What Might Have Been

"I try not to think about what might have been, 'cause that was then, and we have taken different roads..."  ~Little Texas

This was pre-blog time, which means that everyone on the internet didn't know my business, but back in the good ol' days, I got accepted to law school at the University of Notre Dame.  An Irish fan from the time I was a little kid (I was probably the only 6 year old in New Mexico to have a ND pennant hanging on my bedroom wall), I couldn't have been more excited.  But then the other shoe kinda dropped when I found out that Notre Dame would be the only school that I applied to that wasn't going to offer me a scholarship.  At all.  Zero.  Zilch.  Nada.  None.  And so after putting the pencil to the paper a little bit, I realized that my dream of attending Our Lady's University was not in the cards for me.  (I also turned down UNM and had all my plans in place to attend William and Mary before waking up one morning and deciding that wasn't happening anymore....but that's another blog for another day.)

Last weekend while I was in South Bend to watch Notre Dame take on Michigan State, I got a quick tour of the law school from one of Mr. FFA's friends.  Y'all.  It was amazing.  Beautiful.  Breathtaking.  The huge library.  The study areas overlooking the quads or the football stadium.  The tiny chapel where Mass is said once a week.

Notre Dame Law School Library

I left the law school and couldn't help but wonder what my life would look like had I gone there.  What might have been? 

But the truth is, I don't regret the decision that I made.  Because had I gone to Notre Dame, some great things would never have happened.  I never would have introduced College Roomie to McCain and gotten to talk all about it in a Maid of Honor speech at their wedding.  I would have probably missed working with some absolutely great people at my first job.  I would have missed out on making the great friendships that I did while I was at UNM, including people like Brett-Brett and Top Gun and and Law School Partner and a whole list more.  I wouldn't have been in Albuquerque to visit First Valentine for what turned out to be the last time or to witness the birth of my precious Goddaughter (as traumatic as that experience was).  I wouldn't have been at a football game in Oklahoma to meet The Boy from Texas.  I might not have known the true value of my law degree.

Had I gone to Notre Dame, my life would have been different.  I would have met different people and had different experiences and probably would be doing a different job in a different place.  Would it have been better?  Who knows.

What I do know is that it's hard to regret the "might have been" when the real life is so darn good.