2014 ... a new year, a new phase of life

Pondering for the new year : The tiger cannot change its stripes; the leopard cannot change its spots. These metaphoric expressions both originated in an ancient Greek proverb and imply that "One can't change one's essential nature." But is this true? Are all our New Year's resolutions for nought? Is the potential promise of resolved change wasted? Are we forever locked by our essential nature? On the last day of last year I retired. 1984-2014 - 30 years in the field of K-12 education... now to reinvent myself.