"The Metamorphosis"

Franz Kafka's short story relates to my question in a different way. Gregor completely transforms, whether mentally or physically, into an entirely different persona, but this persona is the result of who he once was. He was overworked and hated his job, he provided for a family who gave nothing in return, and he had seemingly lost touch with most relations. All of these occurrences have already taken place before we are introduced to Gregor, but their results are quite prevalent. Gregor's "metamorphosis" transforms him into an almost selfish creature. His only concern is that his family will stop caring about him, and they do. In the end Gregor dies all alone.

In a way this story takes a negative spin on my question, if we live a life that we don't love and drastically change to overcome the troubles, we may overcorrect. Gregor started out a lonely man and ended all alone, it reveals the necessity for balance in life. Though adversity will arise, we must learn to live day to day in the way we desire otherwise some day it will be too late. In this way our memories will hopefully shape us in a better way, only when we want to overcome past troubles.