SoulPancake

1. Moved back home
2. Looked for the monster in the closet
3. Understanding my body does not control me
4. Asked the boy
5. Walked into the dark. Alone.

1. Admitted out-loud that I wasn't happy and found help.
2. Stuck up for myself.
3. Quit my unfair job at Walmart so I could make better grades in school, and started working at a less-paid, less-hours job at the local bookstore/coffeeshop. I'm much happier.
4.Understanding/Tolerating my grandfather's way of coping with Viet Nam when no one else does.
5. Finally realizing that my health depended on me, and taking action.

1. Faced my fear of helicopters and military jets by going to an air show.
2. Walked through the doors of my highschool on the first day of freshman year.
3. Went for a walk with a complete stranger.
4. Decided I didn't need those people anymore and tried making new friends.
5. Enrolled in a dance class, got there and realized I was the only one who didn't know what they were doing, and despite feeling awkward and out of place, stuck it out anyway.

1. Left my hometown, family and boyfriend and moved 2000 miles away to follow my artistic dreams.
2. Realized that those artistic dreams had been instilled in me by my mother and that they were her dreams not mine and stopped.
3. Found my own talent was working with tiny kiddos and quit my job to apprentice at a Montessori school.
4. Married the nicest man I've ever met after very little time, knowing that I didn't want to be married, but I did want to be with him forever.
5. Confronted my illness and accepted that I might die much sooner than I had ever thought.

Getting married.
Getting divorced.
After five years of school and a degree in Law decided to look for the place I fit in the most: Advertising.
Telling my mother I don't want her life without hurting her feelings.
Standing up for myself in every occasion, no exceptions.

1. Disclosed sexual abuse.
2. Decided to keep my baby and raise him without child support.
3. Joined a rugby team.
4. Touched a snake.
5. Said NO.

@karenraab Thank you so much! I don't usually get encouragement, I get a lot of weird looks! Haha. I hope that it's a really special gift for my husband, whoever he may be!

1. dealing with my parents' divorce.
2. going to a new church.
3. asking for help.
4. deciding to take Taekwondo.
5. house-sitting for my dad.

1. Finally coming out to my father after 3yrs of living in fear of him dis-owning me because of me being a lesbian.
2.at13: started MMA(mixed martial arts) cage fighting showing no fear at my competition which happend to be boys.
3. To start a wonderful realtionship with the woman of my dreams after a horriable break up before we got together
4. Standing up for my rights and other LGBT students rights at my school after i was expelled
5. Living my life and not a phoney life like i was for 5yrs

Inevitably lame compared to many of the other brilliant stories here, but hey I'm an upper-middle class college guy.
1. Taking organic chemistry after getting the first C of my life in general chem.
2. Choosing (and not for religious reasons) not to drink in my freshman year.
3. Asking, and not caring that I failed dismally, a girl for high school prom.
4. Making peace with the idea of going to school in a state I had been trying to escape for years.
5. Mobilizing friends, handing out fliers, and giving speeches to campaign for college student government...and winning.

1. Left the only place I had ever called home, moved to a city where I knew three people- my mom, dad, and brother- and started a new (thriving, AMAZING!) life there.
2. Faced an ameloblastoma (and potential jaw reconstruction surgery) with my head held high, a smile on my face and a song in my heart.
3. Stood up for my beliefs, every time
4. Auditioned (and made it!)
5. Learning to play guitar, and being okay with the fact that it's not something that I can be fantastic at right away

1. At 17:Finding the physical and emotional strength to stand up to my abusive stepfather
2. At 18 : moving 2,000 miles away from home with no family support, getting a job at a factory to support myself and never looking back
3.At 32 : Going to college
4. Getting over the fear of public speaking
5. At 40: forving my old ghosts and moving back to my home town to start a new life

1.
Talking to my dad after he read my journal and got raged

2.
Having my first flight without company
(I mean it was my very first flight and I was alone)

3.
Deciding to start a relationship

4.
Deciding to end a relationship

5.
Confronting a bestfriend just to ask, "Dude what's your freakin' problem?" after days of cold-war about things I had no idea

1. Speaking up.
2. Continuing to try to follow Christ, even after I began to understand his message.
3. Saying "I can't be with you anymore," even though my greatest fear is being alone.
4. Singing in front of 17,189 people at a hockey game.
5. Committing to never return violence for violence because of the love of Christ.

