Welcome back to another monday....and today we have another submission by GN72!

On a side note...has anyone tried that new Alavert Citrus Burst Allergy medicine? I think my allergies are acting up (hopefully I'm not getting sick!) and seen about a dozen advertisements over the weekend lol.

-----


Here we are again... My third DD post, and again I have to ask Iron to post it for me, since I'll be heading out on Monday morning, to another week of training exercises with my unit... I'm really hoping my unit's training schedule (when I do get a copy to look over) isn't going to make my proxied DD posts an "every danged week" thing...

Last week, we talked about simple pleasures... I guess I'll grit my teeth and brace myself for the onslaught of replies to this week's topic...

Personal Differences...

I'm sure that we all know that if we were all the same, life would be one boring proposition. Especially if everyone looks the same, dresses the same, thinks and feels the same, and does the same things...

We are complicated creatures, each and every one of us. We have our way of doing things, our way of looking at any given situation, and our own opinions and feelings. Does that mean that everyone else is wrong or weird (or vice-versa), no it means we're different, and I thank the powers that be that that is how things are.

Who we are and how we think/feel/do things are shaped by so many factors that it seems somewhat ignorant to try to isolate the main contributors in any situation. The main contributors in my case would not necessarily be the same ones for anyone else... There are many more than the ones I've listed and ranted about below, but these are the ones that I see in my own experience, that have shaped me into who I am today, than any other(s).

Parenting... I had rather strict religious parents. At the time that I hit my rebellious stage, I REALLY wanted to do something outrageous, something to show them that they did not control me as much as they would like to think. In looking back, though, the lessons they taught me better prepared me for being a husband and father.

Environment... I grew up overseas, and my circle of friends didn't really "fit a niche" per se... I learned to try to see past National or ethnic origins to the see the value of the person as a whole, sort of a see the tree within the forest sort of thing. When I came back to the US, I was sort of the outsider, since I really didn't fit into any one group as a consequence... I felt that there was still something missing, a need to be part of something bigger than myself... Maybe why I joined the military. Not just for the pay and adventure, but for the comraderie...

Life Experiences... Sometimes parenting doesn't impart all the necessary values to a person, nor does the environment in which they are raised. I never really learned the value of a dollar until I had to make ends meet from the fruits of my labor. I never really learned about the love, pride, and fierce protective spirit a parent has for their child(ren) until I became a father myself...

These are, as I've said above, just a few of the more relevant contributing factors that have helped shape me into the person I am today... What would you say are the ones in your life?

My sister was murdered When I was 16 ,it cast a sadness over my life i'd never felt before and lingers to this day.
It taught me to allways let people know how you feel ,cause you never know whats around the corner
Or if you'll ever meet again.

Tis true, you dont know what you've got until you've lost it RBIEZE.

What shapes me into what i am today? I dont think i can answer questions like these until im nearing to the point of death. Old and wise when you know so much.

things that shaped my life and made me what I am are my momma and my pops ( or lack of the later) .
My moms taught me to be easy going and smile at life no matter what it throws at ya ( She died of enphensmhya spelling and never let it get her down).

For better or worse , my pops taught me to do what I want and rules be DaYuM'd , no matter if its bad or good.

And the ones that taught me the best lesson of all are my kids, they taught me to love, a thing I thought i was uncapable of. They taught me to cherish every breath they take, because they might not be there in the next breath, I know this from losing my youngest daughter.

It's funny...my parents are good people but I have tried to be nothing like them my entire life. Now that I have kids I catch myself saying or doing things that they have said and done.....might be a good thing...might not....

Every now and then I look back at the stoopid things I have done and how they have almost ended my life mentally, physically, and emotionally and how I have overcome them. As much as I am not proud of what I have done, I learned great lessons from it and in realizing the errors of my ways, left it all behind to strive to become better then I was and closer to who I know I can be. I am not there yet but everyday I try a little more....