Growth

Daily writing prompt

What experiences in life helped you grow the most?

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Would it be easier to ask what experiences did not help me grow? Every experience leads to growth. That’s kind of the point, isn’t it? We’re human. That’s what we do. Theoretically of course. Maybe not if you’re a maga cult member. Who knows.

Here are some things. I am not going into details about how each thing changed me. Mostly because it’s kind of obvious when you think about it. We’re probably all just about the same in these respects. I will also try to keep the sarcasm at a minimum, but I can promise you that I will fail in that regard. Spoiler alert.

• Failing at my first attempt at college, and similarly succeeding in my second
• Starting a career and not failing miserably at it
• Starting a relationship with Jen
• Literally everything that has happened with respect to being both a husband and a step father. There are a lot of failures in there, but a few glowing successes too
• Becoming a home owner… who knew?
• Having weight loss surgery. I don’t know who I am anymore, or what I am, or how to be who or what I am. My entire identity has been shuffled. Jen got annoyed with me the other day when I referred to myself as “fat boy”. Thankfully I still have red hair, but for how long?
• Losing my mother
• After 86 years of colossal failures, the 2004 Boston Red Sox finally won the World Series. That lead to so much personal growth. The Bruins winning the Stanley Cup in 2011 did too, but they had actually previously won it in my lifetime so it felt a little different. Granted that previous win came when I was about one year old, but it still counts.
• Seeing Star Wars for the first time. Seeing the original trilogy end. Then decades later getting a second trilogy that I never thought would happen. Then another decade after that getting the third trilogy and seeing that through. Then getting a bunch of television series and more movies. All of this Star Wars has lead to oh so very much personal growth
• After almost 14 years of talking about it, getting the kitchen remodeled. I feel like a new man when I stand in the new kitchen, and it isn’t even done yet

How’s that list. We just have to accept the fact that the Red Sox are going to finish in last place again, and our championship run is long over and won’t be coming back for quite a while. Let’s just hope the current drought doesn’t last 86 years like that last one did. The new season is just a few short weeks away though. Eternal optimism, even in the face of certain baseball doom.

What was I talking about?