What Do People Expect From Life?

Since Elizabeth is telling her story from the vantage point of being in her fifties or sixties, she can tell how many of the earlier stories are going to turn out. Although people she has known may have expected one thing in youth, Elizabeth now knows whether their dreams were going to come true, or if they would die an early death. Some people, who consider themselves to be great artists, expect life to make them into a star, although Elizabeth can easily see that they do not have the talent or drive to make their plans come true. Others actually put forth the effort to build careers for themselves, but many of these people find that they are not very happy with what they have accomplished, and many of them sink into mediocrity, once they have distinguished themselves by doing something great...