I'm off to Denmark! This was a a spontaneous idea that stemmed from a Facebook friend request between my dad and one of his friends that he met while he studied abroad in France way back in the day.

I think it is amazing how people can reconnect. We share different parts of our lives with different people, and sometimes these people leave our lives for various reasons. But it is the reconnecting that is always interesting. Almost 25 years later, college friends can connect via the vast social networking system, do some minor catching up, joke about their children meeting, then actually buy plane tickets a week later.

Whether people leave your life for a good, neutral, or bad reason, reconnecting will always be interesting. The may look different because of time and natural aging. But what about their personality, or little quirks they had, or their view points? Have any of those changed drastically, or are they the exact same? I think both are very possible. I never have been a big fan of the binary of "people can change or people don't change" as and all encompassing way to describe the human experience. I think some people can change, whether it comes from within themselves or from outside forces, and some people don't change for the same reasons or others.

And it is within this time gap of knowing someone that quite possibly allows room for growth, improvement, or change (good and bad). I believe we are influenced in many ways by all the people we meet and interact with through out our lives. And through these interactions we shape and construct ourselves and our lives. In knowing someone, then losing contact with them, and reconnecting we can use it as a measurement to reflect upon what we have done.

If someone has changed, how have I changed if at all? They may have a new career, but the same personality. I may have the same career, but a different personality. And I may not even notice this until I have reconnected with certain people who remind me of a me that I once was. And that's amazing!

And so here I am! Ready to embark on one of the craziest adventures I have ever been on so far, all because of a friend request. I am the product of change and growth from my parents, as are my dad's friend's children. How funny life can come full circle, but in a different way than the first time it went around.