If you believe it is a world of choice, you regard your life as a product of your own decisions. If you believe in fate(destiny), you suspect there are greater forces defining your life’s story and that you play little to no part in where life leads you.
This theme will be heavily apparent and revealed throughout Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Before we read, I want to get your honest opinions on this from a modern perspective. Thus, my question to you is this:
Is this life of ours governed by choice or fate?
Please provide specific reasoning and examples to support your response.
Our destiny is our own to decide, and not in the hands of fate. We make our own decisions, whether they be good or bad, and these decisions affect who we are, and not the other way around.
ReplyDeleteTake for example, the poem Invictus.
"Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul."
The man in the poem, although having suffering many hardships, and being born in a most unfortunate circumstance, he still retains control of his fate, and of his soul.
It is not fate that guides us, but the consequences of our choices. Why would I be destined to failure or success before I was even born? I can change the course set for me, as many have done so in the past. There are many men born into the poorest neighborhood who rise up to become a member of the elite class.
In our modern era, it is becoming more and more easier to bridge the ever decreasing gap between the poor and the middle class. The caste system has become a thing of the past, and we; now more than ever, have control of our life.
I agree with Hans, how could a person, however significant, be destined to do something big millenia before birth, how would those people know that person' s name? If they could do it, does it mean that i can?? If someone predicted the outcome of my life then could i say, " I the year 200,000, a person with two hearts, and a Time-Trvaeling police box from the 1960's will come and save humanity with a 20'th century girl named rose and she will kill the little slugs stuck in flipped garbage cans that hate everything. If they could make a random statement that far back, then i can make a prediction like that(Even though it is based off doctor who).My statement has the same odds of coming true as the person from 2000 years back. 0:1234567890123456678901234567890.123
DeleteYes i agree with you as well, it is our choices like you said. How are people that are so called 'readers' look into the future and i cant. If they have this power than why are there so many 'readers' which explains my case of fate being fake. Fate is a scapegoat for peoples mishaps in life.
DeleteRohan what up with the random #'s
I love the poem!! Great resource!!
DeleteI partly agree with you and partly disagree. Yes, choice does govern us and we are in conrol of our lives, but I also think that fate has a humongous role to play in our lives. Fate is the construction plan of our life. Choices are the building blocks. But if we didn't have the plan, how are we supposed to make our choices? Fate looms over us continuously, but we don't take heed of it. Fate goes a step above choices. Fate kinda gives you a warning about what is going to happen and let you make a decision before it's too late.
DeleteFate: "Achoo. I feel sick today. I wonder what's wrong with me."
Choice: To go to the doctor or not?
Decision: "I'll just go to the doctor."
Doctor: "Seems like you have the flu. If you had come later, you would probably be dead by now."
*** I know this is a bad example, but it was the only one I could come up with. It may not seem logical to you, but it's hard to explain.
Hey there, Hans. Love the perspective. :D
DeleteI would be lazy and simply write an extremely short response, but I had a little epiphany just now. I want to hear this from a pro-choice person’s point of view. If I am “the captain of my own soul”, and that my choices lead to my fate, what about before I was born? I did not choose my parents, nor did I choose where I was born. Does this influence my fate, even though it was not my choice? What if I was a child born in a ghetto in Africa? Does that not influence my fate, despite not being my own choice? What determines this? My parents? And what about the fate of my parents? Were their fates influenced by the decisions of their parents, and the countless generations before them? Does this all lead back to the decisions of the first man, or even a tiny beetle who triggered a series of events leading to the development of our society today?
Do the choices that we make in our lifetime have the greatest impact on our destiny, or is it the choices of those before us that truly make an impact on how we live?
Before I begin on my answer to this intruiging prompt, i must say one thing: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MAGIC, PROPHECY,OR FUTURE-TELLING AT ALL. I beleive that life is a series of cause and effect, where every action has an equally good, or devastating reaction. Take Romeo for an example, even though he had been told in his dreams that he was going to die if he went to that party, HE HIMSELF was the one who chose to go to the party, he was the one who walked over to the party and fell in love. If he had not gone to the party in the first place,then he would have lived! if he had changed his action, then there would have been a better outcome. Well....i know that some people would like to take the other side of this prompt and say that it is Fate because his dream told him that if he went to the party he would die, if not, he would live. But you must take this into account Fate was a thought that had been implanted into one crazy man's mind millennia ago. one could just say that he is destined to get a 100 on the math test, and use the fact that "Fate" told him this as encouragement. fate is only thought to be real because it has been used as a source of encouragement for humans for a long time. It is something that we use as an excuse for encouragemnt. To say, " my fate is to be an engineer" implants that thought into your mind and makes your subconcious strive for it. It is an a goal(however bad or good) that is jammed into the programming of the supersomputer that is our brain. It makes our mind strive for that goal, and however hard we try to stop it with our concious minds, our subconcious outsmarts us, forcing us to beleive we our working to our goal away from a horrible fate when we are actually pushing to the fate that was "written down" for us.
ReplyDeleteRohan Walawalkar 1st
I would like to start off by specifically explaining you what fate is to me. Fate has two meanings and sometimes people don't interpret it right.
ReplyDeleteFATE- The development of events outside a person's control. OR the development of events as determined by a supernatural power.
I don't believe that fate has anything to do with the supernatural, but I think each of us may be destined for something at some point of our lives. We have no control over what we do or become of, even if we make our own decisions. Things don't come out the way they are planned to, even if the right decisions are made.
This is a random example but if you watch Supernatural you will understand. In the beginning Castiel told Dean that "Destiny can't be changed Dean. All roads lead to the same destination" and when the arc angel Zachariah sent Dean to the future at "The End" he wasn't able to change Sam's decision on agreeing to Lucifer for his vessel . So what I was trying to say is that no matter how hard you try to govern your life, fate will be the one to decide it.
Overall I think that fate controls most of our life even though we TRY to control it by governing our choices. You really can't decide your future it just happens... You can be living and then dead within a matter of seconds, so NO life ISN'T governed by your choices. Your life depends on your FATE, and you are destined to whatever or wherever life takes you, ACCEPT IT.
I love that you used Supernatural!! Excellent example!! Great job!!
DeleteYou're basing your whole argument off a TV show. That alone shows me how little of my time I should even think about considering fate as an answer.
DeleteYou're saying that if my fate says that I will die at age 29, but I decide to shoot myself at age thirteen, that I won't die. How it works is very simple and logical: cause and effect. There really isn't much left to say. There isn't anything I have to prove here.
Oh, and if you try to say that fate decided to turn or whatever to make it so that I died at age thirteen or if fate made it so that I would question fate so that then I would shoot myself at age thirteen to disprove it, then I'm in no way in position to even argue. It's like making someone legless play soccer.
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DeleteDo y'all know what FATE is? I know Kamil doesn't because he did not do a very good job on backing his statement up. It was unclear to me. I NEVER said that fate could turn on you in anyway Diego, all I simply said to sum it all up is that FATE will always be the outcome of your choices. You can't predict that something good/bad might happen to you in 20 years because of you choices?! C'mon people!
DeleteLet's keep it civil, guys!! I love your passion, though! Keep talking...nicely. =)
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DeleteActually you have got your definition of fate all mixed up, if you need to understand the definition of fate come to 1st period English in the morning with a DICTIONARY. If you do NOT have a dictionary I will provide one for you. Oh and Diego I did not really base my opinion off a tv show, it's an EXAMPLE.
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DeleteDont be so hypocritical KAMIL. You want google I'll give you google as well as the definition of fate.
Deletehttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fate
If you still DONT believe me I will make sure to bring a dictionary in the morning, and I'll buy one if I need too.
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DeleteNO. there is NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A ONLINE RECOURCE AND A DICTIONARY, except for a few changes here and there. &If I was lazy and didn't want to read your comments I would not have replied at all under any circumstance. Oh and If I was lazy i would not have wasted my time replying to you. &Your Welcome.
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DeleteWell this is really heated... Just wanted to say that Diego you are right if you made the choice to shoot yourself then that is a choice. That isn't fate though. Fate is what you are destined to do in this world. No one knows your fate not even you. If shooting yourself is your choice and you feel like you need to do that then maybe it was in your fate to do that and brim a message to the world. Fate is much bigger than choices.
DeleteI believe that our choices are what decide our future. If someone told you to jump off a clif, it is your choice jump. You are making the DECISION to jump of the cliff. it is not like that fate is controlling your mind to take actions. It is your choice to fall to your death not fate's. The point can be proven by not studying for a test and ending up at a bad college or not attending a college at all. This may not get your desired job. It all started when you failed to study for tests.
