Risks

When you look back on the year that has just passed or forward to the year you are about to embark upon, there is a certain amount of risk analysis. Did I take enough of them? Were any of them counterproductive? Should I have taken this one instead of that one? Did I put myself out there?

In an effort to become a more social creature, the last several years have seen me taking increasing risks of the small variety.

For example, I went Speed Dating. I met Sasha there. We became great friends, although neither of us ever followed up with any of the guys we met.

Then one Sunday after brunch, Sasha and I went out looking for 4-leaf clovers, where we met Alex and Daniel. They were at loose ends, being new to the area, so we spent the next 16 hours introducing them to the city. Risky? Maybe. But tons of fun.

I also went to the extremely random holiday party of a guy I'd met at Parties in the Park. I brought Tricia, and that's where we met our new friend Ada.

Now, sometimes you put yourself out there and it's kind of a bust. Nancy and I did 12 Bars of Charity last month and it was lame. We didn't meet many new people and it wasn't high-energy at all. Bust.

But sometimes it's a matter of continuing to expose yourself to new situations and just laughing at what befalls you. For example, when you sign up for online dating. Maybe you don't respond to an email from a man, so he decides to get aggressive, like this:

And you just get so angry! Because you took a risk and this, THIS is what the universe has sent you! 

Online dating is a risk. But so is real life. Everything's a risk. Should I spend my savings on a trip to Europe, or does my roof really need to be repaired right now? Should I quit my job and move out of state (or country), or is the retirement plan here too good? Should I give things with that guy a chance or has he already proven he's a flight risk?

I remember a decade ago, Sam and Danny had broken up and Sam was determined to move forward with her life. "Things will be great in 2008!" was her mantra. And they were -- Sam and Danny are married with 3 kids and living in the Netherlands now.

They say that life is what you make it, right? The only thing you can control is your attitude. So yes, maybe there will be some busts. Maybe there will be some Opie13s this year. But there will also be some pretty great things:

* creating a monarch waystation in my garden

* walking all 13 miles of Manhattan to experience the changing neighborhoods

* finishing my double-Master's

* applying -- again -- for a fellowship to study abroad

* new sets of social adventures

* saying "yes" more often, even when I'm not sure

Nothing good rhymes with eighteen, so we'll keep the mantra simple this year: Embrace the unforeseen in 2018!

(And listen, if you're the person who has been obsessively stalking my blog, you better not download that picture. You creep me out.)