Decisions

Throughout life you are faced with many paths that can be chosen. The decisions that are made regarding these paths impact who you are and what you will become. The varying and ever changing branches of a tree parallel the changing direction of life, and symbolize the choices I have in my life.

My life has been full of decisions and changes, including volleyball, choosing schools to attend, sports, and many others. Starting from high school I had a decision to either attend a public school or private school. I thought that maybe if I attended a private school I would have more opportunities to be successful, but going to a public school gives you a real outlook of the world. As I observed the branches in the arboretum, I saw that some trees were just beginning the process of growing and some were already old and dying. Just like in life you have choices when you are little and when you are older you have to live with the choices that you made. Another example would be deciding weather to be a student-athlete in college or just a regular student. I chose to be a student-athlete because I thought that I would be able to take on the responsibility of getting my work done and competing and training everyday. Not only was deciding on a college a hard step for me but when I am ready to decide on a job or a workplace in the future and where to live will be yet another hard life changing event. As for right now I put all my effort in class academically and will continue to be the best I can and to push myself to achieve my goals. These are hard tasks to take on but these are also the steps you are taking to achieve your goals for the future.

Values in life are never really taught to us but yet we are born with them from the start. They are important to us because it shapes who we become. Our parents have raised us to believe in certain things and they lead by example. With these values I have become who I am today. I am aware of the changes that may occur in life, so I set goals that I want to achieve to be a successful person. My life is like the older trees in the arboretum because ancestors and others have paved paths for me to continue throughout my life, such as the ever-changing branches on the older trees in the arboretum.

The paths that I have chosen have are determined by some that are extremely important such as having to choose between family and friends and some that are not as important such as choosing between what meal you want to eat at Burger King. In high school and throughout college there are so many opportunities the pass a person by some wish that they could stop and choose again while others would wish to just move on. Friends can be cheaters, liars, and some are just the type that you feel you can say everything to and tell them whatever you want without anyone else ever finding out. The paths that I have chosen so far in life are things that I will never regret. What will make the difference in rest of my life will be leading instead of following, going with my decisions and let no one stop me in what I believe is right.

Some people know as sophomores in high school exactly what they want to be and how they plan to get there. But not all of us are so sure about what we want