I know, I have not been on here in a while. I apologize. I’ve had a busy summer, and I didn’t think Odyssey still wanted me as a creator on here for various reasons. But, I’m still a creator here, and I’m back.

Over the summer, I’ve made this one friend at my workplace. I might mention him by name in a later article, when and if he has more to do with that one. Yes, he is the one in the flannel in the photo above. He and I have been talking recently, and one of the topics was the band Switchfoot. While talking to him that one day, I came to realize:

Switchfoot quite possibly saved my life.

Hear me out.

I first heard of this band when I was in junior high, with their song “Gone”. Within the next couple of years, I thought that particular song was the “I Am The Walrus” of Christian music.

In 2008, they wrote the song “This Is Home” for the movie The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian. At the time, I didn’t really like the song, especially since my sister played it so much.

During the next seven years, I happened to forget that song.

If you remember my article, “Phi Mu Forevermore”, I told you the story about how I joined Phi Mu. If I did not state it in that article, the song I remembered on that Preference Night, was “This Is Home”. By the day I wrote this, I have come to love the song.

If I had not remembered that one song from seven years before that night, I most likely would not have joined Phi Mu. I was originally going to call this “How Phi Mu Saved My Life”, but I realized how much farther back in my timeline the series of events started out.

Unfortunately, I am currently not at Bethany College. One stupid mistake led to my perfectionism taking over, and a downward spiral came after it. I decided to take a year off.

That downward spiral started in September of 2015. I had a lab report that was due in my Psychology Lab one day, and I didn’t do any of it. I ended up not turning it in at all. That led to missing classes, to missing assignments, to lower grades; I think you might know where I’m going with this. Greek Recruitment Week happened the first week of November of 2015. I got my big in January of 2016. I was initiated into Phi Mu in mid to late March of 2016. How Phi Mu saved my life comes into play in April of 2016.

I had been at a mixer one night in early to mid April, and I could not get to sleep whatsoever after it. I went into town, and pretty much spent most of the night at the Walmart. When I got back to Bethany, I had forgotten to take my medicine. It was critical that I take the medicine because of what happened during the next two weeks. I didn’t take any of my medications for almost 13 days. That left me scatterbrained, not being able to sleep in my own bed; that left me not acting like me.

The Friday of the second week, a week before my 20th birthday, the girls were supposed to meet at this one location on the Bethany campus for a photo. Including me, only four girls showed up. One of my sisters took a selfie of the four of us, then we went our separate ways for the remainder of the day. I had accidentally left my phone at the Phi Mu house. Instead of going back to the house to grab my phone, I stupidly went back into town, back to that Walmart.

During that time, my big saw that I left my phone there. I have an iPhone, and one of the features on there is an Emergency ID. I had my parents and sister as emergency contacts. My big contacted my mother. When I got back, she told me I should probably call my mom. I asked why. When my mom called later that day, I figured out what happened. My mom was going to come the next day and spend the night to help me get me back on track with that stuff.

When I got back home from Bethany in mid May of this year, I had found out that my mom and my big had become friends on Facebook. When my big posted something on there one time, my mom thanked her, and said she quite possibly might have saved my life.

Here’s how Switchfoot quite possibly saved my life:

Had I never heard of Switchfoot, I may never have heard of “Gone”. Had I never heard of “Gone”, I may never have heard “This Is Home”. Had I never heard “This Is Home”, I may never have remembered it that Preference Night. Had I not remembered that song that Preference Night, I may never have joined Phi Mu. Had I never joined Phi Mu, I wouldn’t have a big. If I didn’t have a big, she never would have called my mom. Had she never called my mom, the thing of not taking my meds would have continued for longer than two weeks. Had that thing of not taking my meds continued for longer than two weeks, I might not have been alive to tell you this story right now.

But it goes beyond that as well.

If I wasn’t alive to tell you this story right now, I never would had gotten to start working a second season at Kings Island. Had I not started working a second season at Kings Island, I never would have seen this guy who would later become my friend I mentioned earlier and think he looked familiar. Had I never seen this guy who would later become my friend I mentioned earlier and think he looked familiar, I never would have thought of asking him if he remembered this one scenario happening back in August of 2014. Had I never thought of asking him if he remembered this one scenario happening back in August of 2014, I would never have come to realize that he and I did first meet in 2014. Had I never came to realize that he and I did first meet in 2014, we never would have become friends. Had we never become friends, we never would have known we were both Skillet fans. Had we never known we were both Skillet fans, I never would have let him borrow my copy of “Unleashed” after it released this past August. Had I never let him borrow my copy of “Unleashed” after it released this past August, he never would have known he could come to me when he was down. Had he never known he could come to me when he was down, I hate to yet dare say, he might not have be alive to read this. Had he not been alive to read this, long before I even came to the realization of this entire chain of events, I never would have started liking him. Had I never started liking him, I never would have realized he likes me as well. Had I never realized he likes me as well, he never would have considered taking me to the Switchfoot concert in our area earlier this month. Had he never considered taking me to the Switchfoot concert in our area earlier this month, I never would have gone to the concert. Had I never gone to the concert, I never would have had the guts to tell him I wanted to kiss him. Had I never had the guts to tell him I wanted to kiss him, I never would have not been able to control my urge to do so. Had I never not been able to control my urge to do so, I never would have known he wanted to do so as well. Had I never known he wanted to do so as well, we never would have actually kissed. Had we never actually kissed, I never would have thought I might be in love with this guy, even I hadn’t really known him for three months yet.

None of this would have happened-

-had I never heard of Switchfoot.

If Switchfoot reads this article, thank you, guys. You quite possibly saved my life. Seeing you guys in concert was great. You guys were great. I hope to see you in concert again sometime. God bless.