ReplyDeletePeople these days always blame life's major mis-haps on fate. Fate is mearly an excuse for people's stupid decisions. People justify anxiety and frustration when they can automatically blame fate instead of themselves for having a bad life.
In Romeo & Juliet it was Romeo's choice to go to the party and to marry Juliet, not fate's. He just as easily could have done something else with his friends that evening. Although fiction, this story has a common thread in life. Pre-determination or fate can be argued aginst using logic instead of emotions.
Just appreciate that you are allowed to make decisions and that life isn't set for you from the start.
James M. 1st
James, I totally agree with you when you said that many people use fate as an excuse when they make their own stupid choice. I feel that we as humans have an ability to make our own decisions, and that fate is just a phony excuse to cover an individual's mishap. We make so many choices throughout a regular day, and we control what we do. God is looking down at us, and He obviously has the power to do anything. God gave us the freedom to make our choices. We control our lives. Our choices can affect if we live or not. There are so many choices to be made, and we just don't realize that we are making them. Basically, everyone has the ability to do what is right, but it is up to the individual if they want to do it. Good post, James.
DeleteI agree with your examples on the choices we make and I do understand that some people do blame things on the dumb choices they make but I don't think that that is always the case. I believe things happen for a reason.
DeleteI agree with Nicole, I also believe things happen for a reason. It can't be just "Oh, this happened." It has to be "Oh this happened because..." Key word: because. Things can't just happen, there always has to be a reason behind it.
DeleteThis question will have many different answers depending on faith and beliefs. I believe in God. I believe that He is watching me, and always there for me when i pray unto him. I will never understand the mysteries of the Lord while I still live. Yet my curious brain begins to wonder sometimes. I believe that we have many paths laid out for us, and our decisions will alter them. Decisions alter a lot about your life. I have made many bad decisions in my life and I have found it very hard to change them, as it is impossible. I could have studied more for that test, then I wouldn't have done so bad on it. But after I walk a way from the test, I find that the grade becomes permanent and I can't change it. Then it affects my life. A life can change just from one single decision. And many times God presents you with a crossroads, which has you thinking, "Do I go left? Or to the right?" You will never know what is facing you at the end of each path. Going left may lead you to a cliff that you don't see, and sends you falling to death, where as the right may be worry free and lead you to happiness. I always wonder, what could I do differently. I mean, you never know if you find the person you are meant to marry, and you are too scared to talk to her, and lose the chance of meeting her. Then I begin to think, what if the Lord brings her to me again, and I have another chance to meet her.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord, I believe, can alter your life, yet I still believe he gives you the choice to make decisions in your life. If my parents hadn't had met, I might not have been born. But I believe that the Lord created me for a reason, and that's why they did meet. I wouldn't call it pre-determination, because we still have the choice, the choice that can alter us. That's why it is always best to think before you act, but don't waste too much time thinking, because you just may miss that chance. We never know what we have control over in our life, but I believe that if we ask God for guidance, and we truly want it, then I believe that He, in his mysterious ways, will help us somehow. I used the word mysterious to describe God, and that's because I have no understanding of Him. And I love that, because if we knew everything, the world would be so different. So as I am here, confused and rambling about life and choices, I have come to a decision. We don't know what our life has in store for us. But that doesn't mean we should be afraid and hide under our covers, we should accept the challenges that are given to us, and the ones we create for our self. Weight out our actions before doing them, and when we mess up, ask for forgiveness. Our decisions make life what it is, but the Lord is always there to help us, because His love is what created us, and His love is what will help us.
Alexander Zaibaq 5th Period.
Very well said!! =)
DeleteWhen reading the question at hand, I immediately knew what my answer would be. Choices govern our life, rather than fate.
ReplyDeleteA choice is defined as an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities.
Fate is defined to be the development of events outside a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power.
Now that I have cleared up what both words mean, I will explain to all of you on why choices govern an individual's life, rather than fate.
When Ms. McCoun gave us this assignment, she did not force us to complete it. Instead, we had a choice on if we would rather do it or not. See, this an example of one the millions of choices we make during a typical day. God gave us the power to make decisions on what we should do next, which is one of the powers that humans possess. Yes, God is looking down on us, and He knows what our future beholds. But we as humans are making the choices on what we should do in present day. I could be hanging out with my friends, but instead I am making the CHOICE to complete all my homework.
Most humans only focus on what is in front of them, rather then what they can't control. This results in making many choices between many possibilities. Let me describe to you a typical school day.
6 am- Wake up. Choice: Should I wake up or not?
6:30 am- Bathe, and get ready. Choice: What shirt should I wear? What jeans?
7:20 am- Get to class. Should I stay in the classroom or should I ditch out of here with my friends?
7:30 am- Take an English quiz. Choice: Is it imagery or a hyperbole?
As you see above, that is four choices is an hour and a half that we all make on a daily basis. Whether we recognize it or not, we all are making these choices in our head because at the end of the day, we all able to do what we as individuals want to do. You can slack off in school, or take all honors and ace them all. It is all your choice in the end. We can control what we do because it is in our hands to decide, but we don't focus on things that we cannot do anything about, which is fate. Choices deal with our daily lives, which means that choices govern our lives.
God your so sloppy. Also, I disagree because what seems like your choice may actually be in your fate. However, we cannot know this.
DeleteWhy do I feel like I'm in debate. "I offer the following definitions in support of my case..." I feel as though you are too focused on these simple, meaningless tasks that are, yes, our choices. Although, if you stepped back and looked at more important things and bigger scenerios then I believe you'd see that fate has a definite role. You say you are Christian? Now, from what I've heard you have to **choose** Jesus to be accepted into Heaven, but whether or not you enter is that determined by fate or choice? Is Heaven or Hell your choice? Remember, the devil was once an angel. Was it the devil's choice to leave or was it God's plan all along. I know these specific questions pretaining to religion are impossible to answer, but I feel like determining fate verses choice should be upheld to scenerios more important than blue shirt or red shirt.
DeleteI believe the outcomes of our lives are based on both choices and fate. For example: Love should not be a choice. I believe it should happen by chance, like going out to the park or something and meeting a person. Dating websites, on the other hand, would be a choice and I don't really believe in those.
ReplyDeleteCertain things in life, though, are choices. Like, choosing answers on a test. You pick an answer because you know its correct or you have an idea it is.
Nicole Castiglioni 1st period
I agree. Love isn't a choice, it only is if you ask yourself if you love someone, but the way it happens is more based on fate. And then having a choice, for other things pertaining to school, those are choices and decisions, not fate
DeleteI think that there are some possibilities that things happen by chance, but our lives our mostly guided by the choices that we make daily, whether the choices we make have good or bad consequences.
ReplyDeleteExamples of daily choices include the choice to go to school, the choice to do homework, the choice of what to wear, or the choice of who your friends are. I do believe that even though you decide if a person is your friend, you meet that person by chance, such as having a class with them. Same with meeting a guy, or girl for you guys haha. Another example of fate(or chance) is running into someone while you're out. You didn't choose to see that person; it wasn't planned, so it happened by chance.
Both Fate and choices could exist, and play a part in our everyday lives.
Emily Burrows 5th period
I agree with you completely, it can't be only one or the other because we exhibit both circumstances in our life.
DeleteI agree with Emily Burrows, although both of her examples make sense, it may be the other person's decision to be walking on the same path as you, so it may also just be our choices that shape our future.
DeleteI agree completely that both play a major part in out lives because we don't know everything that can happen but we do know what choices we can make in reaction to those circumstances.
DeleteI do agree that both choice and fate is present in our lives.
DeleteI strongly agree because both fate and our choices play a great role in our lives. Sometimes choices will reflect our fate, and sometimes they may not. We can control some parts of our lives but not all of it.
DeleteI agree that fate does play a vital role. There isn't much we can control.
DeleteI agree that both fate and choice are in our lives. The choices we make can affect our fate and sometimes choices we do not make such as external things that are not in out control may also contribute to our fate.
DeleteThe answer to this question is not a simple case of black and white. It is as complex, intricate and paradoxical as the world in which we live. To begin this essay we must define the two terms in use: fate and choice.
ReplyDeleteFate in the dictionary is defined as, “A prophetic declaration of what must be." the prophet has to do with religion, or the religious entity in which you believe. Choice is defined as, “An act or instance of choosing." Now that the terms have been described, we can begin.
If at all you believe that life is dictated on choice then you discredit a religious entity for deciding who you are. So if you do discredit the entity are you not saying that you do not believe in that entity or religion because what you basically just denied proof of its existence? So then what is the purpose of praying to an entity or religion when at the same time you hold it a belief that annuls the existence of that entity or religion?
