Who am I?

I look at who I've become. What I am right now is not ever what I expected when I was 8, 12 or even 19. How did I end up the person I am? Was I led inexorably to become myself or was it through a series of choices that I made? Were there choices that I had no idea would affect my life that permanently altered my very take on life and my character? Or does who we truly are simply shine through as we live our lives? Not only am I different than I thought I'd be, I don't think I've ended up being what anyone expected. Maybe I am and I'm just blind to that fact.

So, I look at myself and think, could I have done it differently? Would I even want to? There is no 'right' way to do it and each path comes with it's bumps and potholes. Sure I could have avoided some of the problems I face right now, but what sacrifices would I have made to avoid them and which problems would have come instead? As much as there are certain parts of my life that I'm not entirely happy with right now (read: very frustrated at), I feel that all in all I am doing this just as well as I can and living as truly as I can to what I believe is right. That is somewhat placating, but it doesn't change the fact that I am blown away, amazed and even frustrated with the current state of Eric L. Dowdle.