Deciding to live when I was completely alone and broken.

Dealing sensibly with people who threatened to take my baby away (because I had severe PTSD) before she was even born.

When I distracted two enormous men from beating the life out of my husband. I mouthed off at them as loud as I could, and got them away from him... eventually they spat at me and left. Once I knew they were gone I buckled and collapsed on the ground in hysterics.

When I ran down the road one night with bare feet to follow a man who was chasing his wife. He grabbed her and she screamed - I bellowed at him to stop and let her go. He did. I gave him a right talking to and let his wife know she could come to my house for shelter or assistance any time, day or night.

When I took a strong stand for my daughter at her school last year even though the whole situation made me feel like running away and hiding.

1. Standing up to and leaving an abusive husband
2. Showing up in court for the divorce and custody battle
3. Buying a house on my own
4. Raising 3 kids without child support
5. Anytime I speak in front of a group of people

1. Standing up for that woman being beaten up by her husband outside that bar on 27th St.
2. Moving to California last year. I failed, and moved back, but I gave up everything to try. (I wish I hadn't been so courageous.)
3. Anything to do with showing someone my art.
4. Giving up on being the victim.
5. Every time I have to tell someone that I do not want to be who they want me to be.

1) "Mom, I don't want to live with you anymore." I love my new home.
2) Getting back on a horse after falling, having a concussion, and splitting a ligament.
3) Telling one of my best friends what was really going on.
4) Ending a serious relationship and forgiving him to become best friends.
5) Losing weight after 7 years of trying

1. Confronting my grandfather about molesting me as a child.
2. Forgiving and loving my grandfather.
3. After five years pursuing a degree in music education, switching gears and deciding that I'd rather perform - even though I had no job lined up.
4. Singing at my mother-in-law's funeral. I fell apart right after.
5. Being openly Christian.

@robinlawrie So inspiring. I hope I can be as strong and as adventerous as you.

1. Giving a speech about honesty in front of 2000 classmates.
2. Moving to NYC at 18.
3. Moving back to Milwaukee.
4. Standing next to Luke's incubator for 3 months.
5. Watching my grandmother die while holding her hand.

1) Quitting university after only one year and not knowing what to do afterwards
2) Spontaneously went bungy jumping even though I'm terrified of heights, while pretending I'm not scared at all
3) Pursuing my now boyfriend a few years ago even after I learnt about his previously difficult relationships, depression and bad childhood -- and I'm very happy I did
4) Showing a piece I wrote to someone I hardly knew even though I was scared they would judge me harshly - but it turned out well
5) Visiting my father in hospital while he was dying from cancer

- First time on the freeway in rush hour.
- 7th grade, the first time I asked a girl out. That was bad.
- The time I wrestled a wolf; a total right of passage moment.

Right, So I lied about the wolf.

- The time I confessed about lying about wrestling a wolf.

1. Quitting an OK paying job I hated and getting a minimum wage job that I love.
2. Wearing all sorts of ridiculously over-the-top outfits while walking through bad parts of town late at night.
3. Being with my family while my brother died from cancer.
4. Riding my scooter again after an accident that shattered my knee and put me in a wheelchair for over a month.
5. Co-raising my room-mate's son for 4 years while working two days a week for minimum wage. The hardest thing I've ever done, also the most rewarding.

@robinlawrie I appreciate your compassion for teenagers. I too have welcomed teens into my home and feel called to be compassionate towards teens, which I currently work in outreach to hurting teens. Istruggle with the restrictive boundaries that hold us back from showing that compassion to others. Thank you for standing up and doing what was right. You made a difference and that is what really matters.

1. Going over a waterfall in a raft...and managed to stay IN the boat.
2. I hate body fluids, blood and goory stuff but whenever someone gets hurt, i'm the quickest to respond.
3. Standing up to someone who had repeatedly hurt me and saying, "enough!"
4. Forgiving my Dad for abandoning me.
5. Asking people for money to support the nonprofit I work for.

