I have recently been invited to two class reunions. As it turned out my schedule would not allow me to attend either of the events; still, I received a number of emails, photos, and information from those who did attend. I remembered almost everyone. I recognized hardly anyone. It was difficult to believe that the people in the photos were the same people with whom I had gone to school.
Many of the emails contained short summaries of an entire life. Left high school. Joined the Marine Corps. Came home and went to work in the steel mill. Married and had two kids. Retired from the mill. Like to hunt and fish.
I duly provided a short summary of my life for those who asked. Graduated from high school. Joined the Army. Came home and went to college on the G.I. Bill. Got a job. Married and had three kids with two different women. My second wife died. Raised my 6th grader who is now in college. Semi-Retired. Teach philosophy at a college.
It seems both sad and ironic that an entire life can be summed up in a short paragraph.
I wish I had gone to the reunions. There were many people in attendance that I have not seen in more than 47 years, but my memory of them is as fresh as yesterday. I just see them, and myself, as I once was, not as I am now.
I still feel the same way that I did in 1964. I no longer believe many of the things that I believed then. I have no doubt changed considerably over the years. Most of us reinvent ourselves over time. It is in fact difficult to say what a Self really is. Is a Self really no more than memories of our experiences? Is what we think of Ourselves dictated mostly by what other people tell us we are? How could we know that we a popular, or smart, or beautiful if other people did not confirm that notion for us?
I do know this. So long as I keep passing the mirrors in my house without looking at them I feel young, and vibrant. l feel like Myself.
Perhaps it is time to remove all the mirrors.
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