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In the long run, some things turn out to be incredibly significant to our lives, even though we couldn't have known about it at first. For example, when I was a little kid and still couldn't swim, my father had to cut the grass around the pond in our back yard. He was planning to do it early Saturday morning, but his friend dropped by for an unexpected visit and the two went fishing, so my pops postponed cutting the grass to Sunday. During the same Saturday, I was playing on the high edge of the pond and overextended a bit, falling into the water. I didn't know how to swim and the depth was well over my height so I began just instinctively reaching for anything around me I could get a grip on. Long story short, I climbed out of the pond by gripping the grass my father had to cut down. Remembering that epic day I can't help but wonder - what things in other people's lives seemed unimportant at first but changed them forever? Write your responses below while I go search for ways to download the Butterfly Effect.

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#1

This guy in high school that I barely knew defended me when my crush was being rude to me in the hallway during school. After my crush slinked off, the guy told me to come to him anytime if I ever felt scared or bullied again. He has been my best friend for 24 years now and my husband for 22. I'm the luckiest woman in the world.

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    #2

    3 years ago I went to my university to sign some papers. After signing them I realised I needed to go to the bathroom. There were many of them but I liked the newest one in our new building the best. It's weird, I know, but I went for that one and when I entered the new building where the WC was, my eye got caught on a job application for Bored Panda. So I sent my CV and...here I am, three years later. So I guess I'm glad for my small bladder and on being picky about public bathrooms.

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    Julija Nėjė
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    #3

    Ticks. Tiny bugs. Never thought much about them; they were not unusual sights and at any time of year I might pull them off my horses, my dogs, myself.

    For the past 8 years I've been disabled by Lyme and other tick-born diseases. I've had near-death experiences, I am in pain 24/7. I have probably permanent physical damage. I've been traumatised by doctors and my illness. It's a huge burden on my family. I will never be the same, never get back these lost years even if I go into remission.

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    thesilent
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    S. (Submission author)
    S.
    Community Member
    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is so much more I could say about this. Please, please, educate yourself on tick prevention, early signs of illness, and effective treatment. (ILADS is a good resource.) Do not disregard them as annoying-and-gross-but-harmless little bugs. They carry so many bacteria that can be life-altering and even deadly. For you and your pets.

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    #4

    I didn't want to go the the party but in the end, my friends convinced me to go - only for few minutes...I entered the room, I saw a girl standing near to a friend of me... I felt in love in this moment. On 20 July, we know each other for 30 years, are married since 20 years, have to children....

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    ADHORTATOR
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    christian-crisetig avatar
    ADHORTATOR (Submission author)
    ADHORTATOR
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    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well, English is not my first language..... je peux aussi l' ´écrire en francais ....oder auch gerne auf Deutsch, diese beiden Sprachen beherrsche ich etwas besser als Englisch. What about you?

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    #5

    I think I was in fourth grade when my parents bought a computer.
    I had no idea I'll be spending half of my time awake in front of it...

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    Andrius
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    #6

    Joined the Army in my 20's just to go off and see new things. During the first day of individual training we had to introduce ourselves to other classmates. One guy said something that made me think 'Wow, you're stupid'. Ten months later I married him. 13 years and 2 kids later, I now think he is the coolest and smartest guy ever.

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    S-Tooth
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    Sofia Hernandez-Garcia
    Sofia Hernandez-Garcia
    Community Member
    3 years ago

    This comment has been deleted.

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    #7

    I was extremely bored one day, and I was looking for something to do. I picked up a few beads and some string and made a horrendously simple necklace. Four years later, I'm making professional-looking jewelry and selling it online!

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    Lauren Kaufmann
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    #8

    When I was in elementary, this new girl came to our school. When I first saw her, I thought she was really weird and I didn't like her at all. We have been best friends for over 15 years.