However on the other hand, if you believe in fate being the ultimate decision maker, you discredit the ability of human decision making which is what differentiates us from other animals. Since you discredit the fact, you have effectively said that we are the same as other animals as far as intelligence goes which we all know is just untrue; a human is certainly smarter than a June bug!
So you see, it is impossible to clearly differentiate between what serves as the fabric of our lives, faith or choice, as expressed in this essay. However if a suggestion may be made, could the answer lie in shades of gray?
Shifan I have to agree with you. Our lives aren’t really defined by either fate or choice but a complex mix of both. There are simple choices in life that you make ,like when you wake up in the morning or what you choose to wear to school, that will have foreseeable outcomes, but there are events in your life that are predetermined by some greater being or other factors. What is important is how you respond to these predetermined events, so that you can influence the outcome to the greatest possible extent.
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DeleteOk, now I'm going to have to use names...
DeleteKAMIL: If I have to warn you again about your etiquette on here, I will deduct points from your grade. Please, keep it civil! It's ok to disagree and be passionate, but please do so respectfully.
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DeleteI believe it is our choices that decides the outcomes our life. Whether it be something simple to something unbelievable, it is still our choices that cause it, not someone pulling the strings behind the curtains. For example. choosing to go to school earlier than usual, could lead to making new friends, maybe even leading to a lifetime of friendship. Whatever the situation may be, its not fate controlling your life, but the tiny decisions you make that sums up.
ReplyDeleteEmily Huang 1st Period
I agree with you in a way, but I think your definition of fate is insinuating that fate is almost like someone controlling you to do something. Take your friend example, I think fate would lead you to find that friend , but your choices would dictate the situation that you and that friend meet.
DeleteEmily I completely understand what you're saying but one could argue that fate brought those people there in order for you to become their friend, and I think that's what Swetha was trying to say also. I do agree to some extent with you though, that small choices make up the big picture and that those are what take you to the bigger decisions.
DeleteI agree. The Choices you make is what determines your life. I also added something else to that belief, that the Choices you make determines your fate. For example, in one direction you have a good, supportive group of friends. In the Other Direction you have people who disobey and do bad things. If you go the good way, you will most likely have good grades, and go far in life ( That is your fate, to go far in life). But if you go the other direction, you'll probably end up in a lot of trouble all the time (Being in trouble is your fate). So the rest of your life will depend on which ever path you will choose.
DeleteKainat Chaudhary Period 5
I don't think that fate controls every aspect of our lives. For example, if you choose to eat a diet high in fat and you end up getting heart disease or diabetes, it wasn't fate that made you get that disease, it was your decisions.
ReplyDeleteHowever, our choices cannot dictate everything that we do. For example in many movies people say they met their spouse because of fate. While this does sound odd there is no way we can disprove this. It's possible that no matter what you do you'll end up meeting this person. There is no way to disprove this, so it is possible that fate is a factor in our lives.
Does it really matter if our lives are governed by fate or choice? Events occur all the time that I have not caused or influenced. These events can be considered “fate”, the cards that I am dealt, which are caused by external factors and higher powers. How I respond to these events is up to me. I may be heavily influenced by other factors (superstition, peer influence, family) but eventually I do have control over how I respond. My attitude towards the situation, whether I feel powerless (this is fated) or empowered to act (I have a choice), is what is important. It will help influence but perhaps not determine the outcome of future events or my so called destiny. I don’t think you have control over your destiny because again external factors or “fate” will play a role too. So the only thing you can control is your attitude. In Romeo and Juliet’s case I think they both made decisions with a less than proactive attitude because they often blamed fate for their situation which probably made their actions rash and reckless.
ReplyDeleteYou're right it doesn't really matter if our life is controlled by fate or destiny and that things occur with or without having a say in it. Also I completely agree with you on how things you how we don't have control over our destiny, but some of the things about how we react or our attitude I don't really agree to. I think that it is destiny that we have that kind of attitude to something that may occur, so we can react the way we do.
DeleteGrace Fung
1 period
I believe that our life is in fate's hand and that God has our life planned out from the day we were born to the day that we die. The choices we make are already planned out and we make those choices because we were destined to. Sure it may seem like things happen because of something we did or maybe didn't even do, but everything happens for a reason.
ReplyDeleteFor an example I just recently watched a movie called Brave (sorry I'm probably gonna spoil the movie if you care). It's about a girl who is trying to avoid her destiny to have an arranged marriage with one of the princes from the other tribes, so she runs away and follow these things called the will o' the whisp which is supposed to lead her to her destiny. After she follows the whisps she comes across this witch who say that she can change her mother (she's arranging the marriage) which can possibly change her destiny. Then a long chain of events happen but the result is that she bring all the tribes even closer together, especially her and her mother, which turns out all along was her destiny.
Even though this isn't a real life scenario it has the right concept that it is fate that everything happens. The whisps can represent the chain of event in your life or even some of the choices you make, but all those things led you to your destiny no matter what.
Grace Fung
1st period
I definitely agree with Grace that fait can ultimately have a way of making sure certain things will happen in your life...everything happens for a reason.
DeleteGood example. :P
~LISETTE CHAN. PERIOD 1~
I think that our lives are destined by fate but how everything happens is our choice. For example, when you go on a trip, you know where you are going but it is your choice of how you want to get there. This is what i think happens because we are all meant to do certain things but how we go about doing these things are our choice. We all need to die, but how we die is a choice of our own. We can kill ourselves, we can drink and drive, we can choose how we want to go about dying but in the end we will die no matter what. We can't live forever. Another theory I have is that the places where we need to make a choice are put in place by destiny but the choices we make make us take various paths. In a bit more detail: when the time comes that we need to make a choice, that has been predestined but the choice we make isn't. So, there are multitudes of paths we can take but they all have different choices and they are all laid out beforehand, it's just the matter of which path our choices take us to. So we do and do not have control over our lives. We don't in the aspect of WHAT our choices are but we do in the aspect of WHERE those choices take us. We dont have the same choices in every scenario so each choice will take us in different directions making the path of our life convoluted.
ReplyDeleteYou examples are weak... dying can also be a fate side effect and every time you drink and drive doesn't mean you will die all the time.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that our lives are all through choice. We choose how we live our lives and eventually our choices reflect our personality and life. For example by choosing drugs then eventually you will have a bad health and no body will like you. On the other hand if you choose not to do drugs then you will be peoples mentor and have a longer lasting life. Its our choices that determines where we steer our lives and determine what kind of person we are.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. All the choices we've made in our life, no matter how trivial, has come to shape who we are. Some may not be as lucky to have been able to choose the right paths for their life.
DeleteI agree with this. The choices we make determines our fate. It is the impact that the choice has on our lives that makes it meaningful. Will this choice be good or bad? We don't know until we make our decision. That's why our choices control our lives.
DeleteI'm a Christian so when I saw this prompt, I immediately thought of God. I was brought up with the belief that God has a plan for everyone and that He was always looking over you. However I was also taught that if you don't at least try to make the right choices and try to pick the right paths, you would suffer the consequences...so I believe that God and fate have a lot to do with your future but YOUR choices ultimately can change everything. For example if you choose to hang out with the wrong crowd, you will suffer the consequences and it's your choice whether you're going to hang out with that crowd again...or if you will think about what God wants for you. If you choose wrong again, thats definitely you're fault and there would probably be even harsher consequences and a harsher future.
ReplyDelete~LISETTE CHAN. PERIOD 1~
I agree with you. Fate along with choices determine your life. Any action you make is a step toward several different personalities. This being said, I think fate picks where we start, and choices pick our finish.
DeleteI believe that our choices determine our fate because all these little choices could make your life turn either in the right direction or wrong. For example, if you make a choice to be mean to someone, then that little choice could make your whole life turn out wrong but if you make choices to do simple acts of kindness to random people, that could lead you to a better life filled with more people and friends whereas the other choice could make you an outcast. Therefore, I think choices will decide the route of your life. Your choices will make you go towards a terrible fate or a better fate.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely. Our lives aren't led by either choice or fate. They're led by both put together. Our choices lead us to fate, which make up our entire lives.
DeleteI agree with you as well. Fate depends on our choices.
