Alazia"uh-ley-zhuh" or "ah-ley-zee-uh"

n. The fear that you're no longer able to change. When you were born, you could have been anybody. Your parents tried to mold you, asking "What do you want to be?" A teenage personality is delicate. You had to keep yourself together and tease out the good parts.

Inevitably you got hurt. You bounced back as if nothing happened. But the pain changed you, in little chips and cracks that might take years to notice. Gradually you became more reluctant to move, growing harder, more brittle.

Now here you are. Sometimes you wonder if you can still change. If you have enough fire to surprise yourself, or if you're set in your ways, too cynical to stretch without shattering.

Maybe you spent so long wondering who you'd be, you forgot that "one day" would arrive. Maybe it's too late. Or maybe you're entering a new phase, stripping away all you don't need. Even if you're no longer flexible enough to be anybody, you might be strong enough to finally be yourself.