Do you ever look back to when you were, say, ten, and remember all the things you thought you'd get to do and be?

I think ten-year-old me would be both happy and sad about how I've turned out.

I would be happy to have all the Harry Potter shirts I have now. I would be happy to have lots of books. I would be happy I get to write stories and that I write books. I would be happy that I know how to knit.

But I would be sad, too. I would be sad that I don't have very many friends that I can hang out with a lot. I would be sad that I had grown so shy and nervous around people. I would be sad about the things I've been through. I would be sad that I don't have a car or a driver's license.

But I think I would understand. I would understand that, even though things didn't turn out the way I had wanted them to, I've still lived a fulfilling existence. I would understand that sometimes I do better by myself than with other people. I would understand that bad things happen sometimes, and those things are just as important as the good things. I would understand that, while I am not like people my age, I have never really been like people my age.