Probably going abroad in high school (therefore, the single most important event was probably getting the scholarship that made it possible), that experience has shaped most of the major events of my life since!
Uh, I was going to say the birth of my three-year-old son Eliot. But that seems disingenuous now.
So.
Probably getting into Dartmouth. I can now trace the source of my greatest joys in life to the day in early February I received in "likely letter."
I made my first real friends here, I became unafraid to be in love here, I embraced (and summarily denounced) religion here, I redefined family here, I ate my first cantaloupe here, I came out of the closet here, I lost 40+ pounds here, I feel beautiful here, I am valued here.
My first solo trip to Mexico when I was 19. This trip opened my eyes to so much and implanted the travel bug in me- two things that made me a much different person than I was on the road to being.
I think that's why I asked - because I wasn't sure what my answer would be. There are a few things that made a big difference in my life: getting married, moving to Minnesota, that kind of thing. But I think it's more the little everyday things that make me who I am, not the one or two life-changing events that have happened. (Of course, judging by the mothers who have commented, as soon as I give birth I'll have to change my answer.)
I think the wording is what made me answer the way I did. There have been many significant events in my life, but as far as most important, I don't think any one thing has been more important than anything else. I wouldn't be who I am if anything in my life had happened differently.
I was thinking along those lines too, really, it's each event in your life that shapes how you view and act in the following situations. I picked my experience with my exchange year because it was something I had control over (i.e. it happened when I was a teenager, not a 4 year old) and has literally impacted everything since, from where I went to college, to who I married to what jobs I have and the people I have as close friends.
Yeah...if I were to pick a significant event, it would either be going to college or Peace Corps, just because they were big deals for me and not something that was the norm in my family. But everything only happened because of something before. I wouldn't have done Peace Corps if I hadn't gone to college. Wouldn't have gone to college if I hadn't been into doing well in school. Wouldn't have cared about school if I didn't have some of the friends I had. Wouldn't have had those friends if I hadn't been involved in music, etc. :)
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But that seems disingenuous now.
So.
Probably getting into Dartmouth. I can now trace the source of my greatest joys in life to the day in early February I received in "likely letter."
I made my first real friends here, I became unafraid to be in love here, I embraced (and summarily denounced) religion here, I redefined family here, I ate my first cantaloupe here, I came out of the closet here, I lost 40+ pounds here, I feel beautiful here, I am valued here.
I picked my experience with my exchange year because it was something I had control over (i.e. it happened when I was a teenager, not a 4 year old) and has literally impacted everything since, from where I went to college, to who I married to what jobs I have and the people I have as close friends.
I'm pretty sure the only thing more important than that will be my death.