History is largely told as a chronicle of great people doing great things, but for most of us life is not made up of big moments. It is made up of small moments. Moments which turn to memories, which were decisions, that ultimately define us. We become what we do by the decisions and memories we make. What we do makes us who we are. We are in control of the decisions we make and the life we create, and we have the power to create a life that shapes us to be the person we are destined to be. It is not black and white. It comes with several shades of grey.
John Steinback once wrote, “It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure on the world”
Are we becoming the people our parents raised us to be? Or are we disappointing them by becoming someone we never expected to be? With every small decision, we are defining ourselves. We are who we create ourselves to be. For many people that may not be the person everyone else wants us to be, but the one question we must ask ourselves is this: who the hell cares? We are faced with the choices between right and wrong every day. Are we honest? Are we staying faithful? Are we disappointing ourselves? Or are we proud of ourselves?
Life is technically defined as just existing, not by actually living. This isn’t the time to make fast decisions, it is the time to make mistakes. To learn from our mistakes, and to grow. Hop on the wrong plane and get stuck somewhere, fall in love, a lot, go to college and change your major as many times as it takes. But at the same time remember that life is short and opportunities are rare and we must be vigilant in protecting them.
The possibilities in life are endless, but what you do with them is up to you.
