One day, you’re going to wake up and feel different than the day before. And I don’t mean different as in you’re going to have really bad leg cramps because yesterday was stairs day in gym. Or the kind of different where your head is pounding from a little too much fun the night before.

I mean the kind of different where you question why the sky is blue. You’re going to wonder things that had never occurred to you before. Why have you been eating Captain Crunch every morning instead of Cinnamon Toast Crunch? Why do you always wear your hair down? Why do you listen to the same radio station on your way to work?

I can tell you one reason why. Because we, as human beings, like to be comfortable. We like to live in our cozy little houses, with our cozy little families, and stick to what we know. Routine is comfort. It’s what you know best, and if you grew up eating Captain Crunch, then why stray from the path?

Change requires us to step out of the comfort zone, and that is a major reason why we don’t like it. But I can’t stress enough people, DO NOT BE AFRAID OF CHANGE. Please embrace it.

If you want to cut off 10 inches of your hair, DO IT. If you want to move to Idaho and start a business of growing sunflowers, DO IT. Stop being afraid of the outcome and just do. Don’t worry what others are going to think, because let’s be real here, they’re going to talk about you either way. That’s just how humans are built. For once in your life, don’t hesitate to modify your story, because it is YOUR story.

And so, one morning I woke up and questioned nearly every aspect of my life. I looked into the details of my daily routine, and pressed the pause button on my life to ask myself if I was happy. To be honest with you, the answer was no. Was I comfortable? Yes. But how would my comfort and ease today, help me with my future tomorrow?

This is how decisions are made, I think. I decided that I wasn’t happy, and therefore I made a change. I made quite a few changes actually. I am going through what we writers call a “plot twist”, and truthfully, I have no idea how my story is going to end. But I can guarantee you one thing. It won’t be boring.

Life isn’t about staying the same. Do you have any idea how incredibly dull your book would be if every day was alike, and we never swam against the stream? I know personally that I want to read a story that shocks me, not one that I can predict.

My life is an unpredictable plot twist, and that’s how I like it. 

Go out today and buy the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Go make a change in your life. Who knows? Maybe that one small difference will be the key to your happiness.

-Maddie