He has a sense of independence and maturity that makes it possible for him to reassess what being an orphan means to him. Now that he s on his own, being an orphan doesn t really make him that much different from everybody else. Once he s eighty years old, being an orphan certainly won t be the kind of issue it was for him when he was twelve. He s changed. In every period of his life he s changed, and as he has changed, he simply grew out of problems that seemed overwhelming at the time.
Problems induce habits of thought that can persist long after the problem is no longer a real issue.
A person who doesn t realize that he has changed and who doesn t take stock of himself may not realize that he is thinking in old ways that are no longer relevant, that he continues to relate to life as though he were dealing with a serious problem which was set aside a long time ago. Part of adapting to negative situations is being aware that a even though it may not change, a person can change and outgrow a difficult situation.