- Can't be obvious like moving into a new apartment, getting a smart phone, or believing in Jesus.
- Must be either uncommon OR not revered by the common. Sex would never apply. Neither would homemade chocolate chip cookies, because who doesn't like homemade chocolate chip cookies? Only aliens and crazy people.
- Must change the way you think, live, eat, breathe, move, feel, or do. Not necessarily all of the above, at least one of them.
- Every time someone mentions it you think, "Oh ya, that totally changed my life."
Now, the top 10 things that have changed my life (so far):
- Gourmet mac & cheese -- I have always loved mac & cheese. I'd rather never eat any dessert ever again than give up mac & cheese. I was, and still am, a big fan of Kraft, both the stove-top box and microwave packet varieties. But having "grown-up" mac & cheese makes me fall onto the floor. We're talking smoked gouda and bacon, buffalo chicken mac & cheese, 4-cheese (goat, colby, cheddar, and parmesan) with herbed bread crumbs...
- How I Met Your Mother -- one of the few shows that makes me laugh so out loud I need to clap my hand over my mouth because otherwise I sound like a crazy person because I'm by myself.
- Skinny belt around the waist over a long cardigan -- ~2x per week
- Expensive haircuts -- Nothing crazy, like $50-70. I used to loathe my hair, but now realize that it was just because I refused to spend more than $10 on a haircut. I'm not a boy.
- Inductive Bible study -- I've been reading the Bible my entire life, but it wasn't until I did this form of intensive, scholarly, be-confused-then-figure-it-out type of study that I finally understood the wisdom behind the words. Mark Study made me understand why we use words like "glory" and "lamb" when looking the life of Jesus.
- Eyebrow pencils -- If you look at pictures from college and before, I have no eyebrows.
- Wicked the musical -- Changed my life because I still break out in song or listen to the entire soundtrack at least once per month.
- Business as Missions track at Urbana '06 -- Set my foundation and belief that the the purpose of business and the economy is for social change, not profit.
- Not looking at the clock before I go to bed -- Finally stopped calculating how many hours of sleep I would get and then having trouble falling asleep because I would be thinking, "I'm only gonna get X hours of sleep." I got this trick from Dani. I've been waking up more well-rested ever since.
- Interval training on a treadmill -- I hate running. Hate it. It's uncomfortable and boring and tiring. But interval training gives it some pizazz. I can now run 3-4 times a week without wanting to hurl my body off the treadmill.
