Since I have spent the last couple of weeks reconnecting with a lot of old friends via Facebook I have been given the chance to glimpse at their lives. And they have a chance to see my life as well. And it is interesting to me when I look at some of these people's lives now, and think 2 things: looking back am I that surprised they are who they are now? And are they that surprised that I am who I am now?
Certainly a couple of old old friends from back in Junior High school that I just reconnected with are excellent examples of that. Both appear to be living very happy lives, but kind of gypsy like, married, but no kids, free to engage in long bicycle trips or various other fun activities. And with these 2, looking back I am really not that surprised, they were both very much free spirits when I knew them, and it is not that surprising that they ended up living a lifestyle that embraces that attitude.
But I wonder if they are surprised about me? In our culture we all like to think of ourselves as unique, not part of the crowd. And certainly in Junior high and high school that is especially true. In Junior High I definitely embodied the free spirit rebellious attitude, very much into challenging authority etc. And the same was more or less true through most of college.
So I cannot exactly pinpoint the time when I changed over into the far more settled, fairly conservative family man that I am today. I am just curious if any of these old friends find it surprising that I have become that or are not surprised at all. If they are not all that surprised I guess I would be mildly disappointed that people perceived my rebellious attitudes as more or less an act or a phase, but it doesn't change who or what I am. It's just an interesting mental exercise.
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