MAKES ME THINK.....Concluded......

Makes Me Think (MMT) has truly evolved into a remarkable online community. Every day, users share their thought-provoking life stories and vote on stories that other users have shared. Some are happy, some are sad, and others twist your emotions, pulling them in several directions at once. Sometimes the most random everyday encounters force us to stop and rethink the truths and perceptions we have ingrained in our minds. These encounters are educationally priceless. They spawn moments of deep thought and self-reflection that challenge the status quo and help us evolve as sensible individuals.

Some of the stories listed below perfectly fulfill that description. What do you think?

51. Today, exactly twenty years ago to the hour, I risked my life to save a woman who was drowning in the rapids of the Colorado River. And that’s how I met my wife - the love of my life. MMT

52. Today, my wife checked herself into an alcohol rehab clinic after she glanced up at me while she was eating her breakfast and asked how I got a black eye and fingernail scratches all over my face. MMT

53. Today, I asked my mentor – a very successful business man in his 70’s – what his top 3 tips are for success. He smiled and said, “Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking, and do something no one else is doing.” MMT

54. Today, as my grandfather (a military doctor, war hero, and successful business owner) rested in his hospice bed, I asked him what his greatest life accomplishment was. He turned around, grabbed my grandmother’s hand, looked her in the eyes, and said, “Growing old with you.” MMT

55. Today, it’s just the six of us. One was raped when she was fourteen. Three come from abusive households. Two were orphans. Like me, one spent almost two straight years in a psychiatric facility as a kid. But I wouldn’t trade a single one of them for all the perfect friends in the universe. MMT

56. Today, I was walking home from work in the pouring rain without an umbrella. I was walking just behind an elderly man who had an umbrella. As we both passed under the overhang to an apartment building, he stopped, turned around and handed me the umbrella. He said, “This is my stop and you look like you need an umbrella. Pass it along someday when the opportunity arises.” MMT

57. Today, the teenager I scream at almost every day for driving too fast in the neighborhood because it worries me that he’s going to run over my kids, ran across the street from his driveway to ours and grabbed my son off of his tricycle in the middle of the street just before a swerving drunk driver ran over my son’s tricycle and kept going. MMT

58. Today, I was in an accident that left me with a gash on my forehead. The doctors wrapped a bandage around my head and said I have to keep it on all week. I hate wearing it. Two minutes ago my little brother walked into my room wearing a bandage on his head. My mom said he insisted that he didn’t want me to feel alone. MMT

59. Today, when I tapped the side of my wheelchair and told my husband, “You’re the only reason I want to be free from this contraption,” he kissed me on my forehead and said, “Honey, I don’t even see that thing.” MMT

60. Today, I was jogging in Central Park when this lady started screaming for help. Her husband was having a heart attack. I ran over and checked his pulse. He didn’t have one. I gave him CPR and got his heart beating before the paramedics arrived. I’ve done some bad things in my life, but today I saved a life. MMT

61. Today, I met a powerful businessman who is worth 100 million dollars. In conversation he told me he regretted never making it to his son’s hockey games or his daughter’s dance recitals. It made me smile because my dad is probably only worth as much as this man’s last paycheck, but he made it to everything. MMT

62. Today, my fiancé was in a head-on collision car accident. He is currently in a coma. And all I can think about is the argument we had this morning. I screamed at him for screaming at me. It was a petty argument. But if he could scream now, I wouldn’t say a word. I’d just listen to the sound of his voice. MMT

63. Today, I have two twin boys in my kindergarten class. I have heard from other parents that they come from a very broken home in which their mother is in and out of rehab and their father is always away on business. But their 16 year old sister never fails to get them to school on time or pack them a healthy bagged lunch with a smiley face on it. MMT

64. Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I’m working on for my Psychology class. When I asked her to define success in her own words, she said, “Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile.” MMT