Life-Long Lessons

Life is always a mystery, you never know what to expect. For me, my life was written since I was born. I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and the doctors said there was a great possibility that I wouldn't make it through the night. When I was two years old the same doctors said i would probably never read, write, or go to regular school.

However, I want you to go back to the first two sentences. Read them once, read them twice, and then read them one final time. No offense to any doctors who are reading this, but these mistakes, our mistakes I'm happy you made. Last week in my feature writing class I had the opportunity to reflect on my life.

Our assignment was to make a list of life-long lessons that we've learned, and I would like to share my list with you.

1. Sometimes, it's good to be "the slow guy" in a world that moves way too fast."
2. Scars from surgery are caused by everything, except what they are actually caused from.
3. Tremors in my hands give me the perfect excuse to grow a cool beard.
4. I will be single all my life before giving up the nickname "the nice guy."
5. Chicks dig the guy with the hurt leg.
6. Going single to your prom is not a bad thing. It just means you have about 200 dates to choose from once you get there.
7. You can never smile too much. In fact, smiling can be the perfect medicine.
8. You can never have too many friends.
9. More often then not, you find those friends in the most unlikely places.
10. It's ok if I never fully learned how to ride a bike. Four wheels are better then two.
11. You can never learn too much.
12. Once I've learned everything that's when I'll know I'm dead. And even then, there is still more I can learn.
13. Refer to number 7.
14. Whether you like someone or not, they've been brought into your world, so try to make them feel noticed.
15.It's fun being nice to people who love you, but it's even better being nice to those who do not like you.

The list is not finished. It could never be finished. But I wanted to share with you what I had so far. I think the moral of this story is that even when you think you know what to expect in your life, always expect the unexpected. Now I would like you to share with me, your list. E-mail or facebook me some life-long lessons you've learned. Remember, life's a hell of journey, so make it a good one.

E-mail: cpawareness1@live.com
facebook: facebook.com/mattpowell