What Choices Entail

Keywords: excellence; authenticity; choice; reason; morality; risk; sacrifice

To the

The question of what it is what one wants may either arise before the beginning of a task that is
to be done to serve as a ground to which one can step back into in order for him to see how far he
has reached from such point and how close he is already to attaining such goal, or it may arise
after a task that was held groundless serving as a note of realization for what one should have
done and what one ought to do and change in order for him to secure back an oriented path. But
such question may also arise at the point halfway through, which should be deemed as the most
dangerous among the three, for what the question is at hand of what it is what one wants now
becomes why it is that one wants it; at this point, one becomes suspended in his own self and
asks the purpose of his own being, that why should such endeavor still be continued at all when,
in fact, nothing really matters. And because nothing matters, paradoxically, everything matters
you can make anything matter.

The greatest fear one can get in achievement is regret the regret of the many opportunity costs
made, that one could have exerted his or her effort for something else that could have had a
greater outcome. And this fear becomes constant because we do not know what the future holds
for the things that we do. That is why if one either succeeds or fails, for as long he was
committed in putting all of his efforts into the work he has done, then we can leave regret out of
the picture.

One should be reminded of Martin Heideggers question of Why is there something rather than
nothing, but precisely because nothing matters (materializes with the use of wordplay), such
endeavor must be attended to, for as long as nothing is, something also is. And one realizes this
in his moment of suspension because he continues to care for his existence in relation to the
world. Therefore, one ought to continue to pursue his task with the conscious choice bounded by
care and reason, whenever and wherever the questions of what and why may arise, otherwise
why continue at all? Excellence in what one does, then, is not only accompanied by habit as
Aristotle says, but also by care, for habit, though presupposed by wisdom, without care is a
substantive and rational choice with a superficial regard for the spontaneity of practical life. Man
desires for happiness but in the end captures and establishes it to work in order to quantify the
range to which one becomes happy; however, such desire can only be attained by letting itself
bring itself as itself to man. Whenever one is questioned about what he wants, he always looks
for a reason to justify his desire, but he does not know that it just comes because one cannot
predict when it does, for only when it does can man comprehend that it is; and further, one may
gain satisfaction the moment he has accomplished the set points and goals he has established
before arriving at the end, but has he at all achieved what he really wanted to achieve?
The point is this: achieving a rank within the list surely does satisfy our bones, and surely I am
proud of it. But it does not mean that it is only up to that point we should be contented. By
choice with care and reason we continue to strive for the better until that state of true happiness
can really show itself to us. But the moment we choose to do this, we also take a risk a risk, a
sacrifice just because we desire this. But this choice itself must be from ones own consent,
otherwise time is wasted on the things that we never planned to do; therefore, what we do and
what we want must grounded on freedom as well.

And I do believe in freedom, but I also believe that there is predetermined aptitude in all of us
naturally endowed possibly by a higher being. But the latter makes me ask the question whether
we really are meant to be who we want to be, that whether God exists or not, I do not know; but I
do know one thing we are all headed towards death. But it also tells us one thing: we have to
make the most out of our lives while we are still breathing to pursue our dreams and passions
from one point to the other; to not only think but also to act, for life is never just something that
is quantifiable because it also includes what one feels and desires. And what I do believe is that
we ought to leave a selfless and inspiring impression, a mark, for the just and good reasons for
the next ones to come to let them have their turn to express what they think and believe, that they
should also find the meaning in what they do because I think finding meaning in what one does
is what makes life worth living.

But most of all, aside from the regard of oneself in ones endeavor to pursue his passions and
dreams, he must not forget those that have played both significant and insignificant roles in his
life; I include the latter because no matter what path one takes, each person he encounters
ultimately brings him closer to his goal. This means that whatever we have achieved so far was
because of our fateful and pivotal encounters of the people we pass by and look at in our lives;
therefore, their existence mustnt be disregarded, for it pays to be considerate and tractable to
them in the moments of our distress when they have helped us get back on our feet, and that we
may do the same as well to them. Thus, whenever such encounter happens, we must not forget
how they have contributed to our becoming, and to not forget is to think to keep in mind the
relation between the supporter and the supported. And by what it etymologically is, what comes
out of thinking, is what is phonetically related to the word think, which is thank, as song is to
sing. So, the moment we think about the hands the people have given us, we at the same time
give thanks to them, and more appropriately to give thanks sincerely in words to them. I would
therefore want to give thanks to the people who have supported me in my endeavors and who are
still continuing to support me until now: my greatest source of motivation, which is my family
my father, my mother, my brother, and my relatives; and also to my friends and acquaintances
inside and outside of school whom I have honorably shared my thoughts and feelings; to my
teachers who are sources of competence; to the God that I believe in who serves as a stronghold
in my darkest moments; and most especially to the people present here who have given their time
and attention to listen to what I had to say. Good afternoon.
 Distinction between to be recognized and to be noticed; the former includes the very
being the one has forged in his moments of struggle, that to be is to be recognized and to
inspire.