Years later, after getting a degree in Chemical Engineering and while I was in medical school, I slipped and told a friend of a friend that I was going to apply to be an astronaut. Give me a break. Today, looking back at my life growing up and forward toward future possibilities, I'm struck by how the flow of life events is like the wind. Events that change us and redirect our lives may begin very subtly, like as small changes in air temperature. The hint of a breeze that kisses your cheek may turn into a full-fledged hurricane that uproots trees and old ideas.
Wind can flood the shoreline and change the course of rivers.
A miniscule drop in atmospheric pressure may signal a tornado that in one intense minute knocks over buildings and blocks of the imagination. The next second the wind is gone, but your path in life is forever altered. Life stretches in front of and behind us, made up of the actions we and others took. The small stirring of air as I waved my hand back and forth in kindergarten created only a slight breeze. My story, to date, is not a mystery.