Dear Former-Self

It’s really difficult to pin down exactly what it means to be “me”. Some philosophers have talked about the idea that a person’s identity is based on how they act when they think no one is looking.

When I was younger, I fell in love with a man. He was charming, witty, clever, exciting, and brilliant. Oh, he was brilliant. He almost always could figure some clever way out of whatever impossible situation he would find himself in. This would happen often, for he had quite the knack of letting his curiosity get the better of him. Could never resist a good mystery. Which is strange, given how closely he keeps his past to his chest. I never knew his name because he always just called himself “The Doctor”. Just “The Doctor”. What I did know was that he was an alien; just like me. We traveled and went on adventures together. He changed fairly frequently as he experienced more of what this world had to offer, and that change terrified him. To change means to die and have another person running around with your name. For most of my life, I’ve dealt with this constant fear of the Future. The BBC’s “Doctor Who” helped show me as a child the importance of art, and how it can be used to make someone immortal. So, let’s talk about that. Together.