We Are the Choices We Make

Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices. ~ Alfred A. Montapert.

When Barry Bonds* made the choice to take steroids, he made a decision that would forever change his life and the lives of his friends, family and fans. The asterisk next to his name will forever represent a life changing choice. Now, whenever people see the name Bonds*, they think of the poor decision he made. The choices people make impact not only the people who make them, but others around them. Choices are unavoidable, and they can have positive or negative effects. Choices often result in unexpected outcomes. People’s lives are shaped by the choices they make. Choices impact not only the person making the choice, but also those around him.

In order to make a reasonable decision, one must consider every possible repercussion. In the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet believes that faking her death will get her out of the wedding with Paris, however she does not take into account how her decision will affect the people around her. Romeo, naive to Juliet’s fabricated demise, was convinced that he couldn’t live without his Juliet, and poisoned himself in spite of Juliet's plans. She woke up from her death-like coma, and Juliet realized that Romeo was dead, and actually killed herself. Other people’s lives were changed as a result of their deaths. “A glooming peace this morning with it brings; The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head: Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished: For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”(V, III, 327-333) This is an example of the consequences of decision making because Juliet didn’t acknowledge how her decisions impacted other people’s lives. This shows that when making decisions, one should consider it from another perspective.

Sometimes when decisions are made, they result in the most inconsidered consequence. In “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant”, the main character, a fishing fanatic, finally reels in a date with Sheila Mant, otherwise known as the woman of his dreams, who is uninterested with fishing. During the date, the main character rows Sheila down the river in a boat, where she states, “I think fishing is dumb, it’s boring and all, it’s just dumb.” (Wetherall 3). Meanwhile, an astronomical-sized fish is tugging on the main character’s line.