This week, I celebrated the third anniversary of my second life. Stories about about how some heart transplant recipients experience dramatic changes in personalities following their procedures. Some of these changes seem so unusual that it's hard to fathom.

I believe that there are definitely changes in a recipient, but I can't say with any certainty if these changes are a reflection of the donor's organ or the recipient's reaction to the emotional trauma of transplantation.

However, since I have been made an expert through experience, I have to say there have been a number of marked differences in me since the day received my new heart. Recently, a friend of mine asked me what those changes were, so I figured I would post them here:

What I Lost
The desire for fried chicken
Love of teaching
90% of my temper
Anxiety about where loved ones were at all times
Moderate democratic views
Difficulty in taking sides
75% of my laziness
Feeling that just getting by was enough (poor work ethic)
Strong optimism
Excellent short-term memory/math skills
Disorganization
Athleticism (granted I never had THAT much)
Word recollection/public speaking ability (definitely a strong ability)
Youthful exuberance
Desire to watch a lot of TV
Homebodiness
Desire to grow old in Dallas
Weight

What I Gained
Love of guacamole (most important of all if you ask me)
Right-wing political views (it's as if mine eyes have seen the glory)
Desire to write
Desire to run my own business
Organizational skills
Maturity
Stronger religious conviction
Desire to learn/study/understand
Greater appreciation of children (especially my own)
Need to keep the house clean
Desire to go out at night
Appreciation of harder rock music
Greater appreciation of country music
Graying hair
Shorter hair (do I really have a choice?)
Desire to remove California from the US
Strong dislike of all things "Hollywood"
Desire to retire to Key West

I suppose that many of these are due to facing death and maturity. If there is any truth to the theory of taking on characteristics of my donor, it would seem to be my political views, my work ethic and my desire to write.

After writing all this, I still have no concrete answer as to why I've changed. I do like a number of these changes and miss some too. But all in all, I'd say the changes have mostly been positive (certainly since I can breathe).