Current Release: September 11th, 2007 | Vol. XXIV Iss. 10

Choices

By Elizabeth Appleyard and Jeni Meyers

eaappleyard@vwc.edu & jlmeyers@vwc.edu

The New World Dictionary of American English defines choice as  the right, power or chance to choose; option(s). Choice is all around. It s there when you wake up in the morning and it s with you until you close your eyes at night. Even while dreaming we face unconcious choices. Some choices that we have to make may be minuscule, such as what underwear to put on. Other choices we face can be more serious, such as what to do when you graduate college.

Coming upon the conclusion of our college careers, we have now realized just how many choices we face upon leaving VWC. Before this realization, we never payed attention to how many choices we make each day.

For example, as seniors in high school, we shifted through brochure after brouchure, each college trying to sell themselves to us, and we were trying to figure out which one would benefit us the most. Well, we ended up here.

Throughout this year we will be discussing CHOICE and the steps we may take to reach a decision. Sometimes the choice may be the most beneficial, and other times not so much. But either way, that is the choice that is made and is the one we have to live with.

In today s society, choice is the ultimate aphrodisiac. It seems the more choices we are given the more freedom we posess. But with such freedom of choice, what results may come from too many choices? Can having too many options prevent you from ultimately making the right choice for yourself?

With only two semesters left of our college careers, have we made the right choices? Did we make the right choice in coming to VWC? What about the majors we have chosen or the actions we ve made? Should I have studied more and partied less, or should I have let loose a little more and let the books sit for a while?

The end result of the choices we have made may never be explicitly confirmed as  the right choice, but if what we choose ultimately leads to any one of these six things, as recently discussed in Phil 104, The Examined Life: fulfilment, knowledge of oneself, understanding, happiness, enlightenment, or liberation; maybe we have achieved some expectation.

Can we ever be satisfied or know satisfaction when faced with so many choices? You may find yourself reading this column and can ultimately relate to what we are facing; or some of the choices we discuss may be so trivial to you they sound dumb. But can we ever feel that in the end we have made the right choice, no matter how trivial or serious the topic may be?