Groundhog Years
I have recently had a strange idea. Do you know the movie Groundhog Day? In it, Bill Murray finds himself trapped in one recurring day, doomed to repeat the same day every morning when he wakes up until he gets it right. The other day I imagined that the same sort of thing happened to me, only in a different way. I wondered what it would be like if instead of a day I had to repeat my gordon years over again. 3 consecutive years played over and over again. What would I do differently, what risks would I take knowing that I could start over again once they were up or I were dead? I must say that I didnt really play it out as if it were a permanent thing or even such a lasting event as the one Bill Murray had to endure. Just give me a couple chances, 2 or 3 times, to go through Gordon again and try different things.
Knowing what I know now, who would I not bother investing my time into and who would I try to get to know much earlier than I actually did? I mean, everyone has had people in their lives that they look back upon and think, "man, they were a waste of time." And inversely, there are those who you always wish you could have known before you did. I know there were people this summer that I wish I had gotten to know much earlier and had been able to develop much deeper friendships with. Or knowing that I could repeat everything over again, would I be the same person? I have developed so much during these past 3+ years that if I were to start over as the person I am now, it would be impossible for me to repeat the experience in the same way. In the movie, Bill Murray spends much time doing stuff that he would never do if life had consequences. What would I do in that situation? I probably would not go to class during one of my college runs. In another I would probably just become a partier. I might date a couple people that I wouldn't if life were a permanent long term thing. Heck, I might just wander off the college campus and hitchhike across the country. Or maybe I take my studies in a different direction, no, I know I would. I took some really useless classes freshman year. If I could, I would try my hand at being a history major, or an english major right off the bat. I wonder how much better my grades would be the second time around if I took the same stuff. Or what my grades would be if that is all I focused on. Other huge questions, what if I tried my gordon years without being an RA? That would be huge. I met over half my gordon connections through being one. Not joining the choir would have similar effects. And then there are small things, like getting dreadlocks instead of cutting the fro. Not having stayed over the summer one year... I dunno, the list of possibilities is endless. What would you do differently if you could? What years would you pick to redo? The past 3? High School? College? It is interesting to think about.
Knowing what I know now, who would I not bother investing my time into and who would I try to get to know much earlier than I actually did? I mean, everyone has had people in their lives that they look back upon and think, "man, they were a waste of time." And inversely, there are those who you always wish you could have known before you did. I know there were people this summer that I wish I had gotten to know much earlier and had been able to develop much deeper friendships with. Or knowing that I could repeat everything over again, would I be the same person? I have developed so much during these past 3+ years that if I were to start over as the person I am now, it would be impossible for me to repeat the experience in the same way. In the movie, Bill Murray spends much time doing stuff that he would never do if life had consequences. What would I do in that situation? I probably would not go to class during one of my college runs. In another I would probably just become a partier. I might date a couple people that I wouldn't if life were a permanent long term thing. Heck, I might just wander off the college campus and hitchhike across the country. Or maybe I take my studies in a different direction, no, I know I would. I took some really useless classes freshman year. If I could, I would try my hand at being a history major, or an english major right off the bat. I wonder how much better my grades would be the second time around if I took the same stuff. Or what my grades would be if that is all I focused on. Other huge questions, what if I tried my gordon years without being an RA? That would be huge. I met over half my gordon connections through being one. Not joining the choir would have similar effects. And then there are small things, like getting dreadlocks instead of cutting the fro. Not having stayed over the summer one year... I dunno, the list of possibilities is endless. What would you do differently if you could? What years would you pick to redo? The past 3? High School? College? It is interesting to think about.