Nissi X., Magsig Middle School
The Next Right Choice
Every day, we as humans are faced with choices, around 35,000. Do I wear my hair up or down? Clean my room or scroll on my phone? Finish my project now or next week? These are just 3 out of the 35,000 choices I am faced with every day. And I have to say, I am not the best when it comes to decision making. People might describe me as being indecisive.
However, some people know exactly what they want to do in life - what college they want to go to, what they want to major in, where they want to live. But ultimately, the hard truth is that life is not something that you can plan out every single detail of. We don’t even know what could happen in the next week, day, hour, or even minute.
Now this may sound discouraging, but I have always remembered this piece of advice from my parents, “You can never control what happens to you in life, unless they are a consequence of your actions.” When I was younger, I did not fully understand what this meant, but now as I have gotten older, I realize that they were trying to tell me that every choice, every decision I make is going to impact my future, for better or worse. We do not know what the future holds, but we need to make the next right choice, to benefit us in the long run.
During the Covid 19 pandemic, approximately 3 million people passed away. Unfortunately, my grandmother was a part of this statistic. Her sudden passing was very hard on my family, especially my dad. But he kept pushing through the pain and continued being a great father. My aunt had a stroke nearly 2 years ago, which was devastating for my mom. Despite this, she kept loving, providing, and caring for my sister and me, while also being there for my aunt’s family.
Now, I have come to realize that most of the time, the right decision during hardships and struggles might not be the easiest, or most appealing. When I am faced with a fork in the road, all I can think about is “I really don’t want to make the wrong choice.” The thing is, we are not alone! For me, I have my family, specifically my parents. I like talking to them, to see if the choices I have been currently making are benefiting me, from their point of view.
I am definitely not saying I am a role model when it comes to decision making. I am far from perfect, much like everyone else on this planet. But I know no matter what, my future will turn out to be okay, as long as I make the next right choice. Or as Maya Angelou said, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
