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As we all go about our daily lives striving to reach a specific goal, we can't possibly anticipate the unexpected situations that derail us.
But it's not until looking back in retrospect that we realize that were it not for these defining moments, we wouldn't be where we are today.
Some may believe that everything happens for a reason, while others are convinced developments in life are purely coincidental.
While that's up for the individual to decide, strangers online share the most monumental incidents in their lives when RedditorObjective5550 asked:
"What moment completely changed your life forever?"
We can never be prepared for all of life's curveballs, good and bad.
The Medical Emergency
"4 in the morning, I (M, 62) hear a thud in the bedroom. Found my wife (F, 59) on the floor. Massive stroke, right side affected, cognitive and speech abilities impaired. Just that quickly, both of our lives changed."
"She survived but is an entirely different person. I am her 24/7 caregiver. I can't afford to hire someone to come in the home, so I can't go back to work. Her income, beyond her pension, is gone as well. Financially, I'm slowly working through it. Losing over half of our income has certainly been a challenge."
"Most Americans are one medical emergency away from ruin. Even with good insurance, I still have medical bills due, as well as the other financial obligations we made while still employed. Emotionally, it's been draining. Physically, I'm tired. But, I still have my wife, so who am I to complain?"
– rotll
Not All Car Crashes Are Created Equal
"in 1992 my buddy and I had a day off from our retail jobs (this is in the bay area). We decided to go up to San Francisco to hang out for the day. I decided I wanted to go to Sega's US Headquarters to "see Sega" (fresh out of HS I had no idea this wasn't a thing you could do)."
"Go to Sega HQ and ask to look around. Bewildered, they told me to leave as this was a business, not a theme park (they were very nice, but very confused)."
"As we were leaving, I was backing out and hit a car exiting the parking lot."
"The man I hit assumed I was the kid of someone who worked there, so we ended up talking. I informed him that I was just there because I loved Sega and wanted to look around, and we had a good laugh about it. Turns out he went to the same college as I was attending at the time, and had lived in the same dorms."
"The following week, when I went to pay him for the damage to the car, he showed me around and introduced me to some people and told the story of why I was there."
"Two weeks later, I got a job answering phones for Sega."
"Been working in the video game industry for over 30 years now. Done OK for myself. Had that series of events not happened I don't know what my life would be like today."
– albertpenello
Part Of The Family
"Once I was placed with the foster family, who then went on to adopt me."
– OliviaNicoleGriffin
"Thank God for social services. I'm so happy your family adopted you. I'm glad you have a happy ending."
"Mine was the day the social workers took me out of the household at 17. I was severely depressed and apparently looked unhealthy. I remember being scared and felt like the only world I knew ( albeit horrible) was crashing down."
"My foster mother was sp gentle and gave me new pajamas and told me to have a shower and let me go to bed. She let me be. And she's always been there for me. Even now as a almost 30 year old."
"If it weren't for her I wouldn't have a job , a degree , and honestly I'd probably be dead if it weren't for that day."
– DinoBay
Different forms of intervention prevented these Redditors' lives from spiraling out of control.
Father Of The Year Award
"My father caught me smoking pot in the attic, drug tested me and found out I was doing way harder drugs at age 17. He then said he was going to send me to a rehab or he can drug test me every 2 months until I was a year clean. He made me exercise 5 days a week and work in the family business."
"Now I have an active lifestyle and good discipline in my daily life, that moment looking back on it changed my life forever. I will always say I have the best father on earth...I'm now 30 y/o and married to the love of my life and think of that day a lot."
"*Just as a clarification my dad really didn't care about smoking weed, it was the others I consumed/shot up as a teenager while I was touring in my 'cool' punk rock band lol."
– Tahtooz
The Bigger Man
"I used to hang out with a large group of friends. I was picking on one of the guys at one of our party. He walked over and poured a beer on my head. I was much bigger than this guy and it took balls for him to do that."
"The whole party stopped to watch what would happen. I had an epiphany while he was doing that and realized I had been an a-hole to this guy for years. I stood up and walked over to him, beer dripping down my hair/close, and apologized for being an a**hole."
