If I could turn back time...

OK, first of all- if you are now inspired to belt out Cher's, "If I Could Turn Back Time" and find yourself whistling it for the rest of the day, well, you can thank me later! Moving on...

In Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder," characters are able to travel back in time. Now, wouldn't that be amazing? From Bill and Ted (who do indeed have a fan site...go figure) to a planet ruled by apes, hundreds of songs, stories and movies have captured our imagination in the name of time travel. So I pose 2 questions. 1) How much have I dated myself in the first 2 paragraphs of this blog alone? and 2) What would you do different in your life?

Well, I have too many changes to cover them all.... the high school years, family affairs, friends, that time I paid money to see Gigli in the theatre (to my credit Bennifer was all the rage at that time...). But in the name of being concise (no, seriously, I'm going to try this time...) I will keep it to my college years.

First and foremost, it's worth mentioning that I played collegiate tennis for 4 years at Simpson. It was an amazing experience! I traveled, met awesome people, and got to play a game I LOVE! "Coach" was my mentor, attended my graduation and later my wedding. To this day I consider him a close friend. I remember sitting shotgun in the van as the miles passed- talking morea bout life than about tennis sometimes.

The pride I felt each time I donned my Simpson uniform was more than worth every long hour perfecting my dropshot or kickserve. Now, what many people don't know is that my first love was actually basketball in high school. But, I was a better tennis player so that is what I pursued. In retrospect, I regret that I didn't at least try to play basketball as well in college. I might have been a "bench jockey" for 4 years. I might have been ridiculed or mocked for my inability and demoted to waterboy (ok, just kiddin, they don't do that). Or, maybe I would have had the time of my life, made even more amazing friends, and traveled to great places. Simpson's basketball team this year past year played in the Sweet 16 in New York City!! But, the bottom line is I was too afraid of failure so I didn't try. That was a big mistake and if I could turn back time, I'd have the courage to take on the challenge. Heck, maybe it's not too late? I may have used up my 4 years of NCAA eligibility for athletics, but maybe they could still use a watergirl? Give me a call coach!

OK, another experience I had at Simpson was the stunning May term trip I took to Greece my junior year. You're talking to a girl who had literally never stepped foot on an airplane at that time, so you can imagine that the sights I saw in the Mediterranean were quite breath taking to my 20-year old eyes! I saw the Ionic Sea, volcanic islands, Olympia, the Parthenon, Delphi, the Epidarious Theater, the Acropolis, the Ruins of Mycenae and more olive trees than my green-olive-loving-heart could ever desire. So, that being said, I should have taken advantage of another trip. I had friends that traveled 3-4 times, to different countries around the world. Why didn't I? Who knows, I'm sure I had a plethora of reasons that seemed really legit at the time. What in the world (the "this is a really giant world that I'll never get to explore until I'm a sassy, gray-haired retiree now" world) what I thinking?

Bottom line-DON'T BE AFRAID of taking on a new challenge- don't let a fear of failure immobilize you like it did me. Mark Twain says, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did. " Simpson won't let you down- try out for the choir, play a sport (or, honestly, if you're really awkward, intramurals are a fine choice as well... I'm just sayin!) And lastly- travel, travel, travel! It will change your life and THAT is what college is all about.

Did you know that Simpson is listed by US News and World Report as one of the top 100 colleges in the country for travel abroad programs?