Read My Future, Fortune Teller!

Can a fortune teller really read my future or predict my fortune? That's a question I often get from my friends, and it's a great question. I've always been fascinated with mystical stuff including astrology, tarot cards, crystal balls, tea leaves, and premonition and have read quite a bit about them.

My grandmother was a practicing fortune teller. She used cards and read people's palms to predict their future. But she died when I was little so I never really got a chance to know her or her trade. One thing I do know is that she did her fortune telling at home, and she got her clients through word of mouth.

Nowadays if you live in a big city you can probably find fortune tellers in just about every street corner. There are even online fortune tellers that claim they can read your future.

Someone asked me, "what is it like visiting a fortune teller?" I told her about my encounter with a fortune teller when I was a teenager. I remember it was a warm summer evening, and me and my friends decided to visit the local fairground. I was wearing a tank top and shorts, and nothing on my feet - my favorite attire, even to this day :)

We saw a tent with a sign saying: "Come in and meet the greatest fortune teller to have walked the earth." I was like, "oh yeah, sure!" But being an adventurous and rebellious teen I thought of going in anyway, not because I truly wanted to know about my fortune, but for the heck of it expecting nothing more than some theatrical nonsense. I was even planning to poke fun at the fortune teller by asking them some ridiculous questions.

My friends refused to go in, so I walked in by myself. The fortune teller was a woman dolled up like a Gypsy wearing a multi-colored headscarf and jangling with all kinds of gold necklaces, bracelets, and rings she had on. However, I doubted she was a genuine Gypsy.

The fortune teller looked rather comical, and although I was a bit nervous, I let out a little giggle which I quickly covered with my hands, pretending to be coughing. She told me to sit down. So I sat and propped my bare feet up on another chair. The fortune teller yelled at me, "Hey, get your filthy feet off my chair!" I was like, "sorry!" trying very hard not to giggle again. Yeah, my soles were really dirty after stepping on all kinds of sticky stuff on the ground outside.

Before even asking me any questions, the fortune teller told me about the emotional state I was in at the time. Her statements were focused on my love life which had been my obsession for a few weeks. The fortune teller said I was pining for a guy that had just broken up with me. How true! I was dumbfounded. Then the lady told me what would happen in the future. She said I wasn't going to get back with him, and that really crushed me since I was really hoping otherwise.

You wouldn't believe this, but I started sobbing in front of the fortune teller. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, I didn't have any tissue and neither did she (you would think she would be prepared, right?), so I had to use my shirt to wipe my teary eyes and runny nose!

Anyway, the fortune teller was compassionate. She tried to comfort me saying it was ok if I didn't get back with this guy because I was going to meet another man with whom I would be much happier. I didn't immediately believe her though, thinking she was just saying that to make me feel better.

Then the fortune teller went on to say that this new guy would be my soul mate, the love of my life. We would get married, have children, live happily by the sea, and we would drive a van. At the time I was thinking yeah, yeah, whatever!

I didn't want my friends to know that I was crying in there, so as I walked out of the tent I quickly wiped my eyes again and blew my nose (snot rocket, he he!). When they asked me how it went I was like, "really cool! This fortune teller looks fuc.kin' hilarious in her gown and all sorts of weird jewelry. The bitch yells at me for putting my feet up on her ugly chair, then she looks into this huge crystal ball to read my future. She says I'll meet my Prince Charming and live by the sea!" And we all laughed.

I thought the fortune teller actually turned the table on me. I was planning to make fun of her but it turned out I was the one that got embarassed. Anyone could guess a person's emotional state, and most people have a love life. Pretty simple right? I thought the whole fortune telling thing was a bunch of BS and quickly dismissed it from my mind.

So what happened next? Did any of the fortune teller's predictions come true? I'm glad you asked :) The answer is kind of interesting. My old boyfriend went back to his previous girlfriend and I heard they later got married. A few months later I did meet another guy. He was a hunk and we had a very passionate relationship. However, my parents didn't approve of our relationship. There were a few things about him they didn't like.

However, the words of the fortune teller kept ringing in my ears. Even though I thought she was full of it, deep down I was expecting this guy would be my soul mate. So I decided to run away with him! I left my parents' house and lived with him in his old van which he parked near the beach! It was a lot of fun for a while. I was having the time of my life.

Then I got pregnant. When my boyfriend found out he decided to leave me because he wasn't ready to have a child and at my age then, I couldn't get an abortion without telling my parents. We were both scared and confused but he took the easy way out. What a soul mate, huh? So I decided to have the baby and my parents were gracious enough to take me back although my dad really let me have it. So did the fortune teller's words come true? Well... sorta! in a weird kind of way  :)

Would I have another fortune teller read my future or predict my fortune? Uhm... probably not. Today my little daughter and I are as happy as can be. We enjoy our lives to the fullest, and I don't attribute that to any fortune telling. I believe we control our own destiny with our thoughts and actions.

I can't deny there're some legit fortune tellers and they take pride in what they do (like my grandma). Some people do have psychic abilities. They're able to sense different vibrations in others and foretell their future based on what they perceive at the moment. But like I said, we have the ultimate control over our own lives. Regardless of how we feel at any given moment, we can always make a change and steer our lives in a different direction.

Have a wonderful day!

*Fortune teller picture courtesy of Wikipedia.