When I was in sixth grade, I made a decision that changed the course of my life. I decided not to try out for the middle school swim team.
I know that might not sound like a big deal, but it was. As a grade schooler I was a standout swimmer — strong shoulders and back, and well-muscled legs that powered me through the water with ease and speed.
I was disciplined, obsessive. My form was excellent. My coach saw potential. Had I stuck with it, my life might have turned out pretty different.
I might have been a popular jock rather than a lonely weirdo. I might have become a varsity athlete who won admission to a top college rather than a barely graduated teenager who had to take remedial math at a community college to scrape my way into a not-very-competitive school.