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The Choices We Make
Tabula rassa, a Latin fraise that literally means cleans slate, is often discussed in schools of psychology during debates over whether or not a person is born good or evil. Some believe that we are born good, and from day one we choose how our life is to be dictated. Others will tell you that we are an evil species and are not capable of a life without sin. A third school of thought is a shared idea that we are born with an unbiased disposition or a "clean slate" and we are affected by the world around us. My belief is much the same; I believe that the choices we make dictate the lives we lead; yet the lives we lead dictate our choices. Our environment and the choices we make coexist, they feed off of each other yet neither is totally controlled by the other.
The story of the poor Frenchman, Claude Gueux, written by Victor Hugo, tells the life altering decisions that this man was forced to make. From the beginning to the end, it follows him as his criminal acts thicken and become more volatile. This however is not the story of a common criminal in modern day America; this tale tells of a man in the time of the French depression and had no option other than resorting to a life of crime. It dictates what happens when society plays too much of a part in a persons' life. Some of the time this is good, but all too often it is disastrous and leads to the demise of a person.
When we are born there is an opportunity for us to choose a path, a path in which dictates our life. While this path may not make our decisions for us it will affect us because we are confined to act within its boundaries. This path will sometimes cross another allowing us to choose between the two, but other than these crossings there is little chance for us to deviate from our chosen direction of our life.
I believe that we can choose to walk on the left or right side; walk fast or slow; but we may not choose the direction or terrain. Much like life, we often make choices, but these choices are made within a specific set of parameters.