I am a completely different person than I was seven years ago.
Physically, yes, because my cells have been dying
and renewing so much that
everything is gone and I am new.
Mitosis took care of that in the way that
everyone is a new collection of cells
every seven years.
But we're still the same collection of memories.
I am also different mentally.
I am not a simple eight year old anymore,
but what is a simple eight year old?
I want to be a stem cell,
blank and waiting for instructions.
Either I want to make my own decisions
and take control of my own life
or I can recognize that I don't know what I'm doing
and any control given to me will be lost.
I want to stay blank, ready to be programmed
and have a job
and a purpose.
But maybe I don't want to be a cell
and I want to be the collection.
Maybe I'll find my purpose.
Maybe I'll find my job.
I want these seven years to pass so I can be this
new human.
Maybe they will know what to do.
Am I the stem cell, hidden in the nasal cavity, or am I the human?
Am I really that different from my simple eight year old self?
Am I really different at all?