Common Threads: How has the pursuit of love changed the course of your life?

In the last Common Thread we shared our First Kiss stories. Now I want to dive a little deeper into the power of Love—particularly the power of the pursuit of love—and how it can have an enormous impact on both the choices we make and the person that we become. The power of Love is as universal as the power of Gravity—it’s constantly tugging, pulling and shaping our lives in ways we aren’t often even aware of. It’s a Common Thread that unites us all. Let’s share our stories…

I was a shy kid. I think it had something to do with how easily my face turned red. The slightest bit of attention could trigger a slight blush—which other kids would quickly point out, “His face is turning red! Are you embarrassed, Josh?” This, of course, would only make the situation worse. I was always way more embarrassed about being embarrassed than whatever it was that initially made me turn red. As such, despite however outgoing and happy I felt on the inside, I tended to avoid drawing attention to myself.

My crush on Tamsen started when I was about 11 or 12 years old. She was my age, and a member of our church congregation, so I saw her every Sunday for years. She was the “popular” girl and, because of my shyness, I never had the confidence to approach her. I had to settle for periodic glances and awkward smiles—and maybe the occasional “hello” on those rare, lucky days. To get to church, our family would always drive by her house, and every time (without fail) I would hold out hope that she’d just be out there, randomly, for whatever reason. What is it about crushes that makes us all act like idiots?

Tamsen was a talented singer and dancer. She was a member of a local performing arts school called the Colorado Academy of the Arts. The “Academy” was owned and operated by other members of our congregation and was predominately for girls from elementary school age to high school. There was only one group that included boys, it was a high school/college age group called “Encore”—and in my world, it was the highest rung on both in regards to talent and social status. Only in my wildest dreams could I have the confidence and talent to be part of that group—Tamsen, on the other hand, was a shoe-in.

So here’s the part that changed my life. I was 14, had been crushing on Tamsen for a few years, and I was tired of being shy and lacking confidence. I had seen other guys, a few years older than me, who were very talented and had incredible confidence (and charisma) I KNEW I wanted that—no, I NEEDED that. So, I decided that the answer to all my problems was to join the Academy.

The problem was that there wasn’t a group at the Academy for talentless 14-year-old boys. However, my mom—the kind of woman who bends the universe to her will—convinced the owners of the Academy to start one. It was called “Teen Street”, and we were terrible… But (fast-forwarding for the sake of time), I stuck with it. I got better. I started gaining confidence. By the time I was in high school, I was good enough as both a singer and a dancer to join Tamsen in the elite group, “Encore”. That was the greatest achievement in my young life.

Tamsen and I never dated. In fact, she actually dated one of my older brothers for a while (much to my distain). To this day, I’m not sure if she has any idea of how much of an impact she had on changing the course of my life. Not only did I gain some much-needed confidence, but she indirectly triggered a life-long passion in me for music and dancing.

In every Common Thread, I like to take a moment to highlight people who I think are valuable contributors in the community. I find these people by reading the stories they post in Common Threads. After checking out their profiles and recent blogs, I will usually follow them—and for those who really stand out, I will try and promote them in future Common Threads.

Here are a couple of authors who I think are making a valuable contribution:

• @snowmachine – Excellent horror, dark fiction writer and very committed Steemit contributor.
• @flauwy – Very prolific English/Duetsch contributor who not only has interesting content but uses images and formatting to great effect.

Now it’s your turn. The real purpose of Common Threads is to hear from you! I would love to hear how your pursuit of love has changed the course of your life—and I think others would, too. If you don’t want to share, then maybe you’ll take a moment to read other people’s stories and encourage them by upvoting the ones you like. Now, without further ado: