I appreciate the responses, guys. And I agree, I don't think you ever truly heal from certain things. They change you. And while I can't say I'm thankful for any of this, obviously, I also can't say that the effect it's had on me has been entirely negative. Some say it's a curse to grow up before you're ready, but at the same time, I feel I'm far more prepared to deal with the realities of this world for it.

Again, it's only recently that I've started actually thinking about this stuff. How the lack of a "normal" childhood might've stunted my emotional growth to a degree, and the fact that it's something I might actually be able to change, because I don't like this. The cold, calculating, clinical person that I am. I actually wondered for a time if I might be a sociopath, but I've since dismissed that possibility, because like I said, I do empathize. But you know what really led me to that realization? Me finally realizing what I want out of life. I'm not greedy. I have aspirations and dreams, but all I really want is the American dream: wife, couple of kids, white picket fence. Give someone what I never had. Happiness and a measure of normalcy. Sappy, I know, but I think it's adorable that someone as jaded and cynical as I am wants something so...simple.

I suppose I've finally reached critical mass on this whole thing. I'm ready to find out what's wrong with me and figure out how to fix it.