Week 9: Does it matter what you choose?

 I think to figure out if something matters, who need to ask the question first of who it matters to. When Deanna decided it didn't matter, I think she thinks that it doesn't matter what other people think of her situation with Eddie and with her pregnancy. Everything matters, you just have to figure out to who. What other people think of her scandalous relationship could mean something to gossiping neighbors, but not to Deanna. 

I think voting does matter, because it's very important for me to have faith in my political system. I voted for the first time (absentee style) for my town's school board and town council, something I've looked forward to since I was under 8, probably. It mattered to me to vote because its something I've wanted to do for a long time. It also mattered for the people I voted for, or didn't vote for. 

I think to say that nothing matters is totally depressing and untrue. 

Everything choice have some impact on something else. No matter how small or big the choice, it matters. We are faced with many choices everyday. Some we make are unconscious. However, it counts because it makes us who we are. If it does not matter then we wouldn't bother to choose. Choosing can be very hard sometime, this is betting our choices are important. It will have some affect on us, and that is why we even bother choosing. If what we choose did not matter, then I don't think that we will even bother to choose. Life will be simple if it didn't matter.  

The question reminds me of the presidential elections. In this case, individual choice varies greatly between states. States with large populations, such as California, tend to diminish the importance of the individual vote. States with small populations, like Rhode Island, exaggerate the importance of a single vote. In the end, however, it is the majority that decides which candidate the state will go to. Using this perspective, one vote does not have the impact that the majority votes have upon an election.

On the other hand, the book mentions constantly the interconnectedness of all things, the web that every person, animal, and inanimate object is involuntarily involved in. The message throughout the second half of the novel is “we are not alone.” In this sense, an individual choice is almost impossible because of the wide-spread influence the costs and benefits will have. The choice of Eddie to shoot the wild turkey took the opportunity of that tom to become another predator’s food. But he also nourished himself and Deanna that would, however minute, lead to the nourishment of their future baby. Individual choice, it seems, may not even exist in the perspective of Prodigal Summer. To sum up the answer to the question, it probably doesn’t matter what you choose, but what or who your decision affects.

 Ahhhh of course it matters what we choose! Every choice we make has repercussions in some way -- whether they are big repercussions that affect us in the long term, or small repercussions that may only affect us for a day, or an hour, or even less. For example...eating an icecream vs. becoming vegetarian. Both are really different decisions but both will affect you in some way, albeit not on the same scale. Eating an icecream may affect you for a few hours (getting a sugar high or something) while becoming vegetarian is a whole lifestyle change that affects you in the long run (becoming conscious of what you're eating & making sure that you get all the vitamins (ex: iron) you need). I guess you would only NOT care if you didn't care what happens to you.. (but no one really DOESN'T care about their well being, aren't we programmed to be generally selfish and look our for our own needs?). I think we need to care to different degrees about the choices we make -- small trivial choices require very little investment, while big choices that affect us in the long run require more investment. idk :)

 This question is a little too open-ended, I think.  There is so much I can choose to relate, so much space I can choose to take up with this posting~ so much to ignore!  Huzzah!  Choice!  Indeed there is choice among us!  I think this is somewhat of a given!  Alors!  I suppose the two vexations wondered about in this novel are~ the debacle of choosing to decide based on the effect your decision will have on the universe, or choosing, going from the macro to the microcosm, based on the effect of your decision on your own personal happiness.  Well... basing your decisions on your relevance to the world seems to accomplish very little.  I might agree that in most cases pursuing personal ends is actually the most effective way of influencing populations as a whole~ if only because you choose by your endeavors (consumer choices, employment, neighborhood, politics) to join others, to become parts of a whole that can be measured and put to collective use, directed (or oppressed, as the case may be).  BUT I think choice goes as far as human capability, and to languish in the hopelessness of your situation, dwell on a lack of choices, is wasteful.  There are always choices, and though there may be very strong pressure towards one lifestyle or another, one major or another, one partner or another the power to decide remains wholly invested in you.  Now.... if you choose to become a serial killer there will, of course, be consequences, and part of decision making involves considering costs.  But the decision still remains open, it is possible to choose to become a raging maniac with a large gun (because a small gun would be entirely inefficient).  The consequences of becoming such an individual are just so extremely unhelpful to health and happiness (to most people) that the choice loses some of its attraction.  But it IS a choice.  However ridiculous.

This question first made me think of all those TV shows that show how simple changes in how people choose to do something significantly change how their day (or, even life) turns out. Each choice we make leads to a consequence and because of that, even the smallest decisions can have an effect on all aspects of our life. At the same time, this makes it seem as if we all life in very self-absorbed worlds in which we think that all of our actions are going to change the course of human history. Yes, there are some choices that are more important than others, but often there are certain choices that you make in life that you first think will have little impact that soon after you learn will have a greater impact. Like, when you decide what eat you may think it is of little consequence, but hours later when you feel sick, you might regret eating that piece of food that didnt look so fresh. Back to television. While I always love watching the shows that show how simple changes could change the course of our days, at the same time I think they are slightly unrealistic because there is no way that we could say "if only I did this, then my life would be so much better" because there is no way of knowing whether the long term consequence will be much better. Or, it could be that the short term consequence is positive and the long term is not, or vice versa. That being said, I dont think that I will stop enjoying such shows anytime soon.

No matter what you choose, there will always be consequences for choosing that particular choice. Whether you made the right or wrong choice, you will have to deal with something after it. Every options offer its' own merits. Sometimes, if you choose to make the wrong decision, you will get stuck in a cycle that is hard to break. Besides that, what you choose will definitely have something to do with your life. Thus, it does matter what we choose.

