Making Choices in Life

I believe in choice. Everyone on earth takes this simple noun for granted. Choice is what moves life. No one would know where they would be if their predecessors didn’t make a choice on where and when the next move would be made. What people don’t realize is that choice is all around them. It can be obvious or inconspicuous, malevolent or benevolent, subconscious or conscious.

I went through my teen years very unaware of life. Being torn between my mother and father, living in an area where boys like blue, black, and gray flags, and not knowing where to turn left me cornered most of the time. I knew right from wrong but when one appears as the other and vice versa, confusion can engulf a young person. I knew I wanted to do well in school, but one form of wrong appeared as right and I made the choice to skate by. I left middle school for high school, which ended up being a whole new beast.

Now high school in a not-so-good area of Brooklyn is no joke. Choice can get you out or killed depending on whom or what is facing you. Choice can be a great friend or your worst enemy. I made my choice to mind my own business and go to school. I chose to ignore the gangs and drugs even though I made the choice to be around it all the time. My peers, though some were in gangs, used and sold some drugs, and didn’t go to school ended up being the model of who I didn’t want to be, so I made the choice to not be easily influenced. Don’t get me wrong, they were very nice people, but their disposition wasn’t attractive at all. Unfortunately, I did choose to not go to school here and there. I chose not to do well even when I tried. When failure rears its ugly head, what choices do you have? Either you suck it up and try again or take the failure. I took the first option.

When I was 16, God chose to make me choose. In November 2006, I was diagnosed with appendicitis and needed an emergency operation to have it removed. The surgeon told my mother that if I came any later than I did, then I may not have survived. My recovery at home consisted of me having this epiphany: I wasn’t doing what I had to in order to be successful nor was I in the right environment or mind state to do so. It took me almost passing away to realize this. It was during my recovery that I had a choice to make: either I move to Florida and do my best or stay where I was and skate by. Due to the choice I made, I’m in college now and I’m doing much better in spite of other issues. Choice has gotten me this far. It will push me further.