I think free will works really well if there’s some sort
of list of things to avoid in the free world—credit cards
until you have a job or discipline (preferably both), college
until you have an idea why you’re going, making decisions
out of frustration as opposed to using a rational decision-making
process, the desire to accumulate things if you do not own property
(you don’t need a lot of anything until you have the space
to warrant such things—this includes shoes, clothes, accessories,
appliances, boyfriends, televisions, cds, dvds). The only things
I think people in their 20s should accumulate are a few crazy
experiences and stamps in their passports. While you’re
in your 20s, go see the world--you’re young enough to survive
any disease you might contract while in a LDN; plus traveling
is the best way to gain a new perspective—it might help
you figure some things out. You have to be free, but that includes
the free will not to fall into the same trap as everyone else.
Obviously there’s a reason so many people in their 20s commiserate—they
all make the same dumb decisions or don’t think about their
decisions in the long term. Notice: the commiseration takes place
during the consequence stage of the decision. When people say
think outside the box, it doesn’t just apply to things like
finding a different solution to a common problem, it also applies
to life. Before you begin to (dangerously) compare your life to
those around you, ask yourself, what’s everyone doing? Is
it working? Why is it working for them? Do you share the same
set of circumstances, needs, methodologies? If so, great, be a
copycat. If not, do something else. There are so many ways to
live your life and experience the same things but experience them
in a way that doesn’t leave you sitting in a pool of regret
five years down the line. Personally, I plan on plucking a few
more berries from the free will bush. This time, I’ll think
before I bite. Spare yourself the pain….do the same.
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