The Bounceback

 

I wonder how we get to be who we are and if we change over time. Am I what I always was, or am I irrevocably changed by the ups and downs of life?  Recently I needed some social media profile photos, so I took some selfies, which I don’t like to do.  Because of their being black and white, and something in my expressions reminded of a set of baby pictures I had hiding in the closet somewhere.  I rifled around in the closet and am sharing with you the comparison I found.

To me I look the same mostly. I can still see innocence in my face; I can still see curiosity and wonder.  I can also see lines, and age.  Mostly I can see that all of these years–the pains and the laughter–haven’t really changed me.  That somehow, we are what we are–and this is what we bounce back to when we bounce back.  Sometimes in recent years I wondered if I had any bounce-back left.  Looking at these two faces, which are really one, I know I do.

Do you think that life has changed you or are you still the same, deep down?  How about on the surface?