DeleteOur choices that we make, whether or not to wake up in the morning or sleep early at night, are what sculpts what we today. What you amount to today is the accumulation of all the many routes you could've gone in your life through choices. No mater how dire the situation, there is always a choice, there is never a set path you can follow. I believe what kind of person you are is everyone's own choice. There is no mold that you must fit in, no driving force like fate that can push you in a certain direction. This is the reason why there are infinitely many different types of people in this world. Every choice, every step someone has taken is different. I believe "fate" is just human's scapegoat when they make bad decisions. They hang on to the hope that a higher power has a path for them and they are just merely puppets following their commands. Believing that there is a "plan" for everyone soothes and eliminates the stress of life.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea on why people believe in fate. The concept that people create the concept of fate solely to console themselves on their failures is interesting. I agree that fate does not control our lives, and that our actions are what change our "fate".
DeleteYeah, Eajer. A supernatural scapegoat is not the answer to our problems. Every choice that we make will affect our future down the road, which is always changing. Their is no "plan" for our future; the road that we take in life isn't mapped out for us. It is carved out by the decisions we make. Instead of blaming something that will never be able to answer or effect change, we should shoulder the responsibility and try to learn from each decision and mistake that we make.
DeleteI agree with Hans and Eajer. There are individuals who attribute failure or even success to fate, and don't address the subjective aspects of something. However, the environment and influence of other individuals do play a significant role in anyone's life, even in determining the standard for success or failure.
DeleteIn the world today, we have the freedom to make many choices about our lives. “The future lays in our hands” a saying that we’ve all probably heard before, and it implies the fact that we are the ones that ultimately shape our future. However, I still believe that there are some aspects of our lives that is controlled by fate. The parts that is controlled by choice are things like whether or not we do our homework when assigned, whether or not we do drugs and alcohol, and whether or not we go rob a bank just for the fun of it. The parts that are controlled by fate are things like what kind of environment we are born to, who our parents are, and who the people we met are. For the most part, the choices we make are what shapes us as a person, but there is still a small part that is controlled by fate.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jing. Our life is not always controlled by ourselves, for example, our parents, but only thing we can do to change our life (or fate) is to make decisions and arrange your own fate. I like the sentence: " The future lays in our hands." In facts, we can't change our past, but we can control our future and able to improve it.
DeleteErin Han 5th period
"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" -Tim Notke
ReplyDeleteI think that our life is determined mostly by the choices we make everyday. Whether bad, good, big, or small, every choice we make in our everyday life shapes our character. Talent, which can be comparable to fate, is only a small factor of our lives. Regardless of your supposed fate, the choices that you make will overshadow "fate" and change your life in the direction you want. Fate will change the paths you will take to become who you aspire to be, but the only limit on your life is yourself.
I believe that its a combination of fate and choice. Everyone has a free will to make there own choices. Choices we make today contribute towards our fate in future. Which means we are defining part of our destiny for the choices we make. For Example: We have a choice to study for a test in advance and if we make a choice not to study it will affect our future in a negative way. Sometimes there will be situations where we cannot make a choice and we have to accept the fate. For example: If there is a natural calamity like an earthquake or flood some people get affected and some people who are living in the same area are rescued. Therefore I believe its a combination of both fate and choices we make.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Divena that it is a combination. Our choices are what we decide on to do. Our fate is already going to take place because it is our destiny for that to happen. Sometimes our fate is not in our favor but we have to live up to whatever happens because we are not able to do anything about it. Our choices are what we can decide on. The choices we make lead up to our fate.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGoing against what most people use as a logical argument, I'd like to think fate has a larger role in our lives than we realize. For example, if our choices did lead us to our destinies, then why would even the most thought out, well made choice sometimes end in disaster? Not that is it is a common occurrence but even after taking precautions and making the best decision possible, things that have no cause-and-effect explanation occur. As well as those inexplicable strokes of luck we all have. No one can truly justify that that is controlled by the choices we make. With this being said, it is undeniable that the choices we make are a huge part of where we end up. While fate can try to guide us, it is our responsibility to choose wisely. Still, fate paves the roads for the decisions to be made and from there we choose which road to take.
ReplyDeleteShweta Sridhar Period 5
Shweta, this is probably the first time I've disagreed with you. Ever. But, I'd just like to point out that if it a plan was well-thought-out and planned, then why would it end in disaster? If it was truly a perfect plan, then nothing could happen that would mess up the plan.
DeleteHowever, I do agree with you on the "strokes of luck" point. That is, though, the only thing that happens in our lives that I think is purely fate. Everything else is decided by the choices we make.
I'd quote Hannah Montana again, but sadly, I can't find a song lyric perfect for this occasion.
In my opinion, it's not one or the other. Our lives are lead by both choice and fate. Choices are for the littler things in life, and fate for the bigger ones. For example, choices would be deciding what to say to someone, if you should do something or not, what answer to put on a test, even what shoes to wear. But fate would be like a tornado or a hurricane. Obviously no one can choose for it to happen, and it can change people's lives drastically. I have grown up with the phrase "everything happens for a reason," and it has always been a part of me. I believe that the choices we make are a part of what makes us, but fate plays a bigger role.
ReplyDeleteThere's no such thing as fate. It's all based off cause and effect. If I swing a hatchet at someone's neck, then they will die. That's just the way it is.
ReplyDeleteI'm supposed to give you an example, so hang on tight. Let's play with events a little. There are five events: event A, B, C, D, and E. You pick these events based on your actions.
Let's say that between A and B, you decided to pick A. Because you picked A, you have the choices of C and D. After picking D, you realize that there is nowhere else you can go. What if fate wanted for you to eventually get to E by picking C? Well, I guess that's just too bad.
This entire universe is formed thanks to two things: choice and probability. Things don't just "happen." By taking the route that I displayed above, it is impossible to reach E. You may only reach E by selecting C beforehand.
Now, let's talk about something different. What about that power that is above us? Does it influence us at all? Yes, it does. For example, everything happens for a reason. However, this doesn't mean that the universe arranged itself to fit your needs. The power is just helping you out a bit, or well, giving you the choice to help yourself. If you ask for help, the power will present you with an opportunity to get help. However, it is up to you to take it. This is in no way fate, since you are still given the choice to make a change for yourself.
If you want to understand life to its fullest and not be like most people, those who keep on thinking that this entire world is all cookies, puppies, and rainbows, you have to embrace this concept accordingly. Make good choices, and you will have a good life. If something good happens to you, it wasn't fate—it was either that person's choice to help you or it was the probability of that event happening that landed the odds. That's all there is to it.
People, please think logically. It opens up a completely new world to your mind. I'm serious.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWell Diego,
DeleteCouldn't fate decide for you to choose D? You can't just say that fate wanted you to get to E. Unless you can tell the future and actually know everyone's fate, (Which I highly doubt, but if you are, I stand corrected, and please forgive me) then you could never tell what fates wishes for you to do. For all you know, choosing D could be exactly what fate wants.
Julian Pham
period 1
As for your comment that the universe magically gives us the opportunity to make something of ourselves when we ask, this is simply not true. There are many people that simply cannot have the opportunity they want and it's not their fault.
In Africa, for example, say you are born to a poor family. If this so called opportunity was given to every poor person in Africa, then obviously more people would take it. If this was true, then Africa probably would be in a great position right now rather than the diseased, destitute, and uneducated position it is in now. The people that change the world come once in a thousand years, and they are destined to change the ways that things work. As a sad fact of life, a majority of the population that would take that so called opportunity graciously bestowed by the universe whenever we ask, simply don't have the means to do so, as determined by fate. We humans are all just jostling around to be that one in a million person that changes everything.
I agree with Julian, and would like to add on to what he said. So, Julian talked about how Diego wouldn't know if fate wanted you to do something or not, that you wouldn't know if fate wanted you to choose C or D. However, this is what I wanted to add to Julian's comment. The way I see it, fate is more or less everything you do, no matter what purpose you did it for. It doesn't matter if you made a choice based on randomness, or if you purposely chose the incorrect choice, fate has already planned it out for you to do exactly what you did. To further explain, no matter what choices you make, even if it was a spur of the moment thought, it was still "predicted" by fate. It was gonna happen anyways, or "fated" to happen.
DeleteI would like to start of by saying that we were not brought forth to this world by ourselves. We were brought forth by God. We had no choice on how we wanted our lives to be because we don't know whats best for us. God brought us into this world, with the knowledge of how our lives would turn out to be, including everything that happened in it. Simply put, even if we try to defy our fate, we would actually be complementing it because God expected us to defy it. This being said, we are not the true judges of how our life ought to be. God decides our fate, and that fate stays with us throughout the course of our life. For example, lets say we were stuck in a room with two doors. We could pick one or the other. One led to our ultimate death, while the other led back to our home. Now whichever path we chose we will be going alongside fate. Now if we have a feeling to chose the first door, and we try to defy this fate, and go for the second door, we still are unsure of whether God was expecting this sort of thinking and would've put it in our minds to chose the first door. This would result in us abiding with fate. Therefore, I conclude, that no matter how hard we try, fate is undeniable and we cant change it for our liking.