1. Going over a waterfall in a raft...and managed to stay IN the boat.
2. I hate body fluids, blood and goory stuff but whenever someone gets hurt, i'm the quickest to respond.
3. Standing up to someone who had repeatedly hurt me and saying, "enough!"
4. Forgiving my Dad for abandoning me.
5. Asking people for money to support the nonprofit I work for.

1. I fell in and out of love, and it hurt like hell.
2. I told the truth even though I wanted to crawl into a cave and die.
3. I asked for help before I hit rock bottom.
4. I stood strong for my beliefs in the face of my superiors.
5. I admitted when I was wrong and tried to fix it.

1. Moved to New Orleans a year after Katrina.
2. Backpacked in Europe with an army sergeant.
3. Said no to the big easy lifestyle and yes to rebuilding New Orleans.
4. Singing on stages.
5. Wore my virginity on my sleeve.

1. In high school, when I asked my best friend's potty mouth dad not to take my Lord's name in vain, after one of the many times he did so.
2. Praying before I ate in the cafeteria in college.
3. Stayed a virgin til I was married.
4. While everyone was discussing who would go first down the homemade slip-n-slide that went into the river, I ran and dove headfirst without hesitating.
5. Stepping in front of a classroom full of students without even one minute of experience, no teaching classes, no internship, no mentor, not even 4 years older than my students, and teaching them a subject I hadn't had since high school.

1. Not had an abortion when all logic pointed in the direction of it being a terribly inconvenient time for a child.
2. Married my husband, an Iranian whom I had only known for 3 months, but who I knew was the right man for me.
3. Travelled alone through Eastern Europe to Istanbul.
4. Skydived.
5. Not stooping to my parents' level when they broke my heart during their times at rock bottom.

1.- Decided to finished my middle-school home-shcool
2.- Change career against my parent's will
3.- Travel alone on bus to US (I'm from México)
4.- Stood up to my father
5.- Not taking drugs

1. When I admitted that I needed help.
2. Going to see my grandma, knowing she wouldn't recognise me.
3. Punching my mom back, so she would know how that feels.
4. Choosing the Artistic Elective at my school, despite having no support from my parents.
5. Going alone to what happened to be the best concert of my life, and later not listening to what everybody said about me.

1. "Ran away" with the love of my life.
2. Stood up to my mom
3. Stood up to my dad
4. Graduated from bootcamp
5. Said ok when my husband decied to join the Army

1. I chose to do the hardest thing imaginable when I was 18 years old....I chose to live.
2. I stood up for them even when I couldn't stand up for myself.
3. I made sure she was OK even though I didn't know her. We ended up friends.
4. I trust him completely.
5. I know exactly who I am and will not compromise that for anything/anyone.

1. After my first apartment was robbed 5 times in 6 weeks, I decided not to move home like my parents thought I should, but to find a new place and live alone for the first time.
2. I told a boyfriend who hit me to get out of my house and out of my life.
3. After 6 weeks of bed-rest, I made up all my missed assignments in 19 days to finish my last semester of college and graduate.
4. Despite our rocky past, I let go of all my anger and hurt so I could forge a new relationship with my mother.
5. At 12, I walked out of church when a priest spoke negatively about homosexuality.

That's a 'catchy' phrase, but like so many famous quotes.....not true!

@brenda922 I'm really encouraged by your commitment to wait until you are married. You don't hear that much these days, but it is SO important. I didn't wait, and my husband did. It was very hard and continues to be a struggle for me personally and in our marriage at times. I would take it all back in a second, if I could. You really do leave a piece of yourself there...

Keep it up! :)

~I watched my mother battle and lose her life to cancer. I was 22.
~I became a mother.
~I found the strength to leave my very abusive ex-husband. I had to realize what my self worth was. My baby girl gave me the strength to leave so that I could give her a better life.
~I found the strength to trust and love again and married my wonderful husband, Bradley.
~I became a mother again.

Here are some things.

13 - Jumped on a crazed german shepard that was attacking my little brother. Had to go to the hospital and get stitches, but fared better than my brother would have.
17 - Told my girlfriend's father that he needed to man up and take care of his family.
20 - Saw a girl getting robbed, stepped in even though I wasn't armed.
24 - Admitted I was a drug addict, became a Christian, moved to a city where I didn't know anyone.
28 - Asked her parents for their blessing.

