Every day in life we make choices. We choose what we want to wear, what we want to eat etc. But what about the choices we make that could have a long term affect on our or somebody else’s life? When a person makes a bad choice they end up down a bad road. But what about the times in your life when you can turn a bad choice into a good choice and turn onto a different road?

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference” (Robert Frost- the Road not taken). I interpret this quote to mean that a person could take a road in life that not many people choose to go down, and making that choice has made all the difference in life. When choosing a path that not many people go down, it could mean that it is a tough choice or a challenge. This could be standing up for someone who is being made fun of and standing out but maybe not having the “popular kids” like you but, in the end that person is doing what is right and taking the right path. For example, in the book Star Girl, written by Jerry Spinelli, Leo must make the choice to be the boyfriend of Star Girl, a strange girl from school that people don’t like or, being recognized and having lots of friends. This is a very difficult choice for Leo because imagine having lots of friends and then all of a sudden, you only have one friend that not many people like and people stop talking to you. In this situation, Leo had to choose what road he would take. Leo winds up taking several different roads. First he chooses to be with Star Girl and then not be. Was Leo making the right or wrong decision? “We had no one to compare her to, no one to measure her against. She was unknown territory. Un-safe. We were afraid to get too close”(Spinelli). This quote clearly states that Leo is scared to get too close to this strange girl. In fact, it scared almost everyone in the school.

Star Girl also makes some hard decisions in the book. She changes who she is to try to be “normal” just to keep her boyfriend happy and make it seem like she could fit in. She changes her name back to Susan and pretends that her old self just doesn’t exist, but that just isn’t who she is, and it’s hard to be someone you’re not. Star Girl then goes down the road to go back to who she truly is. But, this was a hard decision for her because that meant giving up her boyfriend. “Because I didn’t feel like Susan anymore”(Spinelli). Said Star Girl when asked why she changes her name.

Why is it that we all get stuck with these tough decisions in life? Well, the only answer I have is that we have a lot of options in life. Everybody goes down at least one wrong or bad path in their life. Nobody is perfect and you live and you learn. In order to do that, you must make some bad decisions in life of course, not intentionally.

The worst kinds of paths are paths that affect other people in a bad way because not only are you hurting yourself, you hurting someone else. For example, there are people that are teased or bullied for their whole life. If no one steps up, making the right decision to help this person, the person could hurt themselves to stop the pain. Imagine being the aggressor in a situation where the person you bullied chooses to commit suicide. Your affecting yourself, that person, the person’s peers, friends, and family. Take the right path and be that person to help the person that is being bullied. You could change their life and yours.

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” (Robert Frost- the Road not taken). This means that there were two roads, meaning the good and the bad road. Which road is taken is the person’s choice. May they take the road less traveled.