Often times, I think of my life as a continuous pattern of repeated steps.

The alarm goes off.

My feet touch the cool, wood floor.

I slip on my slacks and blouse.

The bitter coffee brews.

I pedal to work.

And so the day begins…again.

But when I stop and think about the bigger scheme of things, every choice I make has the potential to be a repeated pattern:

Do I buy the same lunch meat as last week?

Do I take the same route to the dentist or the hair salon?

Do I watch the same TV shows?

Do I run the same path I traversed yesterday?

Do I date the same type of guy, who says the same things, and ends up leaving me for the same reasons? (Because we know how well that always works out.)

What makes decision-making easy is allowing ourselves to continue to choose the same options, to make the same choices, and to live repeatable and patterned lives. When decision-making is hard, however, we are challenged. We are challenged to choose differently from our otherwise constant pattern. The reality of the matter is that with every choice comes an opportunity.

You may be wondering: Who is this gal, rambling on about patterns, choices, and opportunity? Well, I am a normal 20-something who was given an opportunity at friendship. And, if it weren’t for an old friend of mine who reached out to me after several years apart, and who chose to invite me to a “Bourbon Babes Meeting” over six months ago, I would not be where I am today. And for that, I am forever thankful.

Now, you might be wondering: I really just want to know more about the Bourbon Babes! Well, the Bourbon Babes are a group of seven lady friends, who get together once a month to taste a new bourbon. The Babes came to be when a few of the ladies discovered their mutual love of bourbon and desire to branch out their palates.

Each meeting is started with a cheers and a ring-around the circle, where every Babe shares what they are most excited about that month, as well as any “bourbon experiences” they’ve had since the last meeting. Then, the tasting experience begins and the bourbon selection of the month is paired with different treats and documented with tasting notes.

Although the bourbon part was enticing enough on its own, the best part about coming to my first Bourbon Babes Meeting was the opportunity for me to get to know the Babes. While I had met and hung out with these ladies before, I was now given the opportunity to share my life and experiences with these women, who have since become my really great gal pals.

Our friendship is deeper than bourbon. Scratch that. Rather, bourbon is at the heart of our friendship. The delicious corn mash may have brought us all together but I think we all share one big thing in common: We are all opportunists. We each, individually, look for opportunities in our lives. Where the artistic, fashionable, quirky, fun-loving, vintage, earthy, and humorous perspectives often times challenge the daily status quo, we choose to put on the gloves and accept challenges as opportunities. My fellow Babes have taught me that friendships should be invigorating; friendships should ground you in reflecting on your patterned life, just as much as they inspire you to take the opportunity, to choose differently, and to live every day fully.

The Bourbon Babes friendship consists of many wonderful things, and here are a few:

Coffee (and bourbon), nature and the outdoors (with bourbon), and (bourbon) ice cream.

We also all really love our Cat Babes: Toby, Marcel, Tank, and Jake, the pug-cat.

Lastly, our friendship is pure and honest. We share quality, fun times with our fellow Babes.

The big takeaway? What is it all worth if you don’t have awesome friendships to inspire you to live fully? Life may always present itself as a continuous pattern of repeated choices, but you can challenge yourself to look for opportunities. Be a fellow babe to your friends. And most importantly, drink bourbon.

Cheers –

The Bourbon Babes