It seems like babies and children grow up at lightning speed, their features and minds tangibly developing as rapidly as month to month and more subtlely from day to day. This makes sense, and I’ve taken enough developmental psychology courses to understand it. But I’ve always found these progressions startling. I became that relative at family gatherings who could barely recognize their younger cousin after not seeing them for a year (mind you, it’s important to note that I do not verbalize this shock, like your Aunt Mary who can’t possibly fathom that you’ve grown three inches and cut your hair into a bob). I realized I often imagine a person a certain way (likely most akin to how they appeared to me last) and upon seeing them in person I am forced to conflate the two images. It’s oddly unsettling. Not necessarily frightening, but rattling enough.
Tracking Our Consistencies
Tracking Our Consistencies
Tracking Our Consistencies
It seems like babies and children grow up at lightning speed, their features and minds tangibly developing as rapidly as month to month and more subtlely from day to day. This makes sense, and I’ve taken enough developmental psychology courses to understand it. But I’ve always found these progressions startling. I became that relative at family gatherings who could barely recognize their younger cousin after not seeing them for a year (mind you, it’s important to note that I do not verbalize this shock, like your Aunt Mary who can’t possibly fathom that you’ve grown three inches and cut your hair into a bob). I realized I often imagine a person a certain way (likely most akin to how they appeared to me last) and upon seeing them in person I am forced to conflate the two images. It’s oddly unsettling. Not necessarily frightening, but rattling enough.