Call it education.

Hello everyone!

This is my first blog, so "pardon the dust" along the way as the contstruction takes place.

As my first topic, I would like to discuss Growing up.

This is something that has been on my mind in a way for the past couple of days. I am coming to realize that 'where you come from' as in your past, your family, your genetic compostion plays a very important role in a person's life. Up until quite recently, I thought that A) My history did not affect me in the slightest, and it was just random bits of trivia to make vague reference to, or B) If indeed it did affect me, it was something that I could simply ignore or wish away. As it is turning out, neither of those theories seem to be the case. Part of becoming a functioning, independent human being is to get to know yourself; once you come to terms with your past, you are one step further to that goal. By delving into all the events and memories of your life thus far, you will be able to understand things about yourself that never really made sense, or that you just wrote off as "that's just how I am". Now I am not saying that this process will necesarrily be pleasant or even easy, as many of us hold onto our own demons of hurt, regret, and dissapointment linked to our past. Please proceed with caution, and only if you understand it is going to be a lengthy, trecherous endevour. This is not to say that everything about "what makes you, you" is going to be negative components. There is going to be extremely bad, extremely good, and things somewhere in between that you will have to work through and sort out in your own mind, and in your own heart. If at all possible, share this experience with a close, trusted friend who can not only listen, but give you an outside perspective to whatever situation or memory. As a side note, I want to mention something else: growing pains are inevitable. No matter how mature you think yourself to be, or how mature you can act, occasionally slipping back a notch or two is normal and to be expected during the process of growing up. Look back at yourself 5 years ago. Chances are you have a much different perspective on everything in life than you did then. 5 years from now, in retrospect, you will see how much your mindset has changed from then until the current day. Be kind to yourself during this time of expansion, trial and error, learning, failing, experimenting, and growing. Just as a child must learn how to interact with the rest of the world, we must also be open minded enough to realize that we don't have all the answers, that right now is temporary, and that there is always something more to learn.

Thank you for your time, and I sincerely hope this has helped in some small way.

Until next time...au revoir.