People often say life is a journey and I personally have written similarly too. As cliche as it sounds, it is pretty true. As we go through life, we are constantly faced with trials and tribulations, with the unexpected and inevitable. What once mattered may no longer matter and what used to be important, may seem so trivial at every new point of our journey.
There is a saying that the most constant of things is change. Some may argue that they do not change but I believe we do change eventually, from the way we view life to the way we live our life based on the situations we encountered and the experiences we gained along the way.
As a young child growing up, many things took priority, from who our best friends were, to our favourite singers and groups. Idolization of certain individuals or groups of people, posters and banners, would have been a priority on our bedroom walls, to writing autograph books as we leave our friends when we move into teenage hood and college years. We may have crushes, best friends and enemies. Back then, our priorities were different.
We spent our time being with friends whom we thought were our best friends, we hung out almost all the time in school until we said our goodbyes when we went our separate ways after high school. For those who were introverts, friends were not a priority and time was spent alone with books or things alike which brought more happiness, compared to hanging out with so-called friends.
Then came the college and university years or for some, a direct flight to adulthood with work or parenthood responsibilities. Each of us have different experiences, some with hardships, some sorry, some with joyfulness and some, with undefined emotions but each is incomparable because each experience is different.
When life throws us a curve ball, we either try to catch it or get hit hard by it or try to dodge it, hoping we do not get hit by it. But sometimes, we can't escape fate, like the way it was depicted in the movie "Final Destination", although the movie is pretty gruesome, so, lets not go there!
This becomes more apparent when we have gone through a near death experience. When we run a playback on the incidents that led to that experience, one can't help but wonder how some things happened and how the "stars" or the opposite of stars were aligned, depending on how positive or negative the experiences were. The same goes with when we lose those we love and the experiences that led to their deaths.
We would start to rethink our priorities in life. We would also need to take a stand on what matters to us and say no to anything that might jeopardize that while concurrently juggle and balance with all other elements that surround us.
It also changes the things we value most and things that used to upset us would look so trivial that we wondered why were we so angry before. We would open our eyes bigger and see life differently. As an adult now, health and family matters. Happiness matters and anything that messes with that will need to be re-prioritized.
If you had a nearly death experience it know you have only an X time left you have the "luxury" to change your priorities something you can't if you need to pay your bills and later, tomorrow it the next day of your struggle. It's hard to be free for real unless you manage to live alone far away without a job, family and friends, no obligations, no one forcing you or wanting something from you. The childhood, student time you describe, that luxury I never had, neither those worries and priorities as a child, teenager, young adult. I am not so sure much have changed if it comes to me. It's more as if my life goes in circles. You end where you started. 🍀👍