The Impact of Firsts

The firsts in our lives have so much impact. Sometimes we don't even realize it until later just how much. Some firsts cause chills, thrills, excitement, fear, anxiety and overwhelming joy. You know the firsts I'm talking about. They include things like a first day of school, a first dance, a first date, a first kiss or the birth of your first child or the first time you hold any of your children. They can also include things like your first time driving or the first time you rode a roller coaster. As a child it may have been your first time riding a bike without training wheels or the first time you had a sleep over with a friend. It could be the first day you spent as a married person and the first meal you prepared for your husband. I remember being plenty nervous! Life is made up of firsts. When we recall these type of memories they bring back some of the same emotions and often a smile to our face. 

With every first comes a teachable moment and change. First experiences teach us about our likes or dislikes and what we want to be different and or how to go about making it different. With every first comes change to our lives. These changes can be good or bad but either way life will be different from now on. There may be a new normal due to the type of firsts that cause pain, sadness, and hurt. Some of these firsts include the first day after a death of someone we love, the first time someone makes fun of you, the first time you and your spouse have a fight, the first day of a cancer diagnosis, the first time your child stops calling you mommy and prefers mom or the first day a child goes off to school and you no longer have the main influence during the day. 

There is no doubt that life's firsts impact us beyond what we even imagine. These firsts get embedded in our brains and influence our emotions, actions and reactions. They have a profound influence on who we are and why we do the things we do or respond in the way we do to others. 

Memories of any of our firsts can bring smiles or tears even years later. They can stir up emotions of joy, fear and even anger. The fact that years after a first, the memory can still produce such emotions is proof that firsts impact our lives more than we realize at the time.

Just wanted to share some thoughts on this topic. I suppose that there's really not much life application to this post but I hope that as you read some of your firsts were triggered in your mind and stirred some emotions you had forgotten. Maybe the point is today go out and have a FIRST experience that can bring a joyful memory in the future!