“I guess sometimes the greatest memories are made in the most unlikely of places, further proof that spontaneity is more rewarding than a meticulously planned life.” ― J.A. Redmerski, The Edge of Always
I've always been someone who enjoys planning everything out. There is something comforting in knowing exactly how something is going to go. In school, I planned out my days and when I would do what reading and work on which assignment. I would always plan way ahead when I would see people so that I can plan my days around those things (not gonna lie... this hasn't changed much). There wasn't much space in my life for being spontaneous because my days were pretty much always planned out ahead of time. I've even had a friend of mine ask me how I was so busy and why I had to make plans with him so far ahead of time. Then the times where I have nothing going on, I kind of just like to take it super easy and not go anywhere. On a night where I was doing just that, I chose to say 'yes' to a spontaneous plan and I must say, I'm so happy that I did. Today, I wanted to tell you about that time and expand on the subject of spontaneity.
I can't think of many times where a guy has asked me on a date the same day that it has happened. It usually goes "when are you free this week?", "I'm free Tuesday and Friday night.", "Okay let's go out Friday!" and then I spend the rest of my week anticipating this and thinking up all of these things in my head and letting nerves get the best of me. Most recently though, I was asked to go out and do something and hour before it would have had to happen. I had gone for a long run that afternoon and was totally exhausted by the time I got home. It took a bit for me to get off the couch and take a shower. By the time I was done showering, it must have been about 6:30. I was sitting on my bed in a robe with my hair wrapped in a towel, with a mold green coloured face mask caked on my face. I had matched with this guy on Hinge and had been exchanging a few messages back and forth earlier in the day. Sitting in my bed in no state no go out, he says something along the lines of "I know this is super fast and really last minute, but do you want to go see the fireworks show tonight?". At this point, it was 7:30 and the show was supposed to start around 8:45... I looked at the state I was in and hesitated. I usually like a heads up and even without one, I wasn't really in the best position to be ready for a date within an hour. I asked him if he'd judge me if I had my wet hair in braids and he asked if he could come in joggers. Having determined that it would be a super chill date, I figured "why the hell not?" and put on a little bit of makeup, leggings and my zip up Lululemon jacket and rushed out the door. Boy, am I ever glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and said yes to this date.
We ended up watching these incredible fireworks that were being put on because of a competition in our area. We were enjoying each others company so much that we started walking towards the Byward Market here in Ottawa and go beaver tails, found a seat and chatted for a while. Still not wanting to end the date, we took a walk and ended up walking around until 2:30 in the morning. It was honestly such a nice time. Nothing was planned and we just let things happen as they came. It was nice to just not plan anything and let things go. Ever since then, many of our plans have been pretty spontaneous.
When my friend told me she couldn't come to a wedding with me five days before, I had a bit of a panic. The wedding was out of town and we had planned to take my friends car. I was talking about it to Alex and was in a bit of a frenzy. Keep in mind, this was four days after our first date. He then offered to drive me to my home town, and said yes when I invited him to come to the wedding, which was taking place just one week after our first date. Normally, I would have thought this was super fast. But honestly, things felt right and being spontaneous and just going for it felt like the right thing to do. We had the most amazing time. I still smile when I think about it. I believe this night was really what confirmed for me that he is someone I want to have in my life.
Girl, stop planning everything out and being so set in your ways. Sometimes, just going with the flow and saying YES can bring you the most amazing things in life. I think that moment of spontaneity helped me find one of the best guys I could have met. I honestly don't know what would have happened if I had chosen to be lazy that night and not go out. Again, I am so happy I did.
As I've heard Alex say many times... "Let me learn you something real quick." Dictionary.com defines the adjective spontaneous as such: "coming or resulting from a natural impulse or tendency; without effort or premeditation; natural and unconstrained; unplanned." Sometimes, that natural impulse happens for a reason. Your subconscious sometimes just has a way of knowing things that your consciousness doesn't. I'm not saying that every spontaneous act is necessarily a good thing, but saying yes can sometimes bring you some really great things. Give it a try and see what happens! Walk on the wild side!
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