The future. It's a concept we begin to explore in our early age when adults ask us, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" It's something we're constantly facing as we count down the days until our favorite holiday. It's ever-changing but forever a constant. While it is something that we know absolutely nothing about, we are always sure it exists.
The future is magical. It is a place reserved for excitement and opportunity. It holds all of the things that we get to look forward to. While the present is the time when we can fully enjoy the moments that we've so looked forward to, the future is never set in stone. We are in charge of our own futures and each decision we make changes the future that we are creating for ourselves. One doesn't have to believe in any skeptical ideas to know that every action has a reaction.
That in itself is a fact that we're taught in early education; that for everything we do, there is a consequential response to that action. So what is it that propels the decisions we make? How do we know that we're not on a certain track and each decision we make is already made for us and we're simply following the path that we're destined for? Or, who is to say the opposite; that we are the masters of our own fate and we are all free-flowing energy that are self-abled to create our futures?
As we begin to question these bigger concepts my sociology class in freshman year of college comes to mind; social constructionism or social determinism? For all of my friends that happily slept through that 10am Sociology class; here's the recap: social determinism is the theory that social interactions and constructs alone determine individual behavior. (In simple terms, it means that the society we are raised in determines who we become, that it determines our future). On the other hand, social constructivism is the theory that maintains that human development is socially situated and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. (Again, in simple terms, it means that we create our own futures based on how we learn to manage our social situations to become who we are as we create our own future).
I never thought I would use the information from that sociology class ever in my life but now that I think about life in retrospect and open the discussion of this idea, I realize that this is truly what it boils down. Either we take charge of our own lives or it is done for us. I feel that our futures are something that require work and attention in order to become successful but at the same time, I also believe that we can only control so much. The things we have no control over are the things such as the country we are born in, the fiscal class in which we are born into, the opportunities we already have in place or not from an early age, and the health of ourselves and our families. Some of these things are unescapable factors in our lives, but that doesn't mean that the life itself is unescapable. Taking the best of the cards we've been dealt is what I believe to be the most important thing.
The future is something that we can always hold onto, knowing that no matter what happens today, we know the sun will rise tomorrow. Maybe our lives are already mapped out, or maybe they're not; but no matter what, the future stays great depending on what we do in the present. Living each day to the best of our abilities and striving for our own happiness is the key to always being able to look forward to the future. The future is a powerful concept that can be something positive or negative depending on how we approach it and I believe in putting in the work to create a future that I am excited to live in.
