Let me tell you about MY life:
>They took from me something near to my heart. I crossed the Atlantic, my short became long, but I was still essentially myself.  

> I gave up heroin.  I introduced my companions to my friend Syrah.

> Once accustomed to a life of comfort, I left all ease behind. I had no place to rest, but I was always of two minds—to meander in and around the trees, or to blow through and past them?

> I chased a husbandman's wife until she attacked me in her usual manner.  I left, diminished, but I felt no loss.

> I made a teacher mad, and she tore my head off. This made me one of the popular kids.

> And now I am here before you, nearly unrecognizable—but a fraction of what I once was—but focus your sight just on my head.  You'll see I was here all along.

**What was I at the start of my saga?**  
**What significant changes did I endure?**