ReplyDeleteOur fate is controlled by our choices, not the other way around. If our lives were governed by a supernatural “destiny” in which everybody would end up where “fate” “ordained” them to be, then none of our choices would matter. Our entire existence would be of no use. I can just sit on my couch, doing nothing besides watching tv and getting up only to eat, drink, and defecate for the remainder of my life because “fate” will take me wherever I am “meant” to go, right?
ReplyDeleteNO.
In life, we must work to achieve success. The difference between a garbage pickup man and a successful entrepreneur are simple- the choices they made in life. People will argue that that was “fate’s” plan for them, but that isn’t true. The decisions I make every morning when I go to school and every night when I look at an unfinished page of homework will affect my future.
Belief in “fate” is just an easy way out, a false ideology for people who don’t consider the ramifications of the choices they make and make excuses for their bad decisions.
The doctrine of “fate” is a flimsy comfort, an insubstantial pat on the back for those who don’t succeed. “Oh it’s OK. I just wasn’t “meant” to do that.” Much more comforting, and far more effective, is the realization that you were the one that brought about that outcome, and that you can definitely learn from the experience and make better choices next time.
Everything in your life, you can control. Don’t make excuses for your own bad choices by saying that “it would’ve happened anyway.” No. You made it happen.
Our normal perceptions of the idea of “fate” are wrong. Yes, your fate is what happens to you, but only as a result of YOUR choices. You govern your own fate, control your own destiny. To shove that responsibility onto a mystical, “plan” for your life would be weak and disastrous.
Grant Lu, 5th period
Guys, let's keep it civil PLEASE!!!! Be passionate, but be nice! =)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteSorry for getting out of control. I deleted my comments that you found wrong.
DeleteIts ok Kamil,I have to second that I was a bit out of control, but its all cool now. Sorry Ms.McCoun
DeleteI forgive you Alizain.
DeleteOh, Grant, it wasn't you, hon! It's some of these other boys. Check yourselves!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh I just wrote a whole comment and it, for some reason, just disappeared. Regardless, I believe that our lives are governed by our choices. The choices I've made in the past still affect me today. The choices I make today might affect my life in the future. Nothing is set in stone. If I decide to start doing drugs today, I could potentially end up living a miserable and embarrassing life. However, if I don't give in to peer pressure and ignore drugs, I could live my life happy and free. That one choice right there could change the way I turn out in the future. The same thing goes for my grades. If I decide to try hard now to study and make good grades, then the chances of my getting into a good college and getting a good job will be higher.
ReplyDeleteEvery choice we make always has a flip side to it, and we can pick whichever one we want to. We make our life what it is.
As Hannah Montana once said:
"Life's what we make it, so let's make it right!"
Our lives are led by both choice and fate. Everyday, we are making choices. From the little ones like choosing what you're going to do this weekend, to the bigger ones like choosing your college or career. We can activly make good choices, but our fate plays a bigger role than we think.
ReplyDeleteI believe that if you are meant to do something, fate will guide you in that way. Fate can MAKE you choose something. For example, if you are meant to marry someone, then fate will guide you in that direction.
Still I believe that we can help our fate by making responsible and smart choices. For example, if you have a major tournament the next day and your friend invites you for a sleepover, it is probably a good choice to skip out on the sleepover. Because if you don't get enough rest, you probably won't do well the next day. These kind of things are the good choices you can make, to help make your destiny. We can seal our fate with some of the choices we make.
Still, the final thing is, you can make choices in life that will help guide you to your final destiny, but if you are meant to do something, fate already has that planned out for you.
I believe that our life is governed by a higher power. I think that our life is already planned out for us. We have a reason to be alive that is already planned for us that we might not even be aware of. We may make minor choices like what we want to wear to school,but our huge decisions are planned. We might make the wrong choice and be steered away from our original plan but we will always end up back on plan. I believe we are drawn to our right path, like falling in love, or choosing your job. Our life is definitely lived by chance not choice.
ReplyDeleteThe answer to such a question is always going to be opinionated and we can never really force someone into your point of view. When it comes to fate, I think that there's more than one version for each person. The basic outline of your life is there but the choices you make complete the whole plan. It could be compared to the building of a house or whatever you want it to be. You start out building the basic structure and then build the inside. Without the inside there would just be a shell. This is how fate is. Fate is just a basic structure and your choices make up all of the inside. However, you always end up building a house or your own life. In addition, I think there are multiple copies of how your life will end up stored away. According to your choice that will be the version you are living. Basically to summarize, fate is like a road with multiple passages. The roads are there and the consequences of which passage you pick are also there, but it's your own choice to pick which passage.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to add on to my own answer that it could also be possible that your fate is already there, but you just don't know it. What seems like your own choice may be what's already in your fate. So, this question cannot be properly answered because people don't know their fate. Also, this question constantly goes back to the matter of religion.
DeleteI understand what you are trying to say here. That fate is merely the framework for your life, and that choices are what fill in the rest. But here is my issue with this: if every choice you make has a different impact upon your life, what is the purpose of fate? If fate can change because of choices, why does fate exist? I believe that the answer is that fate doesn't exist and that choices govern the lives of humans.
DeleteI believe in fate and choice led our lives. Fate and choice both exist, but usually the choice makes the fate. We can’t change our past, or anything that we born with, but we can change fate by making good or bad decisions. Everything has the karma, or cause and effect. There will be reasons to everything that just happened. Like people above already listed, Romeo’s attendance to the mask party led to his death. He made this decision and suffered the outcome. Also, there will be sometimes when the fate and choice work together. For example, Harry Potter’s fate is to be a wizard and fight with Voldemort and he chose to stand out. If either two factors are not existed, Harry won’t have a reason to attend magic school and give up his normal life in normal world.
ReplyDeleteIn conclusion, choice is the basement of fate, or copying last year Connie Cheng’s metaphor, fate is the ocean and all of our choices are the little rivers that flow into the ocean.
Erin Han 5th Period
READ CAREFULLY. THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET CONFUSING.
ReplyDeleteI believe that fate is always changing, that it always depends on the choices you make. It's like cause and effect. You come upon choices and you can only choose one or a couple of them. The decision you make, which choices you choose, is the Cause. And what happens in result of that Cause is the Effect. Each cause has its own effects, and they all may or may not be different from each other. So when you come upon a choice you have to make, realize that the outcome of what ever option you choose will most likely have a different effect on your life than the outcome of the other options.
For example:
You go Marble Slab and the person behind the counter asks you what kind of flavor ice cream you want.
You limit yourself to two choices: Strawberry and Chocolate.
Cause: You choose Strawberry
Effect: You eat the Strawberry Ice Cream and you say
"Oh my! This Ice Cream is DELIGHTFUL! IT's Delicious!"
(lets say that each word you say wastes 1 point of Energy) Amount of Energy wasted = 9 points
And You realize that the Ice Cream is so good, you decide to tell your friend about it. You text to her:
"OMG! YHGTTTMSICISG!" ( Oh My Goodness! You have got to try this Marble Slab Ice Cream It's so good!)
And you and your friend continue to text about how Good the Ice Cream is for a very long time. Amount of money wasted on texting about Ice Cream= $20
And then the next week you get your phone bill and you find out how much the phone company charged you for texting and you call them and throw a fit. You start screaming at the Customer Service and the next thing you know the company sues you for Hurt Feelings and Damaged Ears. You Loose all your $30,000 of retirement savings and your home so you end up on the street.
Amount of Energy lost total = ∞
The End.
Cause: You choose Chocolate
Effect: You eat the Chocolate Ice Cream and it's not that good so you just say "Eh"
The next week, your Bills come to your house and you realize you have $15 extra (after you've payed your bills). You feel lucky and you decide to buy a lottery ticket with that money. next thing you know, you've won $34,942,853.32. You're a millionaire.
Amount of Energy wasted = A lot less than the amount lost when you chose Strawberry Ice Cream.
The End.
There were two choices you could've made, and both of them had their own unique outcome. What would happen next in your life (Destiny) was determined by the choice you made. If You Chose one Flavor, you would go in one direction, If you chose the other flavor, you would go the opposite direction.
So, In conclusion, your life is determined by the choices you make. Fate is what happens when you make that decision, it's what the rest of your life will be like. (During your life you will have many other decisions to make and fate will change with each of those choices. So your Destiny will change many times through out your life but that isn't EXACTLY the thing that is writing out what will happen next in your life (that job is for choices)) ( Yes, Parenthesis in Parenthesis and Parenthesis next to Parenthesis).
