April 9, 2007

More introspection

I am about to turn the ripe-old age of 25, which basically puts me at 1/3 of the way through my life. 25 years is a long time to accumulate wisdom, and, in the spirit of the title of my blog, it's mostly about the choices we make.

And what's more, is that it's not the long, hard, agonizing decisions that change our lives the most, it's the seemingly small, snap decisions that really have a lasting effect. The decision to ask a girl out, or to skip your homework to go out with friends, or to sit next to someone at lunch, or simply saying "yes" instead of "no," these are the decisions that have the biggest impact on our lives. Some will say that the person you marry is the most important decision you will ever make, I disagree. I think the most important decision we can make is whether or not we're going to take life as it comes or make life what we want. I can sit back and wait for something to happen to me, for that "special someone" to come find me and ask me out, or I can be the one to go out and find her. The simple decision to talk to that girl at Barnes and Noble, or that girl in class, I think, is really where we create exciting moments in life. Life happens in an instant, not in long drawn out chunks of time.

I've made lots of snap decisions, some good, some not so good, and these decisions have affected me much more than the decision to go to law school, or to change jobs, or to pick a major, or to buy a car. These choices have the inherent advantage of being conscious, affirmative decisions to act, so their consequences can be foreseen and planned for. The quick decisions and seemingly innocuous choices do not have that beneficial characteristic; we cannot plan for unforeseen consequences. That isn't to say, though, that we should be scared of making quick or simple decisions, because this is when life gets exciting! So go make an affirmative decision to act, to make life what you want and not simply to sit back and react to it.

"Did that blow your mind, because that just happened."

1 comment:

Another Asian Law Student said...

surprised this wasn't the typical "i'm going to go be alone now that i'm 25 and have a depressing birthday" post.

well written sir.

 
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