We are the Choices we Make

Spider-Man... This is why only fools are heroes - because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice. Let die the woman you love... or suffer the little children? Make your choice, Spider-Man, and see how a hero is rewarded!

For me, that life-changing choice was made four years ago.

It was typical of a fourth year high school student to have such crisis of having to choose a degree program to take up in college, but not in my case. I already made that decision when I was eleven-- I want(ed) to be a writer.

But heck, I don't know where people get the notion that a practitioner in the field of communication does not earn anything—and money is found in the field of business, engineering, and, during my time, medicine; nursing to be exact (to that I beg to disagree. Your luck is where your calling is). I was encouraged to take up nursing on a lot of universities, but I just can't find my heart there. I fought for what I want—hard—until my parents and I came to a bargain. I took up Organizational Communication, the degree program I qualified for in the University of the Philippines Manila. And boy, never did I regret that choice of entering this degree, for it turned out that I couldn't have been in a better program than here. I got to be a communication practitioner, and I am also in the field of business. That's a combo for being what I want and convincing them that a communicator is not just a communicator, but someone the field of business (where they say the luck and money is) badly needs. What could get any better?

As I write this, I am just a month away of finishing that degree and proving that the choice I made four years ago was the best possible one. But coming down to that choice wasn't easy. It meant turning down two other university invitations that my other classmates would've felt so privileged to have, rationalizing all the time, and working hard to prove the people you turned down that you made the right choice. I have yet to prove my success on April. Oh, well...

However, life's choices need not always be grand. It can be the choice of taking the bus or LRT to school, or whether to have a caramel macchiato or mocha frap. It can be deciding on a topic for the 60-second UNILAB AVP you want to make with your friends about, incidentally, making quality choices (hurry though, deadline for entries is on March 10 and 11).  But in all times, the choices need careful consideration, practicality, and of course, your satisfaction upon the choice you made. It’s not every day that we get to make life-changing choices, and it’s not like we can just switch to the other choice instantly (or revert to what we used to be) so in every instance should come a decision that is of quality.

Not everyone is meant to make a difference. But for me, the choice to lead an ordinary life is no longer an option.

Make wise, quality decisions. In the words of my favorite hero’s villain (and just as quotable in the movie) the Green Goblin: “We are who we choose to be. Now choose!” Well, you know what Spider-Man chose and what he came to be. Everything’s ultimately your decision. ;)

PS. about the 60-second UNILAB AVP contest I mentioned earlier, you may want to check out the Check-UP Facebook fanpage.
Entry mechanics here.