Have you ever taken a leap of faith and asked yourself, years later, how you managed to have the courage to do it? When I was 13 I went to sleepaway camp and participated in a short ropes course. I remember getting ready to go down a very tall zip line (or so it seemed at the time). I was very scared, naturally, and asked the ropes course guide if she could just push me. She said no and I couldn’t figure out why. So I counted to 10 and went down. It was scary but I felt good afterward, like I accomplished something.
Fast-forward to 13 years later…I had made a decision to move to New York, a city I have never been to before, all by myself, with no family or friends to greet me at the airport, help me find a place to live or show me around. I lived in a youth hostel for a couple of weeks and then rented an apartment and found a job. Now, years later, when I look back at my decision to move to New York I wonder where I got the guts to make such a drastic move all by myself. Thinking back to my ropes course experience I now realize why the guide didn’t push me down the zip line; she wanted the decision to “take the risk” (even though it was really very safe but go tell that to a kid) -well, she wanted me to be the one making this decision with no external influence. Sure, she could have pushed me and that would have made it easier for me, but when I had made that decision to go down the zip line I had opened up an opportunity to trust myself and take risks. I truly believe that this is what allowed me to be able to trust myself when I moved to New York when I was 26.
I will always remember my ropes course experience and what it taught me and I will always remember those first few weeks I had spent in New York trying to “make it in the big city”. I have commemorated the date of my arrival to New York on my Cross pen.
Get your own Cross pen engraving of your Long Story Short to commemorate a big moment in your life!
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Senior Reviewer Maytal Wichman has also written for The Huffington Post. She has been living in New York City for fourteen years and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature as well as a Law Degree, but blogging is her true passion. Maytal is a stay-at-home mom to three kids (ages 9, 7 and 4) and loves finding great products that make her family’s life easier.
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