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    TheFluffyUnicorn<3
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    #9

    My university and degree choice was based on my crush for a guy. Never ended up with the guy but ended up studying in two different countries, learning other languages and cultures, becoming a strong and independent woman, and now happily living on the other side of the world with a job I love feeling very lucky that my crush influenced my choice and led me to a school that gave me those opportunities and experiences.

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    Julie Julie
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    #10

    Moving schools. I thought I was just getting away from bullies. Years later I have my best friend and a really close friend. It was the best decision of my life.

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    I❤️My cat
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    #11

    Quitting violin and taking up piano instead when I was five. I had two lessons and I hated it so much. Little did I know that I would be playing piano for many years afterwards, in fact, over a decade now and still going! I even qualified at a competition for state when I was in high school.

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    Galeanthropy2017
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    #12

    In kindergarten, I decided to draw my mom a picture. From that point on, i fell in love with art. Now I draw for fun and i make money off of it too.

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    Lazy_Potato
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    Alysha Jones
    Alysha Jones
    Community Member
    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That happened to me too. From 4 year old doodles to grown Graphic Designer.

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    #13

    Books. About nine years ago, (I was around five) I though books were a bit odd. Just letters that I didn't understand. Seven months later, my parents introduced my to Percy Jackson. Right as I learned to read books like Percy Jackson, (almost seven) I did. Now, I must have a book or Kindle with me at all times. I read every night, and I cannot go without a book.

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    pear blossom
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    #14

    One day, out of the blue, a small paragraph came into my head. Not knowing what it was about, I wrote it down. 2 years and thousands of words on, the story that formed in my mind is still going strong and the powerful inspiration that drives it has been a light through some very dark places.

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    Rachel Cole
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    #15

    My older brother shoving a Percy Jackson book into my hand at the age of 4. I never guessed that now, ten years later, I would have 50 fandoms that are such an integral part of my life I can't imagine what I'd be without them. It's kind of a silly answer, compared to some of the other ones here, but my books, movies, TV shows, anime, manga, and music mean the world to me. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

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    Lux Lucis
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    #16

    I ended up volunteering to be in a parade with my mom's boss' daughter. She has been my best friend for 10 years and has helped me shape who I am today.

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    Jodi
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    #17

    Talking to the guy I had a crush on. It made me realize what a great person and friend he is. He's still my #1 friend

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    Parvathy Sandhya Nair
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    #18

    I had broken up with a boyfriend 2 months ago, his birthday was coming. So, that night I couldn't sleep thinking over and over about those plans that would never be. Turned the TV on - nothing good. Logged into msn messenger - NONE of my friends were online. So I decided to go into a chat room to talk to some stranger until I could get sleepy. Wasn't even looking for friends, just kill some time. Who would have thought I would meet the love of my life. 10 years together. Still happy and in love.

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    sunnyrei82
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    Daria B
    Daria B
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    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Similar. I met my husband on the internet first too. Just like in your case, it was not a dating site, or anything of that kind, just a nickname on the contact list. Now... Seven years of living together. And for me, I was always dreaming of east Asia, Japan and Korea in particular. And here I am, he helped me with that too.

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    #19

    Similar to #1 but my neighbour through out her computer and I brought it in to fix it when I was 6-7. Haven't stopped fixing and using computers since.

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    Kieron Behan
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    #20

    I was an awkward potato once (about 2 years ago)... I discovered YouTube and watching the youtubers all confident I tried to become confident
    Now the whole school knows me for my bharatnatyam dance =)

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    Mafalda Hopkirk
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    #21

    My older brother and sister joined karate, I was too young to do it so I had to wait. My mum, after years of watching joined about the same time as I did. Me, my mum and my sister train together and are all black belts. (I have been doing karate for 14 years).

