It may sound cheesy, but I believe a defining moment in my life was my first concert, it was part of the One Direction On The Road Again tour, or OTRA. That concert caused me to absolutely fall in love with the band and their music. Further than that, it gave me a love for music, not just theirs. It caused me to realize the meanings behind lyrics, and think more of a song than I used to. Lyrics are just words, but the message behind those words is undoubtedly something amazing. In every song, whether it's obvious or not, I'd like to think there's a deeper meaning. That One Direction concert, almost two years ago now, caused me to open my eyes and ears to music. I've fallen in love with so many bands, artists, and songs since then, it's insane.
Sixth grade year was a defining moment for me because it was the beginning of what would turn out to be a very highly emotional roller coaster. There really are no better words to describe my middle school experience at this point. It was a series of getting upset from mean girls, making very rash choices, gaining new friends, stalking cute guys, and looking quite cringy all the way through it. That year, I made some bad decisions, questionable decisions, and great decisions. Though, not many of the great ones. Also I made some very, very, very questionable fashion choices.
Though it's extremely recent, I believe another defining moment in my life was running the Indianapolis Mini Marathon. The mini is 13.1 miles, and I ran and walked it with my dad. I believe this was a defining moment because I was so nervous for it as it kept getting closer, but I did pretty well and I had an immense amount of fun. I can't wait to do it again next year, I'm already over the moon excited! When I finished, I felt like I could run it again!! I think I was probably on an adrenaline rush, but I felt so good when it was over! I believe doing that race was a defining moment because I honestly didn't think I would be able to do it, and I was afraid I would be miserable by mile five, but I went out there and I loved every single second of it! It taught me to believe in myself no matter the circumstances, or in this case, the distance. The Indy Mini is something that just happened, but I know I'll remember for a life time. (quick disclaimer though; the times under the mile markers aren't ours, they were the time since the first corral of the first wave had started!!)
Another defining moment in my life was really, really important and now plays a huge role in my life every day. I was in third grade I think, and my family was talking after dinner. Then, my dad asked us, "Do you guys want another brother?" We laughed. Then we realized he was serious. They told us about how they had been thinking of adopting a little boy from the DRC in Africa. They had been thinking on it for a while and wanted to make sure we wanted that. We did, but as life went on, it got harder. If you know anything about my family's adoption now, we're adopting from Haiti, not Africa. I don't remember exactly when, but somewhere along the line, the DRC's government started experiencing problems. When the problems weren't resolved, mom and dad both knew that it wasn't the place God wanted us adopting from. That was when we moved the process to Haiti. Back then, when people would ask when we would get him, I would say "Not until Kaden and I are in eighth grade!!", like it was a long ways away. It's eighth grade now, and it shouldn't be happening until I'm a freshman. That was almost five years ago now. The waiting isn't great, but as it's passed, we've gotten closer. Mom and dad have met Lolo now, and we know we weren't ever intended for another little boy. From the day we learned who he was, and I broke down in tears and people probably thought I was depressed or something, he hasn't left my mind.