Take your chances

I’d rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not done. 

~Lucille Ball

I am your typical overthinker. From what course to study, to what to eat for dinner, I spend way too much time contemplating what I really want. How will they feel? What will they think? Am I gonna regret this later?

Very often, I end up thinking so much that I don’t do what my gut tells me to. I hated that feeling of being in my bed at night and thinking of all the things I could’ve done differently. So, at some point, I told myself to stop overthinking.

I remember the first day of my new school when I saw this girl standing ahead of me. She seemed so chirpy and excited. I thought about how alike we were, and how I wanted to be friends with her. We were all new to this place, and understandably shy. So, I kept thinking if I should go up and talk to her and whether it would be weird to do that. After going over it about 20 times in my head, I finally went up to her and introduced myself.

Today she’s one of my best friends. She is the person I still talk to about my life’s most silly, dramatic, and important moments. She can just look at me and know what I’m feeling, sometimes even over video call. It has been over 3 years now, and I am so proud of taking my chance and going up to her. Yep, she’s also the author of this blog.

Okay Rajvi, stop flying now.

But the main point is that even if we hadn’t become friends then, I would have been glad that I tried. Following your heart and intuition is a hard thing to do, but at the very least, it is gratifying. In situations that I find myself overthinking I keep asking myself ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ People will laugh, someone won’t talk to me for a while, or I’ll piss someone off. So what? In the grand scheme of things, a lot of these trivial ones don’t matter as much.

I read this quote and it’s only fitting that I use it here: I hope your life is full of “I can’t believe I did this” rather than “I should’ve done it”. Sometimes the choice is between living with mistakes or regrets.

So, take that plunge. Appreciate people, even if you don’t know how they’ll react. Make that joke, even if you know no one will laugh. And follow your heart, even if it gets you in a little trouble sometimes.

-Aanchal Sheth