Are you the same you?

"Appearances are not held to be a clue to the truth. But we seem to have no other."

Ivy Compton-Burnett

There was a boy who liked a girl...or at least that's what she thought. He followed her around and occupied her mind with interesting stories on the way to classes. Every single morning he met her at her locker and walked her down the hallway. One day it stopped. And she noticed.

Today, five years later, I spoke to the boy again. His appearance changed so drastically, I could hardly recognize him at all. It was a man now. His body went through puberty. He grew in height, lost 125 pounds, changed his hair style, gave up glasses for contacts, and overall looked like a new person. While enjoying our very warm conversation, reminiscing for over an hour, I caught myself asking the question, "Are you the same 'you'?"

Oh what an experiment! Get close to somebody. Learn to trust them. Spend a few years away. Put the person in a completely different body. Get back and talk. Record the results.

"Don't judge a book by its cover" was something that came to me through experience very early on. Still, the book's cover is a part of the book. Keep the content, but change the cover and it's almost like a new book you haven't read. Maybe it is...