If what we choose does not matter, why bother living our life? We might as well just kill ourselves because it does not matter whether we live or not. I strongly disagree with Deanna about how our choice does not matter. What we choose to do in life will somehow define our life. If we want to live a meaningful life, then we have to choose the right choices. That is why, again, what we choose matters a lot.

In practical life, we are faced with options that may look simple and trivial. People often think that this kind of options will not affect our life if we choose a particular one randomly. They are wrong. Even the tiniest thing does matter. This small thing will eventually lead us to something bigger and more significant. 

 I think that it does matter what you choose.  When I think about it, I make choices almost every second of every day and I think everyone else does too.  What to wear? What to eat? When to sleep? And then there are the smaller things- what I am typing right now-choosing what words and how to explain my opinions.  I think that because we are constantly making decisions, most people would probably feel that not every choice matters, especially long term, but most of the time, each choice leads to another and a different result, so even the seemingly most insignificant ones do take some effect.  

When people ask me what made me pick Bryn Mawr, I can list off the obvious/ big reasons in a snap, but when I really think about it, my decision was built on choices I'd been making for years.  I probably made over 1000 small decisions that lead me to choose Bryn Mawr.  I'm not saying that I can list every single one right now because to be honest I don't think I even know half of the small decisions I made that lead me to where I am now.  Somewhere inside me the effects of those choices I've made over the years remain and when it comes time to make big decisions they bond together and give me that "gut feeling" of what to do.  Like I was saying before, I think that every choice leads to another and therefore they all do matter in some way.  

I think that when it comes to deciding what is "right" and making the "best" choice, it really depends on the person.  From my experience I have learned that everything is more about how one reacts to a choice and what happens after making a decision. I don't think every choice I've made has necessarily been "good" or smart, but no one makes only "good" choices because in order to make "good" choices, one needs to make "bad" ones first in order to learn what a "good" choice really is.

Of course it does. Although the daily choices we make might not have huge, life altering consequences, each choice we make alters our own lives in some way. These small changes add up to make us who we are and that also affects the people around us. You can't make choices for other people, so it might seem like the things you do have no effect because you are the only one doing them. But because your choices do affect other people, everything you do matters because one decision of yours can spark someone else's choice.

I think that everybody wants to be different. Deep down, all people want to be unique, and they want to have that certain something that separates them from the other thousands upon thousands of people in the world. I think that the uniqueness among people is created by our choices. Our choices are what differentiates us, which is why they are so important! Who here wants to be just like every other Tom, Dick, and Harry out there? Because I sure don't!

After writing that I feel like I sound an awful lot like Albus Dumbledore who stated,"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities". This may sound silly, but I think that this fictional old man is right! I think that our choices, no matter how small or large, are extraordinarily significant in our lives and the lives of others.

As for Deanna's dilemma? I do think that some of our biological choices are made out of our control, which can seem a tad unnerving. But as far as I can tell, this inner and natural part of humans that makes these decisions without us knowing seems to know what its doing, so I trust it (just like I didn't mind trusting Pandora last week). This powerful pull in us is a good thing. If nature walked up to me and said, "so Eva, you have to make your own choices today about pheromones, the best of luck", I wouldn't even know where to begin! I think that this choices are no more or less significant than the choices we make consciously, BUT I do think going with the flow is best.

But overall, it looks to me like we should all have a little Dumbledore in us somewhere when it comes to making choices.

People make choices everyday. From the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the classes they take and the person they wish to marry. All of these choices may become overwhelming. I think that it definitely matters what you choose. My aunt is constantly reminding me about "choices and consequences". She'll talk to me about her daughters and how she tells them, "do whatever you want; I'm not going to stop you, but remember that there are always consequences to the choices you make in life." In sense, I would have to agree with her, however there are choices that matter more than others. Choosing what college to attend, choosing your significant other, choosing what to major in: those are choices that matter more, because they are more long-term. On the other hand, choosing what to wear in the morning, what to eat for breakfast, those things aren't necessarily a matter of life or death. They aren't exactly significant to long-term; they are more short-term. 

I also think that some choices should be more thought out than others. However, overanalyzing choices and comparing the "what ifs" may change your initial thoughts about a choice. Therefore, I find it better to make choices based on that gut instinct. Make the choice and don't look back. 

I always believe in the validity of choice.  This isn't a comment on the existence (or non-existence) of God or Fate.  It isn't even a comment on the pros and cons of democratic republics. I've always believed in the power of my choices, as well as the principle that there are personal, social, political, economic, GLOBAL consequences to everything that I do.  I believe in the interconnectedness of all things and people, I believe in a global ecology.  I see things much the same as Deanna sees them, but I imagine it all on a global level.  I know that my choice to turn on a light will effect everything from the creatures that live in area surrounding the coal mines which generate that electricity, to the coal miners' health, to the quality of air that someone hundreds of miles away from me breathes. Perhaps I weigh too heavily on the consequences of choice, but I believe that's where the power of it comes from.  

I read a novel once in which the author asserted that "humans are cowards in the face of true happiness". It spoke to me, and from that quote I ascertained one of my general perceptions of life: All Life is a series of choices, and everything matters because one's personal happiness is the deciding factor between a life worth living and one that could have been spent more wisely. I always make sure to choose the path that makes me the happiest, and so it is an indisputable fact that YES, it always matters what you choose!