Change

“Oh this is my kinda love, it’s the kind that moves on. It’s the kind that leaves me alone,” Crown of Thorns, Mother Love Bone

Do people ever really change? Not on the outside, but on the inside. Is it possible to be a different person? Of course outside appearance changes regardless, but what about the things that matter? Do people after a certain age have the ability to change how they feel or how they act? Can someone wake up one morning and not be an asshole, or is that aspect of their personality always going to be there?

No one can make you change but yourself, but is it worth it? Does it ever actually happen? Do you give someone the benefit of the doubt and wait and see if changes happen, or do you just nod when they talk about changes but know it won’t happen?

I think we can change but not entirely. If you know you shouldn’t behave in one way or another, you try to stop. Some people are successful, some are not. Just wanting to change isn’t enough, there must be solid proof of the changes. When do you stop listening to someone talk about changing and demand you see it in their actions. Actions do speak louder than words.

Age will make us change and relationships will end, but how hard should you work at changing and growing together? We all have faults, but some are easier to deal with than others. If there is someone in your life that talks a good game about changing, how long before you walk away? Change takes time, but how long should you wait? Do you pick a random time frame or do you just walk away and hope for the best?

The walking away is what I am trying to determine at this moment in my life. Some people are easy to know whether you want them around or not, it is how they make you feel. If someone makes you question everything and doesn’t make you feel good, good riddance. But when it comes to others, it is much more difficult. There are both good times and bad times, but in the end, so complicated. They tell you what you want to hear, but never follow up on it. How long should someone be required to be there before leaving? If you can no longer see any good in this person, do you try to see it again? Is all hope gone? Will they ever want to change and does it matter if they do? How much disappoint should one person be forced to endure before it just isn’t worth it anymore?

These questions can be asked about friends, families or relationships. Family ties you by blood but even that connection isn’t strong enough to make something worth it. Friends can be tied by memory, but when is it time to make new memories with new friends? Friends can have the ability to hurt you more than anyone. Relationships, well when do you know it isn’t meant to be? They are meant to be hard, but sometimes it is just too hard and not worth it? Are people ever meant to be together? When is it time to be the bigger person and just stop? I don’t know that I will ever truly know the answers, but I hope that I at least find some of the answers in this world.

Laura Bush is the definition of class and poise, but does she ever have these thoughts? I know she had to question people in her life and their intentions, public figures need to be leery, but what about personal relationships? When does she know that enough is enough? When does she stop giving people the benefit of the doubt and just walk away? I will never know how she handles such situations, but I believe she handles them with grace.

As I continue in this world and try to figure out what I am doing and where I am going, I am also figuring out who is worth keeping around and who is not. When it comes to determining which path to take with these people, I will weigh out all the options and simply ask, what would Laura Bush do?