I was wasting away psychologically during my time in engineering undergrad. I felt like I was underachieving, not really heading in any particular direction. Absolutely terrified at the realization that I really have no plan to take care of myself without my parents. Then, my father was officially diagnosed with Amyloidosis and it changed everything for me.

The intensity of watching my literal lifeline whither away sent something off in my mind and I found a large amount of myself. Everything my parents ever bothered to teach me about life began to make perfect sense is those moments as his life wound down. I even started to grow dreads as a sign to my father that I finally understood a lot of the lessons he tried to teach me and am remorseful for it taking his death to do so (he was a rasta dude.) I started working at friend's startup redistributing TurtleBots and trying to make turtlebot accessories, which didn't work out and I ended up working for a 3D printing company after. I live together in the home that he left behind with my partner and do everything I can to keep what he worked for alive.

I can't describe the whirlwind of people, moments, and places that have transpired since that moment, but I've learned (and experienced) so much in the past 3 years. Life will never be the same.

This is going to be super stupid but when I watched Gurren Lagann.

That show is dumb. It's so super dumb, it makes no sense, and I'd be embarrassed if anyone but my closest friends saw me watching it.

But I watched it in a very stressful moment of my life, which was Senior year of High school. I was sick of everyone, I was even more cynical than I am now, and I had a very low opinion of myself.

My friends and I watched Gurren Lagann while we were hanging out at my high-school after-midnight for two days, cramming for projects and the grand digital arts exam. Every hour we'd take a break and watch an episode. It's probably the most bonding moment I've ever had, watching a bunch of robots punch each other in the face. Our group of friends call ourselves the Gurren Brigade, and we all have spiral necklaces and make references to it all the time. We've been friends since middle-school and that show made our friendship stronger.

Beyond that, it was a confidence booster, too. It was an over-the-top portrayal of the hero's journey that I needed at that point in my life. I still go back to this scene when I need a pick-me-up:

I mean man, just watching it I know how stupid it is but I feel like I can take on the world after seeing it.

It will never make sense to anyone but us, but I'm okay with that.

That day is so vivid in my mind. I can relive it, not that I would want to. Not that anyone would want to. On this specific day, my friend, at the age of 14, took his own life. This is something that changes you, especially when you're young. At the funeral, someone said something that helped me get over it extremely quickly though; "He was going to do it whether he was 14 or 30." It made me realize that yes, he was going to do it. It was better he did it then then if he had a wife and kids. The entire ordeal was extremely difficult to go through. It still affects me too. I no longer think about that day on a daily basis, but every once in a while, it comes back. On the bright side, I have become a much more mature, caring person because of it. I have also started to notice when people act different than normal too, and I always make sure they're doing okay. You never know when someone needs you.

thenewgreen: Thanks again for listening when I needed you to.

The Pig.

I was in an interpretive dance group with an evangelical edge.

It was Pike's Place Market in Seattle where I abandoned my religion.

The story is as follows: after speaking with one member of our group, I started talking with a wheelchaired man who needed to go somewhere, presumably to buy heroin, and I took him too it.

We traversed through a crowd of people, and I pushed him though it. On my way back I saw that a hobo held up a sign... Luke Chapter Something which really hit me. I told him that the man up the way, with the busker, all alone, bloodied and hankered, needed some Water.

"Water of the Lord"

Then I became abducted by this anxiety - I could no longer 'praise' in the same way that I had before. I at first thought that I was sick, that I had acquired some sinful way about me.

What I found out later is that it was actually an anxiety attack, and that I had realized that all my prior teachings and learning had been at major fault. To this day I am still trying to reconcile it.

I took the man to the place he wanted to go, and on my return was chastised for it. After all, I was 17 and didn't have rights to my own. Since then I have been very careful - whom I trust: those that are candid and willing to explain their root MO.

The reason why is because I was eventually ostracized by my community; I was very quickly put aside by these people because, at least I though, thinking more critically then them at the time.

Listen, there are times in everyone's lives where they have a change of heart. But, in my view, it is something to be embraced, and not to be forgone. These types of lifetime moments, you'll never forget. And don't you forget it.

Seriously, when I joined Hubski. Who coulda thunk any of us would ever be talking to each other.

Mine would be having an alphabetically similar last name to a guy I went through boot camp with, although we were in different platoons during it. We ended up serving in the same squad together after basic training and for the majority of our time in service. He had told me that one of his childhood friends would love me -- his friend had joined the military too, but a little bit later than we had and was placed in a different division.

I ended up moving to the same city as my squadmate after we got out and eventually met his friend. Nearly everything that's happened in my post-military life so far has been a result of our collaboration and friendship. Unfortunately, we'll have to part ways for a while next year, but we'll eventually be able to bring it back full circle.

Commenting so I remember to add mine later. Can't think of one in specific at the moment, although I know I've had them (and recognized them before)

E: Got it. This isn't exactly what you asked because it hasn't totally changed my life yet, but I expect it probably will. A few weeks ago when I was on my grand college tour of the Northeast, we visited Colgate University on day 3. It had been my sister's idea to visit, so originally my mom suggested that I find a quiet place to sit and read while she and my sister did the information session and stuff, but for whatever reason I just decided to go too. I had no interest in the college prior to that day (it was filtered out of my search because College Board listed it as "rural"), but by the time we were like 5 minutes into the info session it was clear to both my sister and me that this was more my speed of school. By the end of the day, I had pretty much decided to apply early decision.

