2nd PE Assignment: Michael Joo

What we are to decide

“So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” By Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings.”

In Moria, after Saruman's calamitous magic stops them from taking the road through the mountains, Frodo and Gandalf sit in front of a three-way passage and talk of their situation. Frodo tells Gandalf he wished the ring had never gone to him. Gandalf answers: “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

Frodo decides to throw the ring of power in to the great chasm of Mount Doom. 

What am I to decide?

What is this student to decide?

As the freshman year ends, many students look back on what they have achieved and look forward on what they will achieve. This student has an average GPA, an average set of honours and awards. As average, those beneathe him envy him, but as some people see the glass half empty instead of full, he sees the half above him. He really wishes to go to Princeton, but has no hope of getting there. 

He looks in the mirror. 1 year ago, there stood a proud student of HAFS, the most prestigious high school of his nation. With his dark, short hair, his eyes were clearer than any other and full of flame: flame of self-esteem, ardor and possibility. His school uniform shined with its hue of rich gold and deep dark blue. Now stood a lost young adult; he sees an old child now envying rather than envied. His hair is all curled up and cluttered due to lack of sleep and arid, opaque eyes of grey that seem to reflect noting bt regret. His clothes are all covered with stains and dust. 

Then, the young man asks him "What did you do for the last 365 days that's productive?"

The student confesses. "I have done nothing for myself. I have enjoyed life as if I were a hedonist chasing sports, games and girls. I wish none of this had happened. I wish 2012 had never come to me."

Then, by some wicked sorcery, a White Wizard approaches. He smiles slightly with a look of pity.  Then, he says “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” 

Two years later, 

The student decides to throw his application in to the great application centre of Princeton.

Everyone goes through hard times. Frodo traveled on foot to a land of fire and lava to fulfill an impossible mission; Oprah Winfrey had a single mother, a child as a teenager and drugs but in the end became the world's best talker; Barack Obama is left in his hand an impossible economy to heal. But it is not our's to decide whether such hardships happen or not. 

What am I to decide?

I am to decide what happens from now, not what happened in the past. I am to decide what I can do best in the situation given to me. 

What are we to decide?

We are to decide the future, not the past. Is it not a delight?