Fate, Or Something Better, I Could Care Less

Fate and coincidence are the opposite words for the same idea. Fate is an intangible force that drives us to certain situations, coincidence is not magical or supernatural, it's an explanation.

I used to believe that fate wasn't real, that it was a fun idea used in Shakespeare's works and cheesy Romantic Comedies. However, certain events in my life have waved the idea in front of my face like a matador. I might just be a believer.

In May of 2008 I was set for University of Hawaii. I had been accepted and had filled out all of the necessary paperwork to attend. I had every intention of going to college in Hawaii and my parents and friends had heard about it every day. I applied to Western as a safety school, and had been accepted there as well, but Hawaii was my number one choice. When I got to the post office, I had filled out my "no thanks" for Western and my "yes, please" for UH. But then, with little thought and on the day of the deadline, I ran into the package center and furiously filled out the opposing paperwork for each school. I dropped my confirmation to Western into the box and left, without an ounce of regret. When I told my parents they were ecstatic, as they would both be living in Bellingham the following year. This was the main reason that I was not originally planning to attend Western, but some unspeakable force led me here anyways.

In May of 09 my parents moved out of their gorgeous two bedroom condo with a view of Bellingham Bay and into a fairly boring 4 bedroom house by the dog park. They had rented the house on a whim, and neither of them were particularly excited about it. They felt they needed a bit more space since I would be spending the summer there, but I could tell they weren't excited to lose their view and awesome location in Fairhaven. They consistently complained that they had too much space in this house, and that they didn't really need a entire apartment downstairs. They actively searched for a new place, as their lease was month to month, but hated the idea of moving again. They stayed in the house though they weren't sure why, or why they had moved in the first place.

In November of 2009 my sister Jenna randomly drove down to Centralia with her boyfriend Nick and picked up our older nephews, Jesse and Hunter. She drove them back to Seattle for the weekend and took them to the Science Center and spent some time with them. We had been in August to Centralia for the birth of our youngest nephew, Matthew, and it left Jenna with this feeling that she needed to spend more time with the boys. She chose one of her few weekends off to babysit for free, and later told me that it was a very last second decision. She wanted the boys to be comfortable with her, though she wasn't sure why.

In December of 2009, my sister-in-law overdosed and nearly died and my brother was in jail for a DUI. Child Protective Services called my parents and asked if they would be willing to care for the three boys until further notice. Jenna and Nick drove down to the hospital in Centralia and picked up the three boys, who had just seen them and stayed calm in her care despite chaotic circumstances. She brought them back to Bellingham where my parents house suddenly seemed very crowded with the baby in the office, the two boys sharing a room, and me in a room. My Christmas Break and eventually my time was spent at their house a lot, helping to babysit and care for the boys, which would have been impossible in Hawaii.

If it wasn't fate that led us to this point, then what was it? Coincidence is impossible for me to believe, simply because of the mindless decisions that caused me to attend WWU, my parents to get a huge house, and my sister to spend time with the nephews. We weren't acting out of our own accord, we were being pushed to something, to the place we're at now.

Yes, fate exists, consider me a believer.