1000 Lives

Imagine all the lives you could have lived.I’m not speaking in the sense of physically wanting to be someone else, but to explore a side of yourself that is beyond what you are used to or comfortable with. As young adults in the formative years of our lives, I feel we are just one version of ourselves. But I would like to think that people are more interesting than that; I know we are more than just that one self that we show to the world. It is important to recognize that in this moment, people are but a fraction of who they truly are, and knowing that, they should explore the whole world.Memories are able to dictate who we were, but not who we should become. You can look at the people you’ve shared so many years with and what they have become now. Everyone begins to branch off in new directions, searching for themselves in different places and environments, because even though they don’t consciously know it, they want to find themselves.Only after you live in different environments, speak to different people, and experience different cultures is when you will understand, “Oh hey, I might like this.” That is where you will discover there could be something out there that is perfect for you and you just haven’t taken the time to find it yet. That is where you’ll live many different lives.You have to look though. You have to realize that by being comfortable with what you have now, you won’t be able to grow and change. That may sound scary, but it’s also a part of life. Most people spend their entire lives not knowing who they are because they forget something so simple.You just have to look.Yours Creatively,Alex Tran, Online ColumnistImage: Dmitriy Budarin via Flickr