The Night That Changed My Life
The Night that Changed my Life Will they like me? Will I like them? Are they going to like my personality? These are the thoughts that run through my mind as I anxiously await meeting new people. Whether you are at school, a new job, or socializing at a party, meeting new people can be a very nerve racking. Being able to walk up to a group of people and introduce yourself requires confidence and maturity. Although I believe I do posses these qualities, I still get butterflies in my stomach when I have to face that intimidating social situation. When I was a junior in high school, i had to make a decision that would ultimately change my life.
I can remember the day so clearly. I was sixteen years old and my Friday started out as usual. I woke up, got dressed and headed off to school. It was March twenty-sixth, my friend Tori’s seventeenth birthday. After wishing Tori a happy birthday at the lockers, I was invited to a party that night at “college boy’s” house. I had some reservations. Most everyone would be older than me. I would know hardly anyone. I did not even know whose house the party was in. Still, I was extremely excited and felt really cool that I was attending a “college party. ” So I told the butterflies flying around in stomach to take a rest.
After school I rushed home so I could make it to my doctor’s appointment on time. Once I got back home from the doctor, I began the long process of getting ready for the party. Showering, choosing clothes, doing my hair, applying make up and making cupcakes for the birthday girl. Not being so savvy with fashion, I struggled to choose the most “mature” outfit that I could find in my closet, just to attempt to fit in with the older crowd. When I finished decorating the cupcakes and doing my hair, I packed a small bag so I would be able to sleep over at Tori’s house later on that night.
My mom and I got into the car and my mom proceeded to drive me to the party. On the way she made a sharp turn and five of my freshly baked cupcakes went soaring into the air. My heart was racing. I could see the cupcakes flying in slow motion towards the floor. My initial reaction was to try to grab each of them. I stabbed unsuccessfully at the falling cupcakes. After that attempt had failed, I slowly looked down to see if the cupcakes were still intact. Amazingly, they all landed perfectly straight and no damage was done. My mom turned to me and frantically said, “Oh my god, I am so sorry! Are they ruined?
Can I help you fix them? ” I responded by saying, “No, we don’t need to fix anything. What a relief! They’re all fine! ” Soon after the near fatal cupcake catastrophe I arrived at the party. I nervously walked into the house being greeted by Tori who quickly introduced me to Jesse, who’s parents owned the house. He was really generous, asking if I needed anything, showing me around, and introducing me to his friends. I walked over to a group of people who were sitting on the couches and talking. Tori was the only person in the group that I knew. I sat down on an empty tiny brown, one-seated couch.
We were all sharing stories and laughing at one another’s jokes when I looked over and noticed one person sitting on the floor because there were no other seats available. I turned to him and said, “Hey, I’m Elsa, what’s your name? ” He turned back to me and said, “Hey, I’m Danny. ” Trying to be polite I asked, “Would you want to sit with me? I know it’s a small seat but I’m little, I’m sure we could squeeze! ” He looked interested in my offer. You could tell he was taking time to think over his answer choices. He finally responded, “No, its okay, thanks though! ” Danny seemed shy.
He was wearing a long-sleeved button down shirt with stripes, jeans, and green and white sneakers. He was average height, skinny and fairly muscular. He had green eyes, brown hair, and an adorable crooked smile. As I watched him readjust his position on the floor I could sense he was uncomfortable and again asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to sit with me, I can tell that you’re uncomfortable. ” Again, thinking the answer through, he said, “Okay, I guess so” and then got up and squeezed next to me on the tiny brown couch. As the night continued, the conversation with the group turned into an isolated conversation between Danny and I.
Although we were still in the same room as all of our friends, we were only focused on what each other had to say. Whatever we talk about, Danny always had something deep and interesting to say. He was so corny, too, grabbing around my waist and pulling me back onto his lap and whispering into my ear, “You are so beautiful. ” I was in heaven, he was so interesting, genuinely sweet, and extremely funny, but in his own quirky way. Sitting with Danny on the couch, the events of the night so far were spinning around in my head. It was like something out of a movie, it felt so unreal.
I thought about how this was the type of guy I have always been searching for, someone mature yet funny, and cute yet different and I still could not believe it was all happening. At the end of the night, after saying my farewells to all of my new friends and wishing Tori a final happy birthday, I went over to Danny to say goodbye. As we sat back on that tiny brown couch we exchanged cell phone numbers. He said, “Take my phone, you type your number into mine, and I’ll take your phone and type my number into yours. ” When we were done, we switched back our phones.
I watched Danny look at his phone, reviewing the phone number I had just typed in. Confused and worried, he turned to me and said, “You gave me the wrong number. ” Baffled by his statement, I replied, “No, it’s my number! How could you know it’s not? ” “I know it isn’t the right phone number because there are only six digits. If you didn’t want to give me your number you could have just told me, you didn’t have to lie about it,” Danny said angrily. Embarrassed, I quickly reassured him that it was truly a mistake, a typo, and that I definitely wanted to give him my number.
I felt terrible because I realized that I had hurt his feelings. After the situation was resolved, we sat on the tiny brown couch giggling with smiles that spread from ear to ear. In fact, that is what I wore the entire night, a smile, a BIG smile, and no matter what happened, I could not wipe that smile off my face. Through the next few days Danny and I were constantly talking, whether it was through text, online, over the phone, or in person. We hung out every day for about ten days. On April 4, 2010, Easter Sunday, Danny told me that he had a surprise for me.
He sat me down in a chair in his room and told me to close my eyes. As I sat in his room anxiously waiting for the surprise I found it difficult not to peek. I heard the footsteps walking towards me and heard the words, “Okay, you can open your eyes now! ” To this day I vividly remember Danny’s facial expression when I first opened my eyes. He had the biggest grin on his face, but at the same time he seemed quite nervous. He had his arms behind his back and asked, “Ready? ” I quickly responded, “YES!!! ” He then pulled out a bouquet of flowers from behind his back. I was so thrilled.
The flowers were beautiful; an array of different colors, shapes and sizes. I could not stop thanking him when he told me, “Hold on, there’s more! ” Danny then brought an Easter basket into the room with all different goodies and plastic eggs inside it. He instructed me to open all of the small eggs first and save the big purple egg for last. Each small egg contained a different type of candy but all I wanted to know what was hiding inside of the big purple egg! As Danny sat there watching and waiting I slowly opened the purple egg to find a yellow note with my name written in cursive on the front, ”Elsa. I then opened the note. It read: “Will you be my girlfriend? ” Without hesitation I flew into Danny’s arms and said, “Of course I will be your girlfriend! ” It was like a dream; more like a dream come true. When I look back on it, I realize that Danny and I hit it off from the start. We have some common interests but more than that, we shared a willingness to listen and to explore new ideas and values. Who could have guessed that Tori’s birthday would have brought together two people who were really very different from each other? After all, I was sixteen and Danny was twenty.
I was in high school and he was in college. We came from different backgrounds and had many different interests. But there was a spark there that night at Tori’s party. One night of meeting new people, keeping an open mind, and taking some chances, could lead to so many different new and wonderful things! Those words, “Would you want to sit with me,” are some of the most important words I have ever spoken, because Danny is one of the most important people in my life. So overall, I could not be happier that the butterflies fluttering in my stomach settled down and did not keep me away from the party that changed my life.