Kainat Chaudhary Period 5
KAINAT! Wow, you typed a lot.. NICE!
DeleteFirst , I like how you took a unique stance on the question. It's interesting how you believe that fate constantly changes based on your decisions. But, the thing I'd like to emphasize is that maybe fate has already chosen for you to take the chocolate ice cream. It's already predetermined all your decisions. Surely it seems like you have choices, but what if the decision you end up making.. is actually the decision fate always wanted you to make?
Other than that, your metaphors made it super interesting to read. Now, I know to always choose chocolate ice cream (but maybe fate already chose for me to decide that I'd always choose chocolate now). Very interesting points!!
I partly agree with Victor here, Kainat. What you wrote is very interesting. I’ve seen this in the direct TV commercial. It’s the thing where if you don’t buy direct TV you either ended up homeless or wacko, but I had never ever ever thought of putting this on the blog until I read your post. I agree partly with you too. I think most of your points are the same as mine: fate and choice both govern your life. Yet, I would like to point out something new here:
DeleteWhat if…
You go to Marble Slab, you order either ice cream, strawberry or chocolate.
Chocolate:
You thought the chocolate ice cream tastes horrible; tells yourself next time to buy strawberry…you ended up buying a scratch ticket and wins.
Strawberry:
You thought the strawberry ice cream tastes horrible; tells yourself next time to buy chocolate…you ended up buying a scratch ticket and wins.
Either way, you still ended up on the same route. True, choices can limit fate to what fate interfere. Yet, fate can be unpredictable as anything. You may like chocolate and strawberry, or you may not. You may hate both of them and either way, ended up homeless, or you could have drank chocolate, thought of it being horrible, then bought the strawberry, thought it tastes absolutely delicious, and then wasted all your money away. Or you could have bought the strawberry, thought it tasted delicious, wanting another one, you bought chocolate this time, but it tasted horrible, but you still ended up being a millionaire.
See, if you try to predict fate, there are infinite possibilities, infinite routes which can be taken, from being a millionaire to being homeless. Yet, does this really seem fair? How is it that a hardworking person can become homeless just because he drank strawberry or a lazy man can become rich just because he drank chocolate? The point I am trying to make is: yes, fate and choice both dominate your life, but fate has a fixed set of points that you must cross. You always look back to the holes in your life and regret about what you should have done or could have done. But the point of regretting is that fate WANTS you to regret so you would learn these things. If you did not do the wrong things, you will not LEARN to do the right things. Maybe you thought if you have done this, you could have avoided that. But if you really done this, could you have avoided that? Would fate want you to skip a lesson that rightfully belonged to you? The answer is no. Fate would make the points that it wants to make so you can become a better person. But how much better you can become is all up to you. These choices that you make are the choices that decide your life and your future. Fate would not have set you up just straight for failure without any purpose. Fate would not just make you homeless just because you drank strawberry. But b/c you drank strawberry, fate would teach you that wasting time on cell phone and friends are no good. And next time you drank another cup of strawberry, you will be given a choice, this time, would you still waste money on your phone? Or would you just suck it up and drink it silently by yourself. If you wasted money this time, the consequences would be like being homeless. But if just drank it silently, then fate taught you to avoid the conflict that could have wasted your future.
Hopefully this did not sound very confusing.
Scott Cao
Per. 5th
I know there are Infinite possibilities, but I just wanted to make a point. I meant to say that how ever your life turns out to be, with what ever choice you make, that would be your fate. I don't believe that there is a plan made for your whole life before or when you are born.
DeleteKainat Chaudhary
period 5
I see your point there, Kainat. I understand what you are saying now. Like I said, I do agree with most of your ideas about how your choices decide your fate, and how choices and fate both play an important role in life.
DeleteI believe that the world is based on both fate and choices depending on the minds of others. In my opinion I think that our destiny is already written down when we come into this world. The smallest things we do may just depend on our choices but the outcome is always going to be what the fate has in store for us. For example a man might want to buy a Honda but see a billboard for Toyota. He had a choice to buy the Honda but fate led him to buy a Toyota. Sometimes fate is not in our favor but it is part of our destiny to accept what happens. We can control the choices we make but our destiny is already made for us.
ReplyDeleteI believe that our life is directed by fate. I believe there is a path layed out for you. I don't believe every single thing in your life is set in stone but I believe the guideline is there and how you stay on your "path", and all the little details missing in your guideline is filled in by your choices.
ReplyDeleteOne example, in my life, that fate has played out was the time I found Ike. Ike is a cat I used to own. It was the day hurricane Ike was supposed to hit, and my mom suggested that my neighbors and I go on a bike ride before the big storm hits. About 100 yards before we get back home my friend Daniel sees Ike. If he had not turned his head at that exact moment and looked quite a ways down the green belt that cat would've died. It was fate, and now Ike is with a great home that loves and spoils him.
Although this example is small, I believe it shows how fate can work, even in small ways. So, I believe our life is structured by fate. Yes, you have choices, but those choices are there to either help you learn something or to get you to where you need to go.
Our lives, in my opinion, are dictated by fate/destiny. Now, I understand that some people say that you have the power to make your own choices and shape your own destiny. However, the major flaw is: what if fate decided for you to choose that? It sounds wacky, but it makes sense. The individual choices that you believe that you make creates a false veil of independence. Obviously, destiny decided that you would make those exact choices.
ReplyDeleteFor example, say you wanted to enter the lottery. You go out, buy a ticket, and you lose. Blame it on destiny who decided to make you lose the lottery, right? At this point, the pro-choice people are deciding right now to blackmail them somehow and force them to choose your numbers. You shaped your own fate by threatening somebody, but nevertheless, you made your own decisions, right? Wrong. Turns out, DESTINY decided that you would lose the lottery, as stated before, and then it also decided that you'd go and blackmail them. Amazing, huh?
Now some people are saying, "Let's just be couch potatoes and destiny will make me do something awesome!" Well, maybe destiny decided that you were forever condemned with the title "Couch-Potato" and that you'd do nothing but sit on that couch forever. Yeah, that's all destiny.
To sum it all up, the choices that you make are the choices that destiny forces you to make. Switching your mind and choosing something else does not make you independent or in control of your destiny; fate probably chose for you to change your mind and make the decision that you will inevitably choose. It is all a false veil that some people embrace. Sometimes, however, it's best to embrace it; otherwise, people lose their confidence to live out their lives, but maybe the decision, whether or not to embrace it, is all up to destiny as well.
I think the more a person believes that everything in their life is determined by fate the more they're restricting themselves. If someone follows the belief that everything is prearranged and cannot be altered, avoided, or changed they’re living a life completely deprived of choice. They live as though their life is not their own, and the decisions they make play no part in determining their future. Then, there are those who believe that they’re free to make whatever choices they want and they are capable of doing whatever they want with their lives. I think that those people are in denial of the reality that they cannot actually do whatever they want. There are certain circumstances and situations that you just can’t escape. I believe that is the role fate plays in our lives. Fate doesn't control us. It might determine where you start off in life, but it’s up to you to choose where you’ll end up. Fate decides the family we’re born into, the people we come across and the opportunities given to us but it doesn't determine the people we trust or the effort we put in to take advantage of those opportunities. Those are choices. But, also, the choices we make depend on the kind of person we are, and our personality is created by the family we’re born into, the experiences we come upon, and the people we meet. That’s fate. So, all I've done so far is confuse myself, and I’m not sure if any of this makes sense anymore.
ReplyDeleteI guess the bottom line is that our lives are governed by both choice and fate. It’s most important to find a good balance between the two. If you believe too much in destiny then you’re powerless, but if you believe too much in choice, you’re naïve. I think you have to be aware of the responsibility of choice, but also accept the role of fate.
Period 5
I agree with u, Gabby, on the fact the both fate and choice exist in this world, and that our lives are not truly governed solely on either one. I didn't think of it like this a first, but I agree with how u put it with fate starting us off from birth and choice brings us to our end.
DeleteErmagerd Gabby, i agree with you, its is both our fate and choice that govern our life. i like the way you said youre responsible for the choice but you have to accept your fate - genius, just genius..
DeleteAs I once read in a book, "Wyrd bith ful araed," or fate is inexorable. In this book, which was based on true events,the main character makes many decisions that influence the course of history. Despite this fact, many of the outcomes of the decisions that he made were extremely lucky, or one might say fateful. It seemed that no matter how bad or good a certain decision seemed at the time, the outcome was always seemingly the correct choice. Partly through this historically based story, I have concluded that some people are simply destined for greater things.
