the unexpected is perfectly ordinary. Chance encounters and unforeseen events are a big reason why an individual’s life can never be completely understood by any “system” of life stages. An individual life is an improvisation in which circumstances and chance help determine the trajectory. While there are common patterns in life, it would be impossible for any person to make it from the beginning to the end of life without an unplanned event sending them in a new direction. There is even some research that suggests that it’s these unexpected turns, and not any plan, that most define a person’s
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