Growing Up

I've always marveled at the concept of growing up. Sure it has its ups and downs but really this idea of growth- that something so simple and basic can become something complex, multi-layered, and multifaceted naturally, whether we want it to or not, is incredible. Just as the little seedling will grow into a small plant and slowly a flower; a baby will grow into a child, an adolescent,  and and adult. We can not as much freeze a flower in time as we can freeze a child in playfulness while still allowing life. With life comes growth and with growth comes complexity and diversity. 

The other day, I was attempting to create a Twitter account for the first time and it asked me to fill in a "bio". Who am I? What is my biography? Which combination of carefully strung together words will fully encompass who I am as a person and a human being. I could start with "feminist" and "chocoholic". "Bibliophile" and "faith" aren't too hard to tack on. But there are so many other words that describe me: "daughter", "sister", "writer", "chess-player", "student"... and what about all the experiences I have had that have shaped me and continue shaping me into the person I am? What about all the amazing people I have been fortunate enough to meet and all of their levels and complexities? The people we interact with and the situations we encounter play a huge role in our biographies. Often, we are too quick to jump to conclusions about people and situations.  We describe people in a handful of words "the girl with the khaki shorts" and events become minor references "today I had an annoying grocery store clerk who took forever to check out my groceries". But how much of the full story do we miss in doing this? 

Growing up is a surging tangle of increasing and changing complexity. We are completely submerged in it from the second we are conceived until we leave this world. There is a certain kind of fungus-like protist known as slime mold that exists independently as amoeba-like cells when times are good and there is plenty of fungus and bacteria to feed on. But when times get tough those independent amoeba-like cells begin gathering together to survive. I think we humans are like that as well. When everything is going well we continue to grow alone in our little bubbles of the world. But every once in a while something happens that will bring human beings together just for a moment. And when that happens, when all those levels of complexity meld together and become entwined, something beautiful is created.