by Ariana Campbell
AS I LOOK BACK at the picture of myself as a toddler taped to the front of this notebook, there’s so much happiness etched on my face. There’s something about myself back then that has changed. I used to take on the world with full force, unafraid of speaking my mind, of “telling it like it is.” I don’t know what has changed. I don’t know if I’ve changed, whether I’ve already morphed into who I was meant to be, like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. Or whether I’ve adapted to my changing environment.
All I know is SOMETHING has changed. I find myself complaining about any and everything. Has my life gotten worse or is it my viewpoint that’s changed? How did I become so mean and why do I now like to distance myself from the world, especially people? Observing everyone else in this room, even though I don’t really know them, I see that they have changed from their former selves as well. Maybe changing from the person you were 10 years ago or even the person you were yesterday is just how life is.
I guess change is inevitable–that our purpose is to change, to adapt, to camouflage into our surroundings. Humans are most similar to chameleons, but when we, humans, stop camouflaging, is there anything solid left under our exteriors? Are we just bodies ready to blend or transform into something else? Change is inevitable and we are inevitable.
