When I look at my life I can pick out one moment that changed everything. A moment that plucked me from the path I was on and slammed me on another, headed in a completely different direction full of twists and turns called "life lessons." Some days, I am grateful for this pivotal moment, and others, I wish it never happened because my hardest lessons and biggest responsibilities sprouted from it.

Despite winters fading grasp on the province it was a chilly March evening and the wind still bit harshly. Much like any other night over the last two years I was at a bar with my friends. This routine was growing tedious and on that particular night I remember thinking "I wish something would happen to take me away from this never ending cycle of work, bar, work, bar, work, bar."

As I stood outside, waiting for my friends to finish their cigarettes he walked straight up and introduced himself. I remember thinking how handsome he was with his hair buzzed short and this aura of confidence pulsing around him. After two years of this bar life, I thought I knew how this would go; a night of whispered compliments and flirtatious smiles, maybe more if we wanted it. We would exchange numbers and make plans to hang out, but this stranger and I would never meet again. That is what I assumed would happen.

A few dates, one chaotic music festival and many late nights sharing hopes and dreams later; we had made something much more than I could have imagined. A child. After only two months of knowing each other we were going to be responsible for a life. A human life.

That path I was on, the one where I spent nearly every night at the bar, was suddenly bulldozed and plastered with construction signs. Do not enter. Under construction. I was diverted to the path of responsibility, accountability and motherhood. This is the path I walk today and yes, some days I am grateful for it, because I have learned many life lessons that have shaped me into a better human being. But I would be lying if I said I didn't resent that decision to say, "Yes, I'll have a drink with you." Because some days I don't want to be a mom. I want to be that 20 year old girl with her whole life ahead of her and the freedom to do what she pleases.

When I look back, I know the path I was on wasn't a good one and maybe the path of motherhood saved me from some other unknown, dark and dangerous future. There have been a lot of twists and turns along the way, but this path of motherhood has given me two beautiful children, a tumultuous relationship with a man I barely knew that will forever be in my life as long as our children are alive, and life lessons. A whole lot of hard life lessons.