Musings on patterns

Ah, patterns.  What are they exactly?  More to the point, how should they be used?  Are they just a place to start, or are we losing something by deviation?

I was thinking about this in relation to knitting, and life.  First knitting.....this little hat

(from a book called "Not Your Mama's Crochet") was begun quite some time ago.  I know that because I bought the yarn at a lovely little shop on Marietta Square called The Purly Gates, which has since closed.  *sob*  The yarn is a substitution, for one thing, but beyond that I took liberties, judged the gauge to be off and the shape to be too small to fit the head of any baby but a preemie, and added rows to increase the circumference.  At a certain point, right around the time when I took this picture, I decided it was looking....squatty, not as triangular as the photo in the book, and banished it to the netheregions of the stash.

Once the Christmas knitting was done, I decided that some cleansing was in order, stash included, and out it came.  After consulting the lovely AmyDe, friend and skilled crocheter, it was decided that the hat looked fine.  Actually, the somewhat scalloped effect of the extra fullness in the crown actually flattered the scalloped pattern, not to mention shaping the hat where it might fit better than the original pointy design.  So, full speed ahead, and I'm finishing up this little hat for an as-yet-undecided recipient. 

Now....back to topic:  did my variation of the original pattern jeopardize my success with this hat, or simply alter the final outcome?  Will my hat be better or worse for the experience?

Having just celebrated my 35th birthday, I'm naturally at a point where I'm asking the same sort of questions about my life, especially since I'm not sure exactly where the @!#% it's going right now.  I'm unemployed, not sure what kind of employment to be seeking (in terms of a specific job title or career trajectory), and although I enjoy a busy social life and good friends, am still single.  To some minds (including my own, at certain moments), this doesn't add up to much.  Did I deviate from the pattern at a certain point to get myself here?  Are there patterns we should take?  What are the repercussions if we don't?

I sent this question out into the cosmos after walking off my frustration early this evening.  I didn't get an answer, but the view wasn't bad....