The Choices You Make--Aarushi

 

Growing up, my dad always used to tell me, “The choices you make define who you are.” He would say
this so often that it got stuck in my head like a broken tape recorder, and I often found myself
overthinking the small, unimportant choices that I had made each day. I wondered what made me make
those choices, and if my wondering at my choices changed them.

I started envisioning my life as a labyrinth, every choice I made adding to the complex network of
pathways and possibilities. In the labyrinth, everything is intertwined. I often see motivational quotes or
videos that preach “one choice can change your life” and this is true- choices do have the power to
change your life, but you must be deliberate in these actions.

Then, do our choices influence our identity, or does our identity influence our choices? In my mind, they
are like a feedback loop. Choices can have a profound and pivotal impact on our thoughts, emotions, and
sense of self. In times of hardship, our decisions say a lot about us- do you take the easy way out or
purposely put yourself in discomfort to do the right thing? Are you able to admit when you’re wrong and
truly apologize? We even see this in Macbeth- the more bad choices he makes, the more his labyrinth
closes in on him until there aren’t many more paths to choose from. Considering Macbeth, his deranged
choices were catalyzed by Lady Macbeth and the witches, but he is his own person and had full control
over his actions. In the context of the play, his choices created a negative feedback loop; he kept digging
himself into a deeper hole. However, we also know that his ambition existed before his descent into
madness. This suggests that our environment simultaneously affects our choices, which affect our sense
of self.

But how much of our choices do we truly control? The philosophical debate of the existence of fate has
been around as long as humanity has. I think it can be relieving to believe in fate. It means that the
gravity of everything that happens is not only our responsibility, but the result of many interfering
factors, and suddenly the labyrinth becomes less complex, easier to get through. It looks less like a prison
and more like a stroll through a park. However, the problem with this mindset is that it's easy to stop
holding yourself accountable. By suggesting that everything is out of our hands, we absolve ourselves of
any sort of moral responsibility by distancing ourselves from our actions.

The implications of considering life to be predetermined and beyond individual agency are heavy. It’s
difficult to think that someone who is experiencing homelessness or other genuine struggles simply had
it written in their destiny; nothing they could’ve done would’ve changed their outcome. I cannot fully
accept this. I believe that even in the most unfavorable circumstances, we still have some individual
agency. Those people may have a more grey, oppressive, brick wall labyrinth, a cage rather than a puzzle
to solve, marking it harder to make good choices, but they do have choice. The decision making dynamic
is complex- have you ever imagined your life if you were just born somewhere else, as someone else,
under completely different circumstances? After going hungry for a week, can you really say you
wouldn’t steal some food? Nobody can say with certainty that they would act completely ethically and
rationally in another person’s shoes. I have not had to seriously struggle a day in my life. I’ve never had
to go hungry, or worry about money, so my labyrinth is much more forgiving than others- it is a result of
my circumstances; if I were someone else it could very well turn into that prison, closing in on me.
While this proves the complexity of the decision making dynamic, at the end of the day, what matters
are the choices you made. Your past choices are influencing your present, and your present choices will
change your future. Choice- even if some argue it is not fully yours- is the only thing you have control
over. Despite whatever fate has in store, the only thing we can control is what type of person we are.