The Consequences and Impact of a Choice on Life

The decisions a person makes today will affect tomorrow, for a choice is always accompanied by a consequence. Every day is another chance to try to alter the outcome of the next day based off of the choices a person might possibly make today. Most people may believe that they have no control over what the new day will bring or whether a consequence will be positive instead of negative, while in fact they do. If a person decides to do something today, it will indefinitely affect what they may have to deal with tomorrow. Most consequences are unavoidable no matter what a person may do to try to prevent it, but consequences can be avoided or turn into something positive or a valuable lesson by the choices they make.

Some choices people make stand out above others, whether big or small, but ultimately all choices have a positive or negative consequence tied to them. While reading the novel “The Other Wes Moore: One Name Two Fates, there were many characters and all of them made decisions that could have had an effect on the outcome, but sometimes the consequence is not always negative or effectable. An example of this would be when Wes Moore #1 made the choice to punch his older sister Nikki after they were playing a game that involved Nikki blowing in Wes’s face and then taunting him to chase her. The author writes about this in the first chapter and really draws out his younger self and his decision-making skills then by saying, “But today, I caught her and realized, like a dog chasing a car, I had no idea what to do. So, in the spirit of three-year-old boys everywhere who’ve run out of better ideas, I decided to punch her” (Moore 5). When Wes’s mother walked into the room right as he swung and connected, it was at that moment that the consequences started to rain down upon him. Not only was his mother’s rath and her ‘Thomas hands’ directed at him, he also had to deal with the disappointment of his sister. When most people think of a consequence, they think of a negative outcome or punishment. That is not always the case, as with Wes’s situation. While he did have a couple of negative consequences he ultimately had a really good consequence to deal with. When his father talked to him in his bedroom, he was learning a lesson in a very deep and real way. Wes empahzises this later on in chapter one when his father is talking to him, “He began to explain what I did wrong and why my mother was so angry. ‘Main Man, you just can’t hit people, and particularly women. You must defend them, not fight them’”(Moore 11). Wes is a real life example of having both positive and negative consequences of the decision he made. People all over the world make choices and decisions, and they do have a chance to have a positive or negative outcome. It can depend on the situation and the influence of people around them, but in the end it really depends on the person’s choice and the action they take to try to affect what their consequence may be.

Choices impact more than just the person that made the choice; many times the consequenes of that choice extends to the people around them and sometimes can affect a loved one or a person not as close. This is evident throughout the novel, “All American Boys”, but most noticeable when Rashad (a colored JROTC and art kid) is effected very negatively when Paul Galluzo (a white police officer) brutally beats him in a store based on his and the store clerk’s assumption that Rashad was trying to steal a bag of chips. The scene unfolds rapidly as the authors’ writing vividly details the intensity of the situation and articulates the absurdity of the whole event by writing, “‘Yeah, he was trying to steal those chips!’ the clerk interrupted, shouting over the cop’s shoulder”(Kiely and Reynolds 21). The deeper underlying meaning behind this whole scene is that Paul and the store clerk were assuming that just because Rashad was black, he was probably stealing the chips. Because of their negative assumption of him, Rashad had to deal with the negative outcome of the choices the police officer made. Many people go through this type of situation many times throughout their life, although it may not be as extreme as racist police brutality. In this world there are seven billion people and every single one of them have at one time or another made a choice that affected more than just themselves. An example of this in the world would be when the United States government decides to cut school funds and teacher pay. They not only just affected what amount a teacher makes, but they also have an impact on the student’s learning enviroment and curriculum. When funds are cut that means new textbooks can not be afforded, therefore the books are outdated and not as useful to students trying to learn about history or American government. While this is not as big of a consequence based off of someone else’s choice, an innocent person is still being affected by the choice that was made. Not all people are affected negatively by another person’s decision, but the majority of the time the outcome is negative.

On the whole many people have made and will make decisions that have a consequence that impacts many aspects of their life. Whether the outcome of their decision is negative or positive they have a chance to try to change the outcome beforehand. When a person consciously makes a decision they either think before they make that decison or they just jump in feet first without thinking. They did have the chance to try to make that choice have a good outcome, but it all depends on them and the choice that they make. Overall, a person is in control of their choices and therefore have a handle on the outcome of their future. 

Works Cited

1. Kiely, B., & Reynolds, J. (2015). All American Boys. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books.
2. Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading change. Harvard Business Press.
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