predators!!!
LOL!!!
Sounds like you've been wounded.
Not more than once by the same person, and certainly not mortally. I particularly embrace the part about the taking time out for introspection; I did that in '96, dropped out, enjoyed myself, traveled a lot for about three years and it did wonders for my attitude when I once again returned to the piranha tank...
This can't possibly be a complaint, since I see these as the best six years of my life. And no, I do not feel that I have fundamentally changed. I just no longer indulge the neurotic.