"I don’t think he ever forgave me, but it was a powerful lesson for me. I never wanted to be the kind of person to pick on others & I never did it again. That was 39 years ago."
– truh22
Shamed By A Cop
"I was high as a kite on my way to work. Should not have been driving. Like at all. I was ALL over the road. Left shoulder, right shoulder, oncoming traffic, you name it. I was so f'ked up i didn't even notice or care what was happening."
"I somehow made it to a gas station about 35 minutes away without incident, where i feel asleep standing up in the line to pump gas (nodding out as we called it). Someone at the store realized i was driving and had called the police and they stalled my gas pump to give the police time to arrive."
"I pump my gas and as I'm pulling away, i am surrounded by quite a few cop cars. The cop comes up to my window and tells me that someone called because they were concerned about me. He shines his light in my eyes and asks to see them. I bravely look into his eyes close up. I know my pupils are the size of a pin head, but i was so high i was confident as hell."
"I was no longer nodding out and was able to form coherent sentences and the cop just says ok, and looks down, and does the most disappointed head hung head shake i ever got in my life. The look of pure disappointment on his face made me realize how much I've been f'king up."
"When i sobered up i realized that i had been messing up really really badly, and things could have gone MUCH worse for me that morning. I am very lucky i am not dead and did not kill anyone else that morning."
"I am sorry to all those whose lives i put at risk the times i did that. I can't undo what I've done, but i try to live my life by the best standards i can now."
"I don't know who you were officer, but you saved my life that day. I've been clean for 4 years now."
– nryporter25
Good can come from bad.
New Chapters
"Divorce. It terrified and upset me. While it certainly left some scars, it ended up being the best thing that could have happened. It triggered a series of events that made me the happiest and most successful I’ve been in life. Toxic relationships can absolutely destroy you."
– Sawoodster
"Ita been 4 years since my wife left... I was absolutely devastated. It felt like the world was ending, with a young child in the middle absolutely confused about her little universe, and why mom and dad have different houses."
"It f'king crushed me. First because the person I thought I knew and placed all my trust in absolutely abandoned me, and second because I felt so guilty for not providing the best possible environment for my daughter to grow up in."
"Like you, I've also experienced a series of events that have put me into a place I honestly couldn't imagine just 4 years ago. I have the most satisfying and fulfilling employment I've ever had, along with earning more than I ever have. I have a decently normal schedule that allows me to have 50/50."
"I never realized how unfit my ex and I were for each other, until I was faced with the situation. While it was very painful and indeed leaves scars... it was absolutely necessary."
– FLbugman
Required Surgery
"The moment I went into surgery for gastric sleeve surgery. I'm not pre-diabetic, I'm not in pain anymore and I'm quite fit now."
– GenericBatmanVillain
Empowered
"The moment last year when I decided I was tired of being a lazy piece of sh*t who didn't care about his health. I threw out all the junk food in my house and immediately cut down on snacks and portion size."
"The next week I joined a gym. I'm now 25 lbs lighter, my cholesterol is back to normal, I have more confidence than I did before, and for the first time in nearly 20 years I can look in the mirror and like what I see."
– thesounddefense
I Found Happiness
"The moment I decided I was going to take responsibility for my own happiness and do everything I could to get out of a seriously abusive marriage. It was one of the most brutal and painstaking experiences of my life. I was told for years that I was 'incapable of being happy,' and phrases like that haunted me, and made me doubt my decisions and my worth."
"Now, 7 years later I’m happier than I’ve ever been, healthier than I’ve ever been, and I have an amazingly supportive partner who is my best friend. Sometimes I take a look around at my life and actually cry with gratitude."
– LeaveWuTangAlone
Sometimes we should spark changes by making a conscious decision to turn our lives around.
While that's easier said than done, it's worth taking a leap to get out of a situation we're not entirely pleased with.
It's either that, or you can wait for fate to force a detour that might not work out in your favor.
Such is the journey of life...