Daily writing prompt

Describe a risk you took that you do not regret.

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I don’t really see myself as a risk taker. I like knowing or at least guesstimating what the outcome will be. Certainly didn’t grow up with risk taking parents. They got married, stayed married, each claiming and then staying in one career their whole lives. And so, at a young age I also got married and started a career.

When you’re young and busy with three kids it’s very easy for life to just pull you around in all sorts of directions. It feels like you’re never really in control, just bouncing from one chore to the next to the next. You’re happy by outward appearances and of course as a show for your small children. But before you know it a decade or more has passed you by.

In my thirties I made some serious life changes which I grappled with but came out on the other side for the better. In my forties $hit got real. You really realize this is one life. You get one shot. Your age in the next decade starts with the number five. That’s halfway to one hundred and not many people live that long. So it’s now or never.

After standing at the edge of the cliff for what felt like an eternity, I jumped. I started writing. Now what to do with this writing? I emailed our local newspaper and asked how to make submissions or if that was even a thing. They said sure, send it in and they’ll check it out. I did and they published it and then they published more and more and more.

This is far from a national newspaper so I realize it’s small beans but it was a feeling unlike any other. I was so very relieved that I’d had the guts to not only pick up a pen and start writing, but I’d taken the next step by contacting the newspaper. The absolute best thing I’ve ever done for myself. Eventually I was hired by this newspaper to cover some stories for them and got paid! Talk about a full circle moment. And not only that, but when someone reads something you’ve written and compliments it, it’s the BEST feeling in the world. I’d rather have someone praise my writing than my butt.

Journalism was the career I had picked at one point in high school but didn’t end up pursuing. Though I still regret not following that path, at least words, writing, publishing, and editors have been injected into my life in some capacity. In January I joined the WordPress community which makes me feel as though I belong, I feel as though I have found my people. 🙂