ChAnGe!!!

It’s so funny how people change. As a kid, you might be happy-go-lucky and not have a care in the world. Then you grow up and you are stressed and worry about everything: bills, kids, school, Presidential elections, car troubles, bad weather, gray hairs, fitting in with the crowd, global warming, and everything under the sun.

I’ve seen so much change in myself over the years that it’s hard to recognize myself. I remember as a teenager hating watching football. I just didn’t get it. I would rather watch the Disney channel. Over the years, I began to understand how football worked (scoring, etc) and became a Seahawks fan, started doing fantasy football, and watching every football game on tv on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays.

I also used to hate school. I thought I would never go to college. I thought it was a waste of time. Then I went to Mount Edgecumbe High School and my whole perspective on education changed. 11 years later, I have a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education. I couldn’t be more supportive of higher education. I plan on sending all of my children to Mount Edgecumbe and expect them all to get college degrees as well.

I remember enjoying chilly fall and winter evenings: walking around town with my cousin Tami or friends Venessa, Alice, and Alicia. Now I pretty much hibernate once fall comes. My body cannot stand the cold anymore. I get out once and awhile to go ice fishing or for a snowmachine ride, but I prefer to stay warm at home watching football or baking.

I remember thinking that my life would end if change occurred. I thought I was going to marry my first boyfriend. When that relationship ended, I thought my life was over. How naïve was I? My life just started after that ended. I had three beautiful children, went to college, got a nice job, travel when I want, where I want.

Entertainment has changed. Kids used to love playing outdoors all day everyday. Now all they want to do is sit at home playing their PS4’s and Nintendo DS’s. We used to build snowmen and snow caves and rake huge piles of leaves in the fall just to jump into them. We used to gather the chairs from the kitchen to make tents. We used to jump off our balcony of our second story apartment building onto a huge snow pile that was plowed the day before. Now we have to beg our kids to play out.

City life has changed. Kids in cities like Anchorage are no longer able to play out alone in their neighborhoods without fear that they may be kidnapped or killed because the crime rates have gone sky high. There are so many shootings and mass murders in the United States nowadays. I don't remember it being this way. People have lost their sense of humanity. It’s as if people forgot how to be human. Sometimes change is not for the better.

However, sometimes change IS for the better.  I’ve learned that I don’t have to pretend to be someone else to be liked by others. Why waste time on those that don’t accept you for who you are? I’m still learning to not sweat the small stuff. Life is so much bigger than you think. The world will not end if you fail one class. It will go on if you go through a major breakup. It will go on if you lose a loved one. It will go on if you get a bad hair cut or if you gain a lb or two. It will go on no matter what you go through.

Change helps you to become a better person. It helps you to open your eyes and see the world around you. It helps you to understand your purpose in life. Don’t fear change because everyone changes. Opinions change. Styles change. People change.