Michael Ade Craig

Change….

"These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized." Red, Shawshank Redemption

I believe change comes in two forms: welcomed change that allows you to reinvent yourself and change that does its own reinventing and at the same time reinvents everything around you.

The reason I decided to begin this short commentary of Slash's autobiography with a passage from Shawshank Redemption was because I think that we become products of our environment once we are immersed in it for any given amount of time.  A prison inmate is given a sentence depending on the severity of his or her crime. Once aware of how much time they must serve in order to become fair with the law, these individuals go through a transformation psychologically, which hopefully allows them to cope with their predicament successfully. After completing your time, re-socialization into society is next. This process isn't always successful, thus the old man committed suicide in the movie.

In regards to Slash's autobiography his actions weren't as drastic. He details how becoming sober changed him for the better; however, it simultaneously exposed another side of him, ultimately destroying his relationship. This new personality wasn't able to continue with the status quo because the variables around him were not needed anymore. Once your vision is corrected, you no longer need those bifocals.

With anything in life, when we develop we are not always able to bring former elements that were present during our primitive stage.  

 

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Sincerely,
Michael Ade Craig