February 15, 2006 8:14pm

Do you think there's such a thing as fate or destiny? That there really is a reason for everything. The whole "ripple effect"- someone sleeps through their alarm and has to rush to work. They get in a car accident on the way there because they are brushing their hair while driving and are taken to the emergency room where they meet a fabulous doctor, get married, and have a child who cures cancer. If they didn't oversleep that morning then none of it would have happened.

I don't know. I thought we create our own destiny. I want to be a doctor so I got myself into medical school. If I want a new shoes then I find the ones I want and buy them. I don't wait for them to fall out of the sky on my doorstep.

Lately, though, when I think back on many of the seemingly inconsequential things I have said or done I notice that they have had a huge impact on my life later on.

In a way, that scares me. I feel like I have to worry about every little thing I do because later it might come back to haunt me. It may come back to be something wonderful, though.

There are two pictures from Monongahela National Forest. There's something very peaceful about living here.