ReplyDeleteAs implied by the example above, I believe that a destiny governs the choices that we make. A higher power watches what we do and influences the most important of our decisions in life. In response to some of the comments above, no, fate doesn't determine absolutely everything we do. Obviously, nothing has the time, or patience to meticulously decide every single decision that we make. That would be very tedious and preposterous. This power simply nudges us in the right direction in terms of important decisions that affect history itself.
Also in preemptive response to the possible comment, "Then why do people make bad decisions?" I also have the suspicion that there is another being that attempts to control our decisions in a negative way, thus causing other wise good-intentions to create a disastrous outcome.
Julian Pham,
Period 1
In my opinion, I would go with fate navigating you rather than what you choose what your fate will be because my beliefs are that before a person is born, their fate had already been decided for them. For example, death is destined for everyone and no one can change it, and at some point, someone is going to die and they can’t change it. They can’t run away from it or make a different decision because that’s what they are destined to become-dead, rotten body O.o
ReplyDeleteLet’s say if you are having an arranged marriage and you THINK your fate is that you are going to spend the rest of your life in misery, but in the meantime, before marrying her, you runaway and you guys never got married. What if we say fate made you do that rather than you choosing to runaway. Your fate decided for you that you guys were never suppose to get married and you just followed the orders.
So the choices you make DO NOT change your fate. It’s quite complicated because there’s always an ultimate destiny especially designed for you. It’s almost like the game of life based on real life story. The choices are laid out in front of us. We just make different choices, like in the game, but we still retire later in the game because that’s what we are destined to do. Sometimes we make good decisions and do good deeds that lead us to an easy path and sometimes we don’t choose to do much of good deeds and choose the difficult tasks that make our lives a little more complex. Before we know what we have to do, we do it even by a mistake and sometimes make wrong choices, but still they are going to lead us to the same fate that we are suppose to get.
Well, since most people believe in God their is more of a faith than a choice that governs our life. Faith is what I would describe as what GOD has planned for you already and their is no way on earth that you can change it. In movies, the main character makes a choice that is not always right but faith made you make that choice that's why they are living the life they are. Choices are governed by faith because faith is what already made the decision to make the choice you choose which makes faith. In Romeo and Juliet, it is faith that Romeo is the one to see the cards for the illiterate servant and that's why he comes to the party, if Romeo was not the person then he would have never fell in love with Juliet which would end the story there. "The story must go on" is a quote that shows that faith is the major factor in stories and even real life. IN real life, just because you don't see faith guiding you along you adventure doesn't mean it is not there. It is like you going to the circus and just looking at the ball and not noticing the elephant.
ReplyDeleteI think that life is governed by the choices we make. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ulimately our own responsibility." I agree with this quote because we can't let destiny make our choices for us...there's no way we can live life without making a single decision. If I choose not to do this blog, then I will get a 0...it's not fate saying that I will get a 0 because destiny will stop me from doing this blog. Choices can change our lives dramatically. IT's like a maze. Destiny is not going to appear on top of your head and say, "Oh, you're never going to find the way out." You have to choose which direction you want to go and if you lose your way, you gotta admit it's your fault. People are not prisoners of fate; they are prisoners of their own mind (choices) Therefore, our life is governed by the choices we make.
ReplyDeleteOur lives can also be governed by fate. Fate is an important "plan" that is decided by a higher force. Fate is like a recipe. If you make it correctly, you get good food. If you mess up, then...
Our lives cannot be governed by choice or fate alone. There's gotta be a good balance between both of them. Say your fate decides to kill you by causing a car crash. If your brain works quickly and you swerve in the right direction, you might survive. In conclusion, fate and choice both play a major role in governing our lives.
To me, our lives are determined by our actions. Many people today believe in God and that fate decides our path as we grow up. They believe that God will light the right path to take, but i am completely against this (no offense sorry :( im agnostic). I believe, as i said earlier, that what we say or do determines how we will live. I believe that our lives are governed by choice. No matter what actions either good or bad they shape us into the people we are as we grow older. What im saying is that choice shapes our fate/destiny for the future. Everything that i have done up til now has made me who i am today. I has made my personality and i wish to continue building on the character that i have now by making the correct choices to shape my future.
ReplyDeleteMany people have said that we have been given the power of choice, that we have the ability to choose what our own futures shall become, that our choices is what characterizes what we are and what we will become. Although the concept of choice being the overall power that determines our end does make sense to me, I must say that my beliefs oppose that ideology. Fate, in my opinion, is what governs “this life of ours”.
ReplyDeleteI believe that fate simply describes what will become of each and every one of us. I believe that what I am typing right now, what I will eventually submit for my grade has been predetermined and carefully laid out. If it was set out by a being of another dimension, or three old ladies who share an eyeball, I do not know, nor do I wish to deeply think about it at the moment (though if there is such being that is OCD enough to be able to handle the job of laying out countless generations of every single possible species and nonliving piece of matter, I applaud said being).
Now on to what I do wish to think about at the moment: fate. Fate, as I believe, has set down are destinies, and what happens until our inevitable end. Fate, as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary claims, is “the will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do”. I think that this encompasses the idea that our choices are predetermined by fate and that because our destiny has been determined, the road that leads to it has also been laid down. But what does that make choice? Can we really “choose” if this is possible? If our freedom of choice was simply something that fate decided to “give” us, was it a choice that determined if we received this freedom of choice? My answer would be yes. I think that it was written in fate that the choice would be made so that we could all have the freedom of choice.
Now, some of you say, “If I choose to shoot myself tomorrow, just to cheat fate and destiny and whatever the heck you’re talking about, then it was MY choice.” But what if fate chose for you to try and see if you had a choice? Your choice is your choice, but fate has already seen that you will make that choice. If you slap yourself, and say it was your choice, what if fate had already decided that while you’re making this in-depth analysis of what roles fate and choice play in our lives, that you would try and see if you had the power of choice by slapping yourself? What I believe is what I believe, I’m not adamantly demanding that you believe it as well. I just want to show you guys a different perspective. And, for all I care, all of our beliefs are predetermined by fate as well. It’ll be funny to think that all these people screaming pro-choice were destined to believe against the very power that makes their decisions.
Oh gosh that was long. Oh well. :D
Our lives are determined by our choice: although we may regard it as "fate", choices are what make up our lives. Essentially, the choices we make result in our fate, therefore making choice superior to our fate. However, some may argue that fate is a supernatural force and cannot be controlled, and that what happens, happens.
ReplyDeleteFirst, on the topic of our choice, we must do what we want. Basically, if we are to (for example) take a walk, and somehow we come across a penny. Is it fate that the penny was there? It could be there or it could just be coincidence. But we must also take into account our decision to take the walk in the first place. Without choosing to take a walk, we would never have found the penny, therefore negating fate to happen. We would not have found the penny if we had not chosen to take a walk.
Second, now we go to the topic of fate. Many theorists may argue that fate is something that cannot be controlled, therefore any choice we make will not affect our fate. This may actually be true. Sometimes, it takes pure and shear luck to get by tings, such as not choosing to take a walk. If we do not take a walk, then it could be our fate not to take a walk, regardless if we find a penny or not. Fate could be inevitable, even if our choices attempt to alter it, it could still find a way of happening.
I feel that our lives are our affected by our choices. For example, if we choose to work hard in life, we'll succeed. If we don't work hard and slack off, then our future takes a turn for the worse. Bill Gates, one of the richest men on the planet, chose to drop out of Harvard and start his corporation. we, as students, chose whether or not we want to show up and school and learn. It is the decisions that you make that determines where you end up, be it a success or a failure.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that our life is governed by fate, Of course many of our choices will contribute to what happens in our life. But i think that our life, or path that we take, was already laid out and planned for us the minute our mother's found out they were pregnant. our life is just a mere blue print which is our fate, but its our decision or choice to follow what's been laid out for us. when you choose to make a bad decision our fate shifts and takes up a new path, so I guess neither one by itself governs our life completely, they both sort of play to each other.. if that makes sense..
ReplyDeleteReshad Hoque
Period 5
The controversy on whether decisions in the lives of people are pre-determined or not has existed since the beginning of intellectual thought. I believe that choices are not fixed by the circumstances in which they arise or by the background of the decision maker. However, upbringing and education do play a dominant role in his judgment. Many of the choices people make can be logically explained through assessing their desires and fears, and their background. Still, if individuals could not make conscious decisions, then the lives of people would be purposeless, and little would separate them from the insentient.
