New place. New time. New person.

Then I go back to an old place. And act like old times. Only to become the person I was.

Which is most definitely not the person I want to be. Hence the hard work to become the person I am…or the person I think I am. But if the old me emerges so quickly, have I really changed? Or is the new and improved version a facade?

Is it a common experience to act like a child–and be treated like one–when returning to our parents’ home? How about immediately reverting to old roles when we are around people with whom we grew up? When you are reminded of a person who hurt you, do you relive the discomfort and have the same reaction?

No matter my best intentions, when I spend time in a situation where I went through difficulties the negative emotions come flooding back…followed by the negative actions.

Can I really change me? Or do I need to change places?

Maybe I just need to eat an entire bag of chips and tell myself how horrible I am. Oh wait, never mind, that’s just the old me talking.