Prologue
There are very few certainties in life. What we believe to be certain, and what actually is, can be completely different. I knew this, I always knew this, but I was still certain of 3 things.
1. I Exist. No amount of philosophy or science can make me believe otherwise.
2. My life was simple, unchanging, and I liked it that way. Anything more would complicate it, and that's the last thing I want.
3. My life was overdue for a dramatic change. It's a feeling I've had since middle school, that a big change would happen in my life and things would never be the same. My simple existence would suddenly collapse and become something else. As much as I would prefer to keep things simple and the same, this feeling I had was more convincing, and I knew it was going to happen anyway.
I work as an elementary school teacher, I teach first graders. I try my best to be fun and motivating to all of them, to keep their spirits up and dreams alive. Their mindset is more important to me than their education, but I don't slack on either one.
I live alone in an apartment building, single bedroom, cheapest I could find. I don't have a girlfriend, and I can't say I have many regular friends. I've severed my ties with my family. I just spend my days playing games on my computer and talking with total strangers. I like it this way.
I try to be as responsible with my money as possible. I can tolerate a cheap apartment in bad condition; I bicycle to school; I don't eat at restaurants, not even on holidays. I keep a cushion of money for a replacement computer whenever my current one will inevitably fail, and the rest of my money is just saved up.
Some might say, and I would agree with them, that I'm not really living, that I'm simply "existing" and wasting away my days. That's fine by me. Something will happen; I might get sick, or I might slip and break something, and I will deal with those issues as they come, but I'd rather that they didn't.
I don't know whether I was prepared for the impending change or not. I liked to believe that I was, but as I had no idea what kind of change it was, it was hard to be prepared. Even now, as I write this and look back, I still can't say whether I was ready or not, but it happened anyway.