Friday, January 27, 2017
The Life You “Chose”--Vanessa
You’ve lived fifty years and your next editorial is due in an hour. You contemplate your topic,
and with such little time you settle on something that has intrigued you for as long as you can
remember; How much of your life is dictated by fate — a nd how much was free will? You’re
upper middle class, as you’ve always been, and married to that guy from university who always
reminded you of your Dad a little bit. Fate, the inevitable, the predetermined, could that be your
driving force? Considering your circumstances, maybe something was written in the stars for
you after all. You never really decided to marry someone as frugal or silly as your own father or
even pursue a writing career. As simple as it sounds you really believe the stars aligned just
right. Every ignored phone call, missed bus, wrongly extended nap and detour on the freeway
was inevitable — carefully calculated “mistakes” leading you on a one path route to where you
are today. Each and every one of your decisions have already been decided; perhaps by future
you who waits on you to perform. Nonetheless, unconvinced you are even special enough to
have a predetermined destiny, you might map each event down to a mere coincidence, and
resolve you do in fact, have free will. You determine you are your own driving force and you
have the power to make choices and even retract them as you please. To you, the future does
not exist. You prefer to be in control of your life and particularly like that you can change your
path tomorrow if you wished. But consider karma, does every action you execute cause a ripple
of consequent actions? Maybe it’s that blue shirt you dug out of the laundry, or late paper
submission that inescapably led you to meet your husband or have your first child. You’re fifty
and you’ve finally turned in your editorial a minute before it was due. You turn to your smiling
husband. You envision your life if you would’ve never “chosen” that college or taken that job
interview. You know something this perfect could’ve never been just by chance. Que sera, sera.
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Fate's an interesting thought. It becomes apparent in our minds when something coincidental occurs or when events lead to another. We come across a question as to whether life is predetermined or if we make our future with certain events having a large impact on it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it! This was really interesting.
ReplyDelete-andrew lin
Sometimes when I have alone time and fall deep into thoughts, things like this cross my mind, where would I be if I didn't coincidentally meet the people that surround me. "Everything happens for a reason" they say, and your writing brings attention to the subject, I will probably be thinking about this more often now. PS great ending
ReplyDeleteWow! This is really great. I love the scene you set up and the way you described it all made it feel real. It made me feel like I was an observer their watching the events go by and seeing the characters feelings.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really beautiful story and I think that everyone has a purpose in life whether they know it or not. Well written, insightful, great job!
ReplyDeleteWowza this piece really had me thinking. It made me think of all of the "coincidences" that have happened in my life and how they have all driven me to the person I am today. This is a great piece overall! Great job!!!
ReplyDelete-Gabbie B.
This piece helps me realize that we shouldn't feel the need to have regrets because things happen for a reason and help us to journey where we are now. A Disney choreographer once told me mistakes should be celebrated. I think of these questions a lot and I thank you for sharing your insight on it!
ReplyDeleteI like your constant back and forth on the topic of whether or not fate is the deciding factor of our lives and personally I don't believe fate exist but you make a good argument as someone with that ideal of a live would believe that it had to be no coincidence that things worked out the way it did.
ReplyDeleteThis piece was amazing! I love the whole idea of Fate and Choice and making Decisions to get you to where you are now, and how every possible choice could have a consequent either good or bad. Amazing job!
ReplyDeleteThis is the type of thoughts I have late at night. Fate is an interesting part of life and it always has you wondering if stuff is meant to be the way it is. Reading this was beautiful and filled my mind with even more thoughts on life. It really got me in my feels, great job!
ReplyDeleteThis was an amazing piece, it really had me thinking. I like how you made it relatable to everyone's life, also how we were able to envision the scene.. Good use of detail! Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis piece was thought provoking and comforting to read. We all aspire for our happy ending and this is a beautiful rendition referring to the possibility of a self made happy ending.
ReplyDeleteThis really had me thinking. I think it's amazing how each small event that happens to us is all significant to who we are now. The imagery and the descriptive writing really had me wondering about my life as I read.Great job! -Lisa Ryu
ReplyDeleteYour piece has really changed my perspective on what I thought were mistakes or accidents. Now i'm currently wondering about the people i wouldn't have met if I had "chose" a different path. Great Job.
