There was a little boy who moved from place to place, struggling to find his place in the world
And
There was a little boy who grew up within a stable, supportive family
And
There was a young child who was consistently ridiculed and bullied
And
There was a young child who was consistently loved and encouraged
And
There was a teenager who struggled to read, and hated school
And
There was a teenager who never studied, yet passed all his classes
And
There was a young man who passed on the opportunity to go to college because he felt incapable
And
There was a young man chosen to be a part of an exclusive military nuclear program
And
There was a man who forfeited the chance to be a father, marrying a woman who never wanted children
And
There was a man who married a woman who made him the father of four children
And
There was a man, whose wife left him after 12 years of marriage to be with another man
And
There was a man whose wife of over 25 years stood faithfully by his side
And
There was a man who relentlessly pursued the world’s pleasures
And
There was a man who surrendered his life to a higher purpose
And
All of these men were in fact the same man
And
Each day that man gets to choose which of these experiences will shape his identity