Coming Full Circle

Being a speaker of native American English doesn't mean I have all the answers in my brain. Sometimes I think I have the answers (or I think I have been carrying the correct answers for years) and I come to learn that the answers were wrong.

The dictionary's definition of the phrase is, "...through a series of developments that lead back to the original source, position, or situation or to a complete reversal of the original position ,usually used in the phrase come full circle."

This seems relatively clear in some respects. Let's say you grew up eating certain foods and your life's journey had taken you away from them; you explore different eating habits and food combinations. Then, when you have finally come to terms with what you want for the rest of your life, you learn that what you want is what you had when you were growing up.

By contrast, suppose you grew up eating certain foods and your life's journey had you eating other varieties. Assume you had begun with an omnivorous diet and in the exploration of options, you decided to become some form of vegetarian. In that case you have dismissed your origins and reversed the position from which you have started.

I feel this phrase appears every time I try to reinvent myself. I generally return to a scholastic setting; the university. I take classes to see what I want or need and where I want to go. In my case, I don't always seem to move, but I return to the original starting position. It sure gets costly when you try to take student loans!