ReplyDeleteI love how deeply you put into perspective of the word fate and how we are the force driving us. It honestly made me start thinking about life and how everything happens for a reason. Plus I enjoyed how you finished your piece with the quote, "Que sera,sera." it brought the whole piece together and finished it strongly
ReplyDeleteThis idea was well-worth reading. To be honest, this piece really had me thinking. Life is something we all have at the back of our minds, it just that in time we tend to think about ourselves and what the future upholds because nothing is guaranteed.
ReplyDeleteThis is a piece that I think every person has thought of before. Personally, I always recollect past experiences and consider if what I decided to do in that moment was a set in stone thing or if I had the power to change that event. And if so how my life would be different now if I did. Thanks for an incredibly relatable story with a great message!
ReplyDeleteI think this piece brings out the question of how much are we really in control of in our lives? There are entities that are constant, like space and time; but with regard to our actions and their effects, how much of our thoughts and inspirations come from us and not from fate? Thanks for posing this question!
ReplyDeleteVery thought provoking and interesting; the ideas of fate and coincidence have always been an interesting topic to me and the way of describing this debate through the eyes of a character going through her life and the idea that her life fell into place either through her own decisions or fate. Very nice job!
ReplyDeleteI think people sometimes forget how much control they have over their lives, like one decision could literally change your life in a matter of second, and this piece gets me thinking "what if I did that? would I be here?" and that is very powerful to me. -Martina Panganiban
ReplyDeleteThis piece was intriguing and interesting to read, really had my thinking about if coincidences are even that. Also, after reading your piece I went back yo your title with "chose" and I was just in more awe at the fact that they're is a possibility that life may be predetermined. Good Job truly thought-provoking!
ReplyDeleteThis is a concept I often consider, and I find it comforting to know that I'm not alone. You were able to articulate your thoughts in a way I'm unable to do, and reading this not only brought me comfort, but it humbled me as well.
ReplyDeleteThis was a thought provoking piece. It's almost impossible to tell whether the events in our life are predetermined or just mere chance. I loved how you concluded because, it does seem like some things line up to perfect to be coincidence.
ReplyDeleteI loved this piece. It got me really thinking about my life and my future and future choices and where my choices are going to lead me. Things really do happen for a reason and maybe what happened is not always good but it is for a reason whether it be good or bad. Amazing job!
ReplyDelete-Victoria Heredia
-Victoria Heredia
I loved this piece. It got me really thinking about my life and my future and future choices and where my choices are going to lead me. Things really do happen for a reason and maybe what happened is not always good but it is for a reason whether it be good or bad. Amazing job!
ReplyDelete-Victoria Heredia
-Victoria Heredia
You've lived for seventeen years and your next comment is due in a hour. You contemplate your topic,
ReplyDeleteand with such little time you settle on something that has intrigued you for as long as you can
remember - what the hell is this magical mythical creature that is most commonly called fate, and why are we so obsessed in it?
In lieu of more information (as, of course, we know precious little about the world we live in, and shouldn't have the hubris to pretend that we know more than we actually do), the concept of "fate," or the magical power of things to happen to us regardless of our actions, fails Occam's razor - rather than bringing in mysterious powers and Russell's teapots and invisible pink unicorns, it's far easier and much more elegant to invoke statistics and our understandings of human perception to explain away this monster "fate."
You have 50 beans. You drop those beans down on the 1 meter stretch of floor randomly. How groups of 10 beans (which is 1/5 of the beans you dropped) straight in a row will you find?
Answer is around 103.
Statistics tells us to expect coincidences; just because you happened to meet your long lost sister while on a vacation in New Zealand and get both get hit by lightning on the same day doesn't mean that you're "fated" to do this. And it's just our natural bent to find patterns in random data (Apophenia/Pareidolia/Texas sharpshooter), and think that we are somehow special.