So far the choice hasn't really impacted my life beyond the college application process, but if I end up going to Colgate the next 4 years of my life (and probably a significant portion of the rest of it) will be totally different because of that one moment. Something something ButterflyEffect

I've shared this before, but I like sharing it, because I'm still learning from it.

So about three years ago, I was 19, and I was driving to a party at some dude's apartment I'd never met, along with two of my friends. It was around 11pm, and the party was pretty far out of there, so we were driving on the highway in a relatively rural part of town. I was in the passenger's seat, and I remember we were blaring Midnight Marauders by Tribe Called Quest. My two friends were having a conversation, whilst I was lost in thought. I have very introverted tendencies, so I was paying no attention to what they were talking about. Instead, I was thinking about the meaning of the word "death". At that time in my life I was doing a lot of soul searching, trying to figure out what I really believed in, so I was thinking of the word "death" in the context of it's use in Genesis 2:17. I certainly wasn't a Christian, nevertheless I found myself intensely fascinated by the deeper meaning of this verse. Suddenly, something just clicked in my mind, I can't quite explain it, because it was by no deduction of my own reasoning, but I perfectly understood the meaning of the word "death". In that instant, time no longer meant anything, there didn't seem to be such thing as the past, or the future, only the present and present was eternal. At the same time, the entirety of human history made complete sense to me, almost like I was uncovering memories that stretched back to the beginning of time, all encapsulated in the word "death". Simultaneously, I felt what seemed to be a cool breeze, or cool water sensation rise from the earth and cover my whole body, and I felt the purest peace, happiness, and love I could ever imagine. I was perfectly ready to die in that moment if it meant preserving the eternal sensation of basking in the very essence of beauty and truth. While I remained inside my body, I physically felt my spirit rise far above the earth touching the heavens, like I was GIGANTIC. And that moment in time I was witnessing in my physical body was merely a small glimpse on a WAY bigger time scale, but each moment seemed of utmost preciousness, and importance. It was as if every moment prior to that experience, I'd never actually been alive, but rather experiencing life through a very foggy lens that only gave me the most meager impression of what was actually real. I felt simultaneously like a small piece of something far bigger than myself, and yet an immensely important one.

My friends were completely unaware this was happening to me, and I don't think I've ever shared this with them to this day. But I've never been able to look at the world the same way since. I went to a party afterward, where the people became completely transparent to me. I had such an understanding of human nature, that I could feel just how lonely and selfish most people are on the inside, and frankly it made me very sad. I wish I could remember everything that was revealed to me in that brief moment that transcended time and space, but I'm left merely with a vague impression. I find myself returning to this memory in times when I need encouragement, just reminding myself it actually happened. I would've been perfectly content to die then and there.

Needless to say, I became a Christian that night, because I understood what it meant for Christ to die (and how few people, even "christians" understand or appreciate what this means). Whether you agree or not is irrelevant, because this was my experience, and I've never felt anything as real since. People are often very quick to try and diminish my claim, or take any notion of a higher power out of the equation of my testimony. But I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that life as we know it here on earth seems but a pitiful shade in comparison to what I felt that night. There's nothing on earth that could ever come close to fulfilling me like I was in that moment. I can truly say I felt complete in my humanity, and I can't look back.

I don't know If it qualifies as an unexpected moment, but in June I tried to enter in a French business school and I had to take a competitive exam. We were around 1500 students to take the exam which included 2 stages (1. A long essay on a specific topic and a test which is like the GMAT ; 2. Oral exam and an English oral test).

At the end, I didn't pass. I was close, one point close. It hurts and it will probably change the course of my life career wise for the better or the worst.

I was stuck in that post-high school/not going to college rut that i suppose a lot of people go through. No direction, no real goals to speak of, partying too much, working too little and of course, being in my late teens and early twenties, feeling sorry for myself and stuck in my situation. I had a pretty serious problem with drinking and weed, I started using at around 14 and it quickly became an all day everyday life consuming habit. My hangup on it caused me to barely get through high school, have trouble holding down a job and caused a general feeling of apathy and depression that i just felt i couldn't shake. I stumbled through life getting and losing jobs for several years and living with/off my parents with the notion that I wanted more but for some reason the inability to see what i had to do to get there.

One day my father and i were talking and he said something to me that I really wasn't expecting. he told me that my life was mine to live and he was done trying to guide me towards what he thought was best. This came as a surprise because he was so often the one giving me a hard time about my decisions and trying to get me out of this mindset. Then he said the words that have stuck with me ever since: " Son, there's an amazing world out there, full of nothing but opportunities in every direction, you're young enough to take advantage of all of them. You can go and see and do things others only dream of doing. You can build a life you want with the people you want and not just end up somewhere or with someone. You have the world at your fingertips, its yours for the taking. But, if you cant give up drinking or smoking to go see and do the things that make life worth living, then i just feel sorry for you."

That hit me like a brick, and everything snapped into focus, I took a few days to sort things out internally and realized just how much I had been limiting myself. i stopped doing drugs and drinking, and got myself a job that i love traveling the world. Six years later I'm happily married with a promising career and a ton of great experiences, it took a moment to listen to him but its affected every day of my life since.