A Changing of Circumstance

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you had been born in a different place? If you had grown up somewhere completely different from the city in which you actually did? Do you ever wonder then what the person you are today would look like? Do you ever question whether you would have the same values, standards, beliefs, dreams, and loves you do now if you hadn’t of had the same experiences you did then? People can change, they generally choose not too because it’s too hard, but they can… if they really want to that is. Generally people change due to circumstances. The circumstances cause a person to grow, to deal with life, and the ways in which we deal with whatever events life hands to us, causes us to change into the people we are today. But is it possible for a person to use circumstances to change in the ways that they want to? Instead of letting the circumstances change you?

The above picture is a picture of the house I lived in for the longest period of time, for five years. I've lived in 12 different houses. But this one I actually helped make liveable. We had to re-chink the outer walls, we installed in-floor heating, and poured/stained the concrete. We installed heaters, appliances, and made the basement into a TV room, guest room, bath, office, and laundry room. I grew up on the Continental Divide in Colorado... I lived there for almost eight years of my life. And when someone asks me where I'm from, the only place that remotely ever felt like home is this cabin.

I was born in Houston. I wonder if I had stayed there, if my family and I had never moved to Colorado, if I would be a different person. Would I be a better person? Or would I be worse? Or just the same... I bet I wouldn't be so naive. I bet my view of the world wouldn't be so innocent. Living in a very conservative family, being raised at a Christian Mountain Adventures Camp, created a very safe, sheltered world for me. But I doubt I would have ever found myself in the situation I found myself in on October 4th. I doubt I would have been that naive... My view of the world, had I grown up in Houston, would be a lot less innocent, but a lot more realistic.

Do circumstances change people? Can people change circumstances? Or can we make the change be a change for the better?