Besides, shouldn't we live by the belief that our actions do matter, and that we can be happier and better ourselves if we did something (which, interestingly enough, is the original meaning of Karma, not some awesome cosmic force intent on meting out universal justice)?
Of course, science tells us that we essentially don't have free will, that although unpredictable, our thoughts and lives and decisions are determined by known processes (rather like Tesla self-driving cars - whose behaviors we also find hard to predict). But of course, we have considerable freedom within these restraints, and fact is, we can affect ourselves through our own actions (but through a understandable, casual way) so why tie ourselves to such a fatalistic worldview?
I think I should sue you for plagarism. Haha I agree with the stats point of view that we can expect coincidences, but can it really be a coincidence if we expected it to happen? It is scary and comforting all the signs that point to the possibility we don't have free will. -Vanessa Lai
DeleteHaving said that, I really admire your writing, and the framing of the idea within a sort of narrative - but I'm just wondering how you think of this?
DeleteWow this piece really made me reflect on my young life so far, and the choices that I have made. I always question whether my life is already predetermined, or whether I am making my life as it goes on. I love this piece so much!! Fabulous job!!!! -Lauren J.
ReplyDeleteI've always debated whether we actually control our fate, or some outside all powerful force dictates us. On one hand, you make your own decisions that will determine your future, but what if a phenomenon made you make that decision. Your piece helped me clear up my ideas about fate. This was a very well written piece, and nice job.
ReplyDelete-Ethan To
I really liked the topic you chose to write about. Fate is such a mysterious and thought provoking concept in which we never truly know whether our lives are predetermined or not. I thought your piece was well written and interesting! Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis concept is so complex and I have yet to be introduced to something that posed as good of questions about it as your piece did. You introduced the topic so well and it was beautifully written, as well. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI was always fascinated with the idea us all having a destiny or a fate. With destiny you are meant to do something, with fate it's out of your control. Your piece was eye opening and showed me the importance of our decisions and how people can forever imagine a "what if" situation that they'll never know for sure. I also love that you ended it with "que sera, sera." What will be, will be. Great piece Vanessa:)
ReplyDeleteI love your definitions of fate vs destiny never thought of it like that! -Vanessa Lai
DeleteLike a lot of other people on here, I found I lot of comfort in reading this piece. It makes me feel better knowing that something I wanted to happen might not have happened for a reason, and that I'll be better off because of it. And while we'll never know if that truly is the case, your writing captured that train of thought perfectly, and the ending made me feel even better. Great job Vanessa (:
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you felt the same emotion as I intended because for me the idea of something great predetermined for me is really comforting and what gets me through some tough decisions. -Vanessa Lai
DeleteThe overall topic of this piece really got me thinking. I often myself pondering past decisions that have ultimately lead up to these moments that I am experiencing now, and the decisions that are to come that will ultimately lead up to the future. You did a good job of making me, and obviously many others think and contemplate a part of life that one hasn't really realized. I really like what you did with the overall complexity. Good job, and great piece.
ReplyDeleteI feel like you proposed a concept that everyone is aware of but are too scared to talk about or even think so your piece having all of these question on paper really gets someone's mind going in a way that frightens us. This was a great pull to reality and now I feel like I have to question my surroundings and take a step back to look at why things are the way they are. Great concept and perfect ending, I say exactly that to myself all of the time
ReplyDeleteI like thw story's standpoint and how she's in the moment but brings up the subject of fate. How this questions whirling through her mind is like much of us having questions like this at any given time. You can tell that you took time out of your day to write and authenticate this story .
ReplyDelete-sereenah Soare
I most definitely agree with this view in life! The comfort the reader must have while reading this is jaw dropping, and that is coming from my personal experience! Its most definitely a clearing of views on life and perspectives of how one lives. Its crazy to think at the end of my life I will look back at this and realize that all this couldn't have happened by chance.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your piece! The idea of fate is interesting because there are many possibilities in one's life. I honestly reread your piece several times because it was so interesting and it made me think.