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    Jennifer Koningham
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    #22

    I was dating a guy over one winter. Randomly, he had a heart attack while backcountry skiing. He was helicoptered to the hospital and the doctors saved him, a 37 year old elite athlete. Afterwards, he didn't speak to anyone for months. Finally, I dumped him, feeling like a complete ass. My answer for anger and sadness was to go for a walk. I met a great neighbor who eventually became my husband. Without those few months of waiting, I wouldn't have learned what really mattered for a partner.

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    BravePanda
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    #23

    Reading books! When I was young the only books I read were the one I was forced to read for school. I'm french so I had to read classical french authors, and as a child, I found that reaaaaally boring! But then I met a friend of my father who was an author and a teacher. We had the best discuss together. From that point I started to read books, every genre, and know I read between 50 and 100 books a year. It became my favourite hobby. Reading helped me in so many ways! I love it!!!!!

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    Jeremie Guerra
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    #24

    5 years ago I received my copies of "My family and other animals" trilogy by Gerald Durrell. It wasn't really interesting at first but then, 1year ago, when I finally read them, they really changed my life. They encouraged me to explore the natural world even more, they made me more observant. It also urged me to try to set my own home menagerie and basically, it reminded me a philosophy of mine long forgotten: "Be yourself, walk on the wild side and don't let the muggles get you down(HP). " ;)

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    Zori the degu
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    #25

    when learning at middle school i thought learning was the only important thing but after 4 months i felt depressed and lonely.I started to lose my passion for learning and then ...i meet a girl that changed me from shy to showing my emotions and it all started with a smile that changed my perspective of me...i'm happy

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    mushi potato
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    #26

    I fell in love with two guys in my life. On gave me the gift of photography, and because of the other one I started folkdancing at the age of 21. I love it to this day, I've been even teaching it for two years and I'm eternally grateful.

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    Judit Thoma
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    #27

    My mom sent me and my sister to a summer camp to get out of her hair.
    My sister got into acting and shortly after so did I ( I was about 4-5) about 10 years later I'm still acting and and expert of making fake bruises with stage makeup. Its not much because I'm still really young (14 years) but I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and ADD. Without that camp and all the supportive and loving friends and counslers I wouldn't be here today.

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    A Ghost
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    BusLady
    BusLady
    Community Member
    6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You hang in there, girl. So glad that you have a hobby that you enjoy so much. It is good for your self-esteem.

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    #28

    People. I never realized how much people will affect your everyday life, your attitude and your health. People can change you for better or for worse and its something that can only be barely controlled by you.

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    Alex Watenphul
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    #29

    Dinosaurs, sure they seem silly, but honestly, my silly love for dinosaurs has helped me through some dark times by drawing them

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    Aidan Edwards
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    #30

    I used to go to the pool quite a bit. There was this one lifeguard that i loved to talk to. Eventually, we became good friends. Well, who would've guessed that my joints would all lock up in the middle of a swim meet(I have a genetic condition called Ehlers Danlose. I was born with no connective tissue and weak joints.) He only noticed i was in trouble cause i told him about the condition. If we hadn't been friends, i would have drowned right there. Still my best friend.

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    Weddfire
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    #31

    Years of being bullied and manipulated left me with trouble communicating and making eye contact, I became mute and withdrawn until I was out of high school. Art became my main hobby, where I met some people who were interested in the same things as me. We hit it off, I started learning how to have conversations again and being comfortable with myself. They've gone their own ways, but I appreciate all they've done for me.

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    K.D.
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    BusLady
    BusLady
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    6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's a difficult way to start life. But you seem like a strong person who looks for the positive in life.

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    #32

    3rd year university, I was dreading a course and was late for my first class. I walked into the class. Great. All my friends have joined a group. I was trying to sneak into my friend's group, got pulled out and assigned into a group with 4 senior guys who I've never met. Long story short. One of them is my husband now.

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    EggsNBacon
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    #33

    Pain pills, I dont think I need to say anything more than that.

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    Melody Lanzatella
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    Shari H
    Shari H
    Community Member
    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Horrible things, even as they help ease one kind of pain they cause another...

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