Choices are how (we think) we are navigating our little ships through the vast ocean that is our lives. On that journey, choices mostly help us learn and grow. Whether right or wrong, choices made shape the way we approach future decisions. As a young person (and a person, period), there is an exaggerated emphasis placed on the importance of major life choices: where I go to college, if I go to college, what major I pursue, which relationship I end, which one I keep, where I settle down to live, where I work. I remember vividly how at age 17 choosing a college literally kept me up nights. After all that fretting, it turned out I made a decision that, seeming wise at the time, was actually pretty terrible for me. The path of decisions I began making with that choice resulted in me hitting rock bottom & getting pregnant at 19. I learned countless lessons on the way down, that, clichés aside, I would not give up for anything. I learned that making the wrong choice can end not in despair and hopelessness, but in making a better choice. I chose to accept forgiveness, to take responsibility, to grow, to learn from it, to change, to hope. Better yet, I chose to make peace with the past and move forward. Now I'm 22 and carrying weighty life baggage. Does all that experience make choices easier? In a sense, yes, as it's given me a healthy dose of perspective. Looking back from the end of that story, I've begun to believe that either way a decision turns out, it will eventually be an edifying experience, even if I need years of space to realize exactly how.
What's your philosophy on choices?
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