewhere to go. I needed out of my sorority house. I was having a fight with my friend over some gossip that someone else started and I was miserable and couldn't take it any more. When Matt picked up, I asked him what he was doing. He said he was just hanging out. I asked him if he would like some company, because I really needed to get out of "the house".

And he said the words that have made my life what it is today.

"Do you realize that every time you call me you say that? Maybe you should just get out of the house."

So I did. The next day I called a school near my parents' house to see if I could still register for classes. I could.

So I dropped all of my classes, called my mom, told her that I was coming home and that I was taking classes for the semester at the local school. She came to get me and I left "the house" behind.

It was the best thing I've ever done for myself, and I often think of Matt and how glad I am that he said that to me.

When I got home, one of the first things I did was to go out looking for a job. I went to the local coffee shop to get an application, and once I had filled it out, I handed it to this cute guy.

The cute guy went back to his boss and told him that he should hire me.

I was hired, and about a month later the guy who took my application and I started dating, and now we've been married for almost a year.

If I ever see Matt again, I will give him a big hug and thank him for changing my life. I appreciate it more than he'll ever know.