I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum. In doing so, I’ve discovered that it’s doing the things that I least expected that I found the greatest happiness and satisfaction. When I don’t try to look for what will make me happy, but try things with no forethought or planning, I have met the best people and have had the best experiences of my life.

In high school, I was a tall, gangly, nerdy girl. Described as kind and helpful, without stirring up drama or causing a scene, I made my way through my high school years free of conflict and confrontation. I was all of this, and a world champion athlete: my senior year of high school, I was the international silver medalist in amateur K-1 kickboxing. I started boxing with the belief that it would improve my aggressiveness on the basketball court. I had absolutely no intention of continuing with it. But after my first lesson, I was hooked.

My gym became my second home and my team became my family, and I have built life-long friendships with people who I would never have met if boxing hadn’t brought us together. Boxing and my team became an integral part of my high school experience, and have added a wonderful new dimension to my life. All of this, because I decided to Google boxing gyms one night. I signed up almost on a whim, with no experience whatsoever. I shocked myself when I went out on a limb: this type of spontaneity was far out of character for me. And now, I cannot imagine my living my life if I hadn't made that decision.

I remember the day I told my father that I wanted to take a kickboxing class. He looked at me, stunned into silence. Full to trepidation, he allowed me to go to that first training session, fully believing that I would hate it and move on. Less than two years later, he’s sitting next to me on a plane to Spain so that I could fight in the world championships. He was totally and unequivocally against me training (his primary objection was that my gym almost entirely consisted of older men) and fighting, but once I showed a passion for it, and he met a few of my teammates, he got on board and began actively encouraging me to train, helping drive me to success.

So, not only should you take random chances in life, but don’t let the nay-sayers stop you from doing what you love. Sometimes, it is those random acts that turn out to be the best part of your life. Always take the chance and do something totally out of character, because you never know what gems lie just outside your comfort zone, and once you reach out and seize them, your life will become much richer.