ReplyDeleteI have always been so amazed at the fact that most of the time, insignificant events determine our life. I loved how you incorporated and explained the idea of fate in the story. Good job :)
ReplyDeleteThis was a great topic you chose to write about. It stirs up a lot of fuss whether your fate is determined already or you sort of create your own destiny. I like to think that we have a destiny, but we get to choose the path in which we get there.
ReplyDelete-Ruben Becerra
It's refreshing to see a more contemplative piece on here, especially about such a broad and divisive topic. Whatever conclusion one comes to about it, life goes on, and you touch on that rather well.
ReplyDeleteThis piece really makes me think about life. I am always thinking about fate and destiny and you did a really great job explaining them. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteThis really made me think. Sometimes I wonder if it is better to try to take control of my destiny or let things play out but we'll never know. It reminds me of opportunity cost in economics. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis really got me thinking about whether my choices are already a part of my own destiny or fate. Such an interesting topic that you brought up so well! Great piece!
ReplyDeleteI think to consider this choice a lot, our pseudo-choice that we have in life and how some small, almost indeterminate factors influence us without our realization. I often think to myself, about being the complete opposite of the person I am today, and sometimes I am quite fearful of the person I potentially could have been. I'm glad to see many other people think this way.
ReplyDeleteThis piece really hits hard on the idea that life is dictated by the choices we make. It is crazy to think that if we just yes instead of no we could have a completely different outcome. I really enjoyed this piece.
ReplyDeleteI really loved this piece it was so real. It made me think of what i have done so far in my life and the things i still have to do great job
ReplyDelete-Melanie Salazar
As vast as this Earth is, it's incredible how far one may actually go in life. The tone resonated well with me and out of the many things I read daily, this has brought a certain optimism back into my life.
ReplyDeleteYou know, everytime i go ice skating i tell myself " this time you will not hold on to the wall" but hasnt yet happened. I will take your advice on bending my knees, i tend to skate in a straightened stance. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy this topic. I particularly like your question of do our actions cause a ripple of consequent actions. If this is true then the actions of others indirectly affect the decisions we must make. If it isnt then we just might be the creators of our own destiny.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading this I connected it to my own life and how it relates. I believe everything happens for a reason and this explained it so well and really had my thinking of my own life. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis topic is incredibly complex, and I thank you for bringing up thoughts of the reality around us, and whether or not we are in control of our "fate". This piece was incredibly well-written and thought out, and is a great overall passage. Thank you for writing it!
ReplyDeleteThis piece is so relatable; everyone always has that "what if" moment in their lives, where they could think of different situations that could've happened. Fate is so complex to understand. And I think at some point we need to feel comfortable with fate, or the uncertainty in our everyday lives. Great Work Vanessa!
ReplyDelete-Jordan Lee
I love your writing style and how you approach every day realities with a mundanity and distance. It's reminiscent of some of the writing from The Office. This is REALLY great Vanessa
ReplyDeleteThe concept of perceived reality has alwyas been an interesting topic. I enjoyed how you explored this idea by asking questions and twisting our idea of a token relationship. Great job!
ReplyDelete-Nwojo Abba
I LOVE THIS. It really made me sit here for a while after reading and just think about my life and all the little moments that got me to where I am now. This is seriously so amazing. You perfectly executed the whole question about fate and destiny that every person wonders troughout their life. Really great job!
ReplyDeleteThis reading reading really got my thoughts flowing and in a way i felt warmth from this piece. Things that happen to you that may not have happened for a reason you have to learn to deal with and we have different ways of coping with stuff.Great piece!
ReplyDeleteI love your unique writing style and I applaud the way you brought me into your piece. Whenever I reflect on my life, I always think what would happen if I made this choice over the other. Great job!
ReplyDelete-Tyler Kniss
Woah this was truly amazing. It was compelling from start to finish. Really well written.
ReplyDelete- Andy Burgos
This was very well written! I was intrigued more and more as the story went on. Great job
ReplyDeleteThis piece made me want to reflect on my life, even though I've only been here for 17 years, I've had some great memories and reading made me really think about them.
ReplyDelete