2 weeks in

"I've changed," he thought. "I really have."

As he rose from his bed in the dark, the curtains blew from the force of a gentle breeze outside his window; the small sliver of light from under them pulsating on the floor as they swayed in and out. He peaked out from under the curtains and watched the sprinklers attack a dry patch of the lawn outside.

He had changed. No matter how much he believed he could stay the same, he had changed. When he looked back on who he had been, he couldn't help but notice differences: some small--such as his new choice of wardrobe--and others so vast that they, like his curtains, seemed to block the light of day. His whole life he had always seen himself as he was. He saw himself as one person. As one single identity. As the persona he always believed he would be.

But as he sat in his bed on that night at 12:08 he realized that he had not only changed, but he had become another person entirely. Not only had small characteristics of his life been altered, but his entire identity had undergone a massive shift. The one persona he had known was now an entirely different person; an alter ego of a world in a mirror. The Charlie of four years ago and Charlie now were completely separated from each other, and he thought to himself that if they were ever to meet, they would have very little to talk about.

This made Charlie feel very lost in the world, as the one person he thought he could always trust to be a constant hadn't just changed, but had ceased to exist. He had always thought he could trust himself. Yet, his 'self' had gone away. And the new individual that took this place--while he was obviously more mature, more confident, more capable of growing facial hair--still lacked the childish innocence which Charlie had grown to trust, and eventually to cherish.

And when looking back on the person who he used to be--now long gone--Charlie couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before his current self would cease to be. How long would it be before Charlie would look back at himself and realize that a version of him had died yet again? How many versions, how many illusions of Charlie would there be before the end?

But then Charlie realized that perhaps this realization of multiple form was in itself, the creation of a new Charlie, and he had become a new person yet again.

Charles III,
born August 30th, 2007 12:08 A.M.

"I've changed," he thought. "I really have."