Big Corey: Yo, I ain’t changed. John, “Mr. Coast Guard Academy” has changed!
John: I ain’t changed. I am the same old Jmac baby! You know Lil Corey changed. He up there at Virginia State acting brand new.
Lil Corey: Don’t Disrespect me. I ain’t changed. Yall know who really changed up there at Villanova.
All three: ALLYN
A person once told me that personal growth comes from entering a space that you have never been before. Despite each of us being in new spaces, my buddies and I tried to deny our personal growth every time we returned home from college. Whenever we gathered in the good old “757” nobody wanted to admit that their thoughts, actions, beliefs, and views had changed as a result of meeting new people, seeing different places, and encountering unique experiences at our respective colleges.
While clinging to our old selves, we were ignoring the words of Muhammad Ali. The champ said
“A man who sees the world the same at 50 as he did when he was 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”
The reality is that life constantly provides you with new spaces and opportunities to grow. Our decision is to either embrace the changes that come as a result of this growth or fight against it and risk becoming like the man described by Ali. My high school friends and I were on the path that Ali warns against but luckily saw the error in our ways. Instead of fighting over who hasn’t changed, we now openly discuss how homeownership, careers, parenting, marriage, travel, and all the other new spaces we have and will enter is changing our views of the world.
PeaceofAB 
Thanks for reminding me that change can be good. I am discovering that I don’t mind the changes within myself, as much as the changes that occur in circumstances around me. But….it’s all a part of the cycle. I must embrace this.