Story #1:
I was having a pretty deep conversation with a good friend of mine about several aspects of our single lives. Sadly these kinds of conversations don't happen too often, mostly because they're reserved for people who know me really well, for people who fall under the close friend range. These are the people I've spent the most time with and known the longest; the ones I feel understand me, my perspective, and the journey that got me to my current stage/position in life. The only people who know me better are family. (anyways, I digress. Back to the topic)
During this conversation I started to come to a realization that I have changed. This particular friend and I met almost two years ago. I thought about how I would have addressed the topics of our discussion had it been when we first met. The conversation would have been completely different. So many experiences and thought provoking situations have occurred since then that influenced my thoughts and even characteristics into what they are today.
Story #2:
A few days after said conversation, I was reading a note that a different friend had posted on facebook talking about their certain likes and opinions, many of which I didn't know about this friend (which goes to show that I'm definitely not in the close friend range, they aren't in mine either). I noticed that this particular note was published two years or so ago. Had the above conversation not happened, I would not have noted the date, but I did, and here are the thoughts that tumbled into my mind. How much of what was written in this note had changed? What was still applicable to this friend? Can I consider this the same person that I know today?
The Point: An Example of a Change and Why I Am Posting This
Here's an example of change in myself. Two years ago (two years seems to be a common phrase in this post) I was taking English 150, the beginning college writing class. It was the first English class since high school (3 years before) and would require essays, the first essays written since graduation. The first paper was an opinion editorial where, if memory serves me correctly, we had to form an opinion and write a paper using different forms of rhetoric to persuade people to our side. The finished product was Pre-mi and Prejudice (I've uploaded it to skydrive so that you can read it if you would like.) I told my friends about it, posted it in facebook for extra credit, and it was a hit. This was the start off essay that helped spark my enjoyment of writing (High school English never did that job). I loved crafting the words and styling the argument to make it as powerful as I could. I was satisfied with my paper and my position.
Now, with two years more of experience, I can say that I do not agree with some of my arguments in that paper. I have changed, and so has my position. Now anyone who reads that paper today, not knowing me that well, would form in their mind a mental outline of my characteristics and personality, what I like and what I don't. Because of their outdated sources, there would be errors in their assessment.
I need to keep this in mind when I'm trying to figure someone out. What they said yesterday might not be what they believe today. And not only might it not be what they believe today, but who is to say that I understood them in the first place. Do I know them well enough to even come close to understanding their thought process? Do I know the major events that have shaped their lives? Taking social media into consideration makes this even more important. Do I know the cause of their status? Do I know the full story? If they wrote that a few years, months, or even days ago, does it still apply?
In the end, everyday we change a little, some days more than others. The Ogden two years ago is a lot alike to the current version, but there are key differences. Think of the Ogden two years ago as Ogden version 1.0, and the current release as Ogden 1.5.2 - A lot of him is the same, except for some very important updates and bug fixes (yes, that was a CS related analogy, roll your non-nerd eyes now). (If this is hard to get, think of the how windows 95 and windows 7 are both windows operating systems, just 7 is an improvement. Think of how facebook has changed over the last few years.) If that doesn't work, then think of the person you were two years ago and compare. Yeah, I think you're getting the picture.
Life is about progression - improvement. Sometimes the next version isn't the best (Vista cough cough) but hey, change is needed and improvement is required. So don't be surprised when Ogden 1.3.1 - the version you met a few months ago, has been updated with the latest and greatest 1.5.2. Because believe me, I'm always trying to make it better and better, more and more true to its potential. Who knows, maybe tomorrow or next week 1.5.2 will be upgraded.
*The version numbers do NOT have any meaning behind them, so please don't hurt yourself by trying to figure it out.
** The friends mentioned above are anonymous and I'm keeping it that way.