1. At 19, went to Argentina for 5 months without knowing anyone there.
2. Stayed in the relationship even when he was deployed to Iraq. (Still living through that now.)
3. Told my dad I had a boyfriend. (Seems like a normality, but you don't know my dad. ;) )
4. At 16, admitted I had an eating disorder and recovered.
5. Committed to keeping my virginity until marriage.

1. Moved to a city where I don't know anyone and didn't have a job
2. Went 2000 miles across the country to go to college
3. Transferred to a new school I'd never visited because the first one sucked
4. Told them my story
5. Said no.

1. Managed to make it out alive after a terrible break-up w/ my first fiance.
2. I left my family and friends(all whom I'm extremely close with) in IL and moved to San Diego.
3. I called off my wedding and relationship w/ my 2nd fiance because I knew in my heart it wasn't right.... and stuck up to my family when they thought it was the most terrible mistake of my life.
4. I managed to support myself 100% while living in an apt that costs more than most people's mortgage.
5. I left my life I loved in San Diego and moved 3000 miles away all by myself to go back to school and pursue my passion.

I love this thank you for asking such an imperative question
1. At 17 I left home to go off to community college in another state
2. At 19 I accepted my college acceptance letter not knowing how tuition was giong to be paid
3.At 19 I cut all my hair off and went natural
4.At 21 I let go insecruity and fell in love

Such a great exercise! I've really enjoyed reading all the submissions. Couldn't have come at a better time. I was thinking about the impending eye surgeries coming up in August for both of my twin boys...and wondering, "How will I handle that?" Then I tried to remember other, harder, things we've been through and how we made it...and how easily we forget...

1. I survived 9 weeks of hospitalized bedrest to save the pregnancy of my twin boys.
2. I changed the diapers of our 2lb. babies in the NICU.
3. After 27 years, I accepted and embraced who I am, instead of trying to be who I thought others wanted me to be.
4. I forgave someone who terribly hurt me.
5. I didn't follow the path of my degree, but started decorative painting professionally and loving life!

1. At 65, I moved far away and started all over once more.
2. At 63, I took in a 16-year-old kid that had no place to live. I knew it would get me fired, but I did it anyway.
3. At 57, I lost my husband, survived cancer, and went on.
4. At 49 I left a big job, went back to graduate school, and created a new career.
5. At 26 I left a bad marriage with two babies and started over.

1. I gave birth naturally, without drugs or other medical interventions. It was the most amazing experience of my life. I faced incredible pain and rose above it, and in order to do that, I had to trust myself and my daughter.
2. Took my baby girl's feeding tube out, and pushed doctors for support, successfully helped her learn to eat (and enjoy eating) on her own. Many babies in her situation (with feeding aversions) remain tube fed for years, due in large part to parents' and doctors' fears about "proper" weight gain. My daughter's weight is perfect now! To get her here, I had to dig deep, to a place I didn't know I had in me.
3. Went to Australia, London and Istanbul--solo.
4. Hit three three-pointers in the final two minutes of a high school basketball game, bringing us to withing one point. I wasn't afraid to take the last shot and miss.
5. I asked HIM out. We are now married.

1. Telling him it was over for the last time. Meaning it. Scared sh*tless, but learned to live without a relationship as unhealthy as that, no matter how dependent I felt I was on it being there.
2. Went to a college far away from home where I knew no one. Forced myself to break out of my shell, to thrive no matter what situation I found myself in.
3. Moved to a brand new city after college, learned to live on my own for the first time.
4. Quit my desk job to focus on what I love: teaching yoga.
5. Admitted that I was suffering from an eating disorder, seeking help and sticking with it.

1. Followed my passion without any practical career plan or know-how
2. Got on the plane and lived and learned
3. Put as much as I wanted into the paper, didn't hold back for later
4. Recognized my soul-mate and married him
5. Said yes to a dream and conceived my wonderful son

1. I overcame one of my personal demons.
2. I said no and stuck with it.
3. I'm not in school for something that will make me money; I'm here for a degree in what I love and will hopefully stay here for awhile.
4. I'm getting over my fear of being alive.