THE VIETNAM WAR, DESTINY, AND THE FOG OF A DIFFERENT WORLD

Swimming in a fishbowl means you can’t see the world outside. You don’t know what’s beyond the glass. You live your days in small circles, looking out but never getting anywhere. In many ways, that’s how we live our lives.

The fishbowl is the life we’ve made for ourselves. It’s our work, our debts, our obligations. We swim inside it daily, fighting against the glass, trying to break free. But the pressure to provide and be something weighs on us. The world outside is always there, wanting something from us. The talent, the strength, the will to do more, to do better — it’s constantly being taken from us. But we don’t always see the walls constricting us. They’re just there. Silent. Unseen.

Some get out. Some break free and find a different world. But it’s rare. I’m talking about those who know what they want to do. Artists. Musicians. Dancers. They don’t care for the fishbowl. They don’t care for the world that says you must fit in. They chase their dreams. They don’t stop. They break free.

Most of us don’t. Most of us get caught up in the current. And even when we dream of escape, life can drag us back. We are pulled in by love, by illness, by the unexpected. We get caught by something bigger than us, and we follow it whether we want to or not.