ReplyDeleteYet, to deviate from an expected outcome in a situation would require will-power and mental strength – to take one option instead of another, despite immediate difficulty or discomfort. Self-control in the face of indulgence and courage in the face of fear are two situations that exemplify the presence of true decision-making.
Wilbur Li
5th Period
Reading this prompt, I feel like I am torn between the two sides. My choices are solely made by myself, yet, I believe in the idea of fate. I believe that fate and choice are both equal forces, each playing a part in governing our future.
ReplyDeleteIf your life is a road, then fate is the path in which the road goes. Fate is the basic outline of your life, the major occurrences of your story, and the sketch of your history. Fate has already decided the major events like who your parents are to be and what genes you control. Fate has also foretold the purpose of your life: why do you exist? For example, George Washington existed to lead America into independence. Fate made sure that major events happened in specific times of your life, such as the passing-away of your grandparents and the birth of your child. Fate is also the balance beam of life and the justice of the ultimate Supreme Court. Fate is the warning you have when you know you are not doing the right thing. Fate also makes sure that lies are exposed, and wrongdoings leave evidence. Fate is the sketch of your portrait, but with no color or finishing touches.
However, as much as fate holds so much power, fate is only controls so much of your life. If fate is the pathway, then your choices are what alters the pathway, making curves and loops and constructing rises and falls. The choices you make are what make you unique, and the choices you make are what ultimately decide your entire future. For example, it is fate that when a little kid tells lies, his lies will be exposed by his parent. But the choice he makes then, whether to keep telling lies or stay on the path of truth, is what that decides the future. Fate is the part of your life already designed, but all the other parts are governed by yourself and only yourself. Your choices are what make you today.
I believe that choice and fate both play an equally important role in our life. However, as much as I know that if I do this I will contradict my thesis statement somewhat and get a ton of points deducted on a timed writing; I would like to mention that whether it’s choice or fate, it doesn’t really matter. If life is governed by fate, you are going to experience big things in your life (good and bad). If life is governed by choice, you are STILL going to experience good and bad things in your life, whether you like it or not. Really, it doesn’t matter whether your life is governed by either one. Just do the best you can with it! Be satisfied with your life, but try to become as best as you can! The key thing is to control what you can do with your life and do it well.
Scott Cao
Per.5th
I believe that fate has what you are gonna do set in stone. The reason for my belief is that even if you "think" you did this on your own free will, technically, it was already decided in fate for you to do it. To put it simply, no matter what you do, even if you used to dream of being a doctor, but then on the last day of high school change your mind and decide you want to be a scholar, it was already decided by fate that you would change your mind. And if you decided to go back to your dream of being a doctor, that would also be in the fate's set path for you already. So no matter what you do, it was already "fated" to happen. No matter what "choice" you choose, fate had already decided which choice you were gonna choose, you just have to act out the process of deciding and "supposedly" choosing your own choice.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we humans exist, the debate between fate and choice will exist as well. I personally believe that fate, in fact, does not govern our lives and that we have free will: the ability to make decisions. Many factors contribute to the choice of a person: knowledge, prior experiences,education etc. However, regardless of these factors that may influence the decision-maker, the person still has his own choice, and this is why I believe that fate does not govern our lives, choices do.
ReplyDeleteThose who propose fate as the so-called blueprint of our lives are basically saying that we humans do not have the capability to make true choices. If we, as humans, were not able to make our own decisions, we would merely be "robots". No real purpose in life, as everything we do has already been set out for us. However we are not mere "robots"; we are capable of our own decision-making, and thus fate does not control our lives.
I agree with Joseph when he said that humans are not "robots". However, as I mentioned in my response, I believe that some things are truly beyond our control. We were never be able to choose when we were born, and we will never be able to choose when we die, unless of course, you commit suicide.
DeleteFrom the comments that I have read, it appears that your opinion has to be either fate or choice. Not both. In my opinion, I believe that it actually is both. For example, I believe that a higher power has dictated your birth, your death, and some momentous occasions in your life, such as who you will marry,or how many children you have.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I think that you can choose what grades you get by studying hard, or choose what time you want to wake up. You can choose what job you want to have. Most importantly, you can choose what type of people you will hang around. You have a choice of for example, trying elicit drugs or doing a crime.
Okay, so lets say if i was born in a higher level of society and i was "destined" to do whatever the higher lever tell me to do. Don;t you think i have a mind of my own, its my choice how to live that life. Either do my duties or say no and become rebel, like in the movie "what a girl wants." It might not be relevant but the man did what he wanted to, to step down being the governor and live a mellow life with his daughter. Plus i know we cant really choose how to die, but what cause the death isn't fate, like lets say cancer. The parents had it and gave it to the offspring. Or a car accident, they could of been texting and crashed. Also we can choose who me marry and how many kids we have. We choose who we date, we choose who we talk to, and like. Its also the other partners choice if they feel they can be with you forever. This might sound out of place but hey, its your choice to use protection or not. Its not fate that depends on that.
DeleteTo be truthful, i believe its our choice to choose who we love and how our life path goes. If i had a choice to stay at my old school where its easy to make A's and sloth around or go to Clements and work hard for my grade and understand what school life really is, i chose to go to Clements because i made a choice for the better of my future even though i know i'm far behind the academic level here. I cant depend on fate to help me through college and life. The decisions we make helps us along the way, either its good or bad, we made the choice.
ReplyDeleteNow for Romeo and Juliet, Romeo had a choice to fall for who ever he wanted to love, and it so happens to be that Juliet is the fairest of them all and she caught Romeo's attention. But in the other hand people might think, "oh its destiny, because its love at first sight." When we think about it, can we really fall in love with someone at first sight, its probably just lust at first sight, because we fall in love with someone because of their personality, their flaws, and their present that makes you feel joy and comfort.
Its their decision who to love and in reality we choose who we love as well, if we chose to open up to someone or "flirt" with a specific person, it was your choice to do so.
I believe our lives are affected by both our choices and faith. The choices we make and the things we do work with our destiny to help create our future.
ReplyDeleteOur choices are used to help us to determine, reach, and fulfill our destiny. Our choices affect what destiny lies in store for us and how close we get to it. If we make good choices it will bring us closer to a better destiny. If we make bad choices it brings us closer to an unfavorable destiny. An example is, if you and your friends were planning to go to a really great party, where almost everyone you knew would be. But the day before all your teachers give you tons of homework and tests to study for, which will have a major impact on your grade. You have only two choices either go to the party or finish your work. If you choose to go to the party, you could drastically lower your grades and probably ruining your chance to get into a good college. If you choose to miss the party and complete your homework, you could greatly increase your grades and probably get into one of the best colleges. Either way you might end up completely changing your destiny. In life we will have to face many choices, both big and small. They may be easy or difficult; some may seem to be impossible. But, if we are smart, responsible, and understanding we will be able to make the right decisions. Our choices are dependent on our character. For example, a person who is fond of gambling is more likely to make a riskier decision than a safer one.
Our destiny determines the major things that happen to us and the major ways we affect our surroundings, both good and bad. Our destiny chooses mostly the big things like who we marry, what we accomplish, who we inspire, who we help, what type of life is in store for us, and can even choose our choices. Destiny can be very unpredictable and everyone can have more than one destiny. Our destiny could end up being either a good one or possibly a not so good one, depending on the choices we make.
Destiny may sometimes seem to only bring a negative outcome, but in the end destiny does lead us to a better future. 9/11 was a tragic day for our country. But because of that, we have upgraded our security and have been able to accomplish many things. I'm not saying I'm glad there was a 9/11; I wish that it never happened. But without it most likely we wouldn't be living the way we are today. What I'm trying to say is that because of that day our security has been much tighter. And because security has greatly improved we have never had an incident like that or as severe as that since then. It's impressive especially considering the amount of bombing attempts. Without 9/11 we probably would have experienced many more disasters before realizing the need of better security. But, there is also a chance that our security might have progressed even without it. Another outcome of the disaster is that now we have been building the Freedom Tower which may later play a big part toward the future.
Sometimes our choices may change our destiny, and sometimes our destiny will make our choices. My point is without either destiny or choices we wouldn't have a future. A life of only choices wouldn't have a reason for them without destiny and there would be no final result, making all the decisions pointless. A life only of destiny would not really be a life at all; there would be no freedom, no control over one’s own life, no need for struggles, no extra results, no mistakes, no changes, nothing that one does will make a difference, basically no purpose in living. It is not that they would die, they just wouldn't exist.
But this is just my opinion. I could be wrong. I'm not trying to prove or disprove anyone's belief. This is how I think life works.