Sunday, October 23, 2011
Mini-History
One of the most significant elements in my life that has shaped me into the person I am today is the friendship I share with Matt and Kel. The three of us have been great friends since the fourth grade. Matt came from a working class family with his father working various labor intensive jobs, and Kel came from a family that was heavily musically oriented. Every since I first met Matt I knew that he would follow his father into the blue collar work force. In my opinion Matt's life is a grand narrative in the sense that I can accurately predict each step. Kel on the other hand lived a complicated home life that eventually lead to him dropping out of high school. The adventures that we three shared seems like a cliche script out of a modern day Huck Finn novel in retrospect. We explored woods and trails, we got in fights, and we hung out every day. Matt ended up going to a tech school to become and lineman, and Kel is still currently working to get his GED. It is hard to exactly pinpoint what part of me my two best friends helped shape, but I know I would not be the same person today without them.
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It is interesting that you are able to predict Matt's life. I think a lot of time it is easy to see what a person will be like by looking at the way they grow up. Most people don't stray too far from how they've been raised, so you're right in saying his life is like a grand narrative. Everyone finds comfort in the cliche script, we don't have to make decisions or think too much.
ReplyDeletethe relationships I've had with the people that have influenced me most in life have waxed and waned, and I've lost touch with some of those people.
ReplyDeleteI wonder is that the case or do you still see them regularly. It's sad to think that people's lives change and branch off at some point though, especially when you're so close as children and things totally change later.