Play 209: 7 Years

CHARACTERS
VINCENT, 17

(He stands in the middle of the stage.)

You know what I find fascinating?

(Beat.)

Every seven years, you’re a new person.

(Beat.)

I mean literally—in the span of seven years, all the cells in your body have died away and been replaced by new ones, so you’re made of completely different parts.

(Beat.)

It’s fitting really, I mean, I know for me at least I barely even remember who I was a few years ago, and I doubt back then I felt that similar to how I had been before.

(Beat.)

Everything’s always changing in life, so why should our bodies be any different, you know?

(Pause.)

It’s strange to think about in a different way though. For instance, we all look pretty much the same over the years, of course we age and early on every few years we look quite different, but later on seven years sometimes doesn’t make too much of a difference, and some people look almost exactly the same after seven years as how they had before. And even if a few years often do change the appearance of someone a lot, there’s still a lot of parts of them that look the same. There’s still this core of traits that remains the same even when other parts shift around them.

(Beat.)

And you know, I think no matter how much we like to think we change and evolve over the course of our lives, it’s the same way with who we are too. A lot may change, and we adapt to new circumstances to some degree, but deep down the core of who you are stays mostly unchanged. Of course when you’re young you change a lot, but that’s mostly because who you are isn’t so set in stone yet. But, once it is, it doesn’t really seem to change too much. And by young, I really mean very young, because, I’m not too old by any means and haven’t figured out who I am at all completely, but still I think a lot of who I am hasn’t changed at all in the last few years no matter how much I wish that wasn’t the truth. And I’d imagine that just becomes more and truer the older you get.

(Beat.)

So, I guess the real surprising thing isn’t that we’re a different person every seven years—in either way, physically or mentally—but that so much of us is the same.

(Beat.)

It’s remarkable really, I mean, you’d think that since so many things happen and so many of the circumstances we’re in change so much every day some of that would wear off on us.

(Beat.)

Reminds me of a line, from Six Feet Under I think. People don’t change, they just get older.

(Beat.)

And even on another level it’s amazing that we can be made of completely different cells and still be almost exactly the same.

(Beat.)

But I guess even though they’re all different cells, they’re all exactly the same as the ones that came before them, of course minus the incredibly rare mutation or two.

(Beat.)

So I guess that says something too.

(Pause.)

You might be wondering what my point is in all of this.

(Beat.)

But you know what?

(Beat.)

Who says there has to be?

(Beat.)

That’s what I always say at least.

(He pauses for a second, then walks offstage.)

(Blackout.)