CHOICE
1. ‘I am anchored on a resolve you cannot shake. My heart, my conscience shall dispose of my hand — they only. Know this at last.’
2. ‘I’ll be damned if I apologise for the choices I’ve made. They were hard decisions, but I had good reasons for making them’
3. ‘Choose well. Your choice is brief, and yet endless’
4. ‘You have to choose the best, every day, without compromise… guided by your own virtue and highest ambition’
5. ‘You will always define events in a manner which will validate your agreement with reality’
This discursive essay was written by me:
I consider myself lucky. Having recently returned from Malaysia – a country which I lived in for 9 years – the stark contrast between the choices that the people there have and myself are pitiful. Their financial circumstances tie them down to a trampoline which rarely allows them to bounce further beyond its barriers easily; whilst I am comfortably living in Australia with the safe knowledge that McDonald’s full-time minimum wage still pays better than any hospitality jobs there.
As one who is well-travelled would know, there is an abundance of food choices that we can make when it comes to eating out in Malaysia. Clothing, more; technological appliances, even more and cheaper too! However, when it comes to attaining a degree without any substantial savings, it’s tough. As tough as getting a job which could allow you to migrate in this global climate where national borders are continuously being tightened against refugees, let alone working migrants!
I asked my dad why it was that 15 year old kids would work at the hawker stalls, serving up dish upon dish of delectable Kampua Mee and Laksa. In my naivety, I didn’t think about the luxury that had been easily supplied to me – the ultimate sacrifice my dad made to move his entire family across the ocean whilst staying behind to support us.
He said:
‘It’s a tough life. But there’s nothing else they can do when they don’t like to study or lack in ambition. What can they do, where can they go?’
It was a poignant realisation on my part, that we have to make the decision everyday to ‘choose well’. I chose to study hard, to make good use of the boundless opportunities here, to make my parents proud and ultimately to make myself content that I have achieved my best. My choice may be ‘brief’ at any one moment, such as choosing my degree or the career I wish to pursue – but the consequences can be far reaching and my constant desire to do better, endless. We should appreciate this country more, as the limits of our dreams are bounded only by our imagination.
Like my education, I try to make the conscious decision to choose my friends well. The people around us are not only a reflection of the values and beliefs that we have, but are visions of who we want to be. My friends are free-spirited, adventurous and open-minded, but most of all they are kind, generous, hard-working and humble. Whilst they have their flaws, as do I – the conscious choices that we can all make is to be ‘guided by our own virtues and highest ambitions.’ Selecting food at a market is akin to making the decision of choosing ‘the best, every day, without compromising’ your own values and beliefs.
Our choices everyday are a reflection of who we are as a person. Let’s all rejoice in the knowledge that the choice that we make everyday brings us one step closer to our goals – where we should work only harder to reach further than the barriers of the trampoline and into our own hands!
Questions for you: What are the main ideas presented? What could you do to incorporate your own experiences and personal voice?
Part B essays do NOT have to be bland, philosophical or embedded with complicated words. Incorporate your own personal voice and experiences into your writing to create a unique piece that is evocative and interesting to read!
Planning your own essay: What experiences have you had in having to choose and what were the consequences? What did you learn from them? This will form your three arguments. Comment them below and let me give you feedback! ⬇️