Where you grew up is the starting line. What you do with the track is yours.

Starting points are not handed out fairly and nobody picks their own. Saying that plainly is not an excuse, it is accurate, and pretending everyone began in the same place helps no one. What the line adds is that a description of where you started is not a description of where you end up, and the second part is still being written.

Separate the two when you think about your situation. One part is history and takes no instruction. The other is this month, and it does.