Change

Age 20:

Thursdays were always the best. If you thought otherwise, the kids would tease and torment you, because Thursday was pizza day. I remember going to school on a Thursday, with my Captain America lunchbox that my mom had bought just the day before. I put my lunch box in my cubby, and went on with school as usual. Then, lunchtime came. All the kids gathered in the cafeteria and as I looked around, I realized that I was the only one who had a lunch box. I was so embarrassed, I walked out and hid in the bathrooms until lunch was over. I look back on that day, thinking of how much of a coward I was 10 years ago. I guess things really do change.

Age 30:

Christmas always was my favorite holiday. After all, it was only about the presents and the filling Christmas dinner, right? I didn't know it at the time, but Christmas was going to be a holiday that I would miss dearly. I would miss seeing my mom and dad's faces when they saw my excitement. I would miss the feeling of joy when I woke up on Christmas morning. But most of all, I would miss being with my parents. When I was young, I would think that my parents would be there for me for the rest of my life. I mean, they were mom and dad. They were basically my superheroes. Nothing could make them go away. Oh, how wrong I was. I lay awake every night, thinking of the crash that took away my superheroes. I hate it when things change.

Age 40:

I've never had good luck. My first girlfriend for example; broke up with me after a week. My first car; someone stole it after a month. My cat, Brissel; died after 4 days. But even through all my bad luck, I somehow stayed positive. That is, until my parents died. I think that was probably the worst luck I've ever had. It was just a coincidence, that a stoplight had been broken that day. It was just a coincidence that a taxi, and my parents old, rusty, blue pickup truck had been on the highway with the broken stoplight. At first, i made up little conspiracy theories in my head that they weren't dead. That they had just barely gotten away, and that they were living in the woods waiting for someone to stumble apon them and save them. But the evidence said otherwise, with two bodies that looked exactly like my parents, and the blue pickup truck that held so many memories from my childhood. Oh God, I wish things didn't have to change.

Age 50:

I'm getting old, and that's okay. I've lived my life, from being embarrassed at school, to getting my first girlfriend. From losing my pet, to losing my parents. I've had a pretty average life, excusing the fact that my parents passed away when I was 17. I did everything that the average person does in a lifetime. What makes me so unique? That's the thing. I'm not unique. People say, "Oh, everyone is unique in their own way." Well, the way that I'm unique is that I'm normal. I do normal things. I had normal parents. I went to a normal school. I had a normal job, a normal house. I'm just normal, and I hate it. I want to be unique. I wish I could change.

Age 60:

Things are different now. When you get old, you see things clearer. You realize why things are the way they are. You wonder if your grandchildren will make the same mistakes that you did, like bringing a packed lunch on pizza day, or making your parents pick you up on the day that there was a broken stoplight. You wonder if your children thought that you would be there for them forever, and you hope they thought of you as their superhero. But most of all, you wonder why you hated change, because change is good. It gives you new chances, new opportunities, and sometimes a new view on life. I don't think change is such a bad thing anymore.

Age 70:

It's weird being old. I'll be laying down on my bed, about to go to sleep, and I'll think, "What if I don't wake up?" When I was young, I thought that I would live forever. I always thought that the whole world was about me, and that everyone would do their best to make sure I out-lived them. I'm kind of glad that's not how it works, because living forever would mean experiencing pain when someone I was close with would pass on. I know for a fact that I would hate that. After a while, it would get depressing and boring. I think change is necessary.

Age 80:

I'm surprised I lived this long. I vaguely remember walking to the bathrooms because I was embarrassed at school one time. I can't remember what embarrassed me though. I also can't remember what my parents looked like. I can remember that my mother smelled like bubblegum, and my father smelled like tobacco and gasoline, but I can't remember what they looked like. I'll be looking in the mirror, and I'll wonder who I got my green eyes from, or who I got my black hair from, although now it's more light grey than black. I don't know if my mother was the most beautiful woman in town, or if all the men-other than my father-turned away in disgust when they saw her. I can't remember if my father was so strong that he could lift a sofa, or if he was so weak that he couldn't even lift a small dog. I wish I had some pictures of them, but they both thought that pictures were a way of hoarding, so every picture they had of themselves was burned during a bonfire when I was little. Or at least, that's what I was told. I can't remember that far back. But the one thing I do remember is a quote that my father told me on my first day of highschool. "Change is something that needs to happen, whether it's good or bad. But in the end, as long as you stay strong, change won't seem so bad." I think change got the better of me, but I know that I wouldn't be able to live without it.