Reinvention or Self-Improvement. What would you choose?

Many people fantasy of reinventing themselves. The hope of becoming a better person than the one you see yourself as now is an easy desire to fall into. However there is a difference between reinvention and self-improvement. Your past actions are part of what define you as a person. Although many may not be proud of their yesterday, they should embrace that it has made them the person they are today. Everyone has the ability to take what they are and expand it. I am proud of the person I have become, but there are parts of me which I sometimes want to fix. People should focus on those areas of improvement and act on it rather than dwelling on the “what if’s”. The idea of completely recreating yourself is intriguing but I would not want to complete erase the person I have become. I would not want to forget the person I have been working to become. Life is a journey and the person I am today is because of the choices I made yesterday.

Like many others, I don’t yet know who I am. If I were to erase the person I am today, how will I know what I could be tomorrow. I know the type of person I would like to become so I take little steps to push myself there. One goal of mine is to study abroad my junior year. I don’t know where or even what I will be studying at that point but it is still a goal I am working toward.

This idea of self improvement and how the choices you make impact your life made me think of the poem “The Dash” by Linda Ellis.

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

Happy Trails :)