Have you ever wondered about how free you truly are? Do you ever get those strange thoughts while standing in the grocery store like, “what if I just punched the person in front of me?” Of course you aren’t actually going to do it, but the question remains if you did do it would you be acting freely, or are outside sources encouraging your behavior. I have been working on my graduation project for about 2 years now and the topic I chose was free will. Not only did I have to write a paper on the topic but I am also required to do an action project and I thought to myself what better way to spread awareness on free will than submitting a piece to a teen magazine!

I’m a senior who is slowly approaching graduation day and honestly it is extremely scary! Multiple questions go through my mind every day like, “Where should I go to college? What do I want to be when I grow up? Should I fake sick to stay home today?” What baffles me about all of these questions are that I am in control over all of the outcomes. Free will is the ability to act without restraint and the ability to act at one’s on discretion. With this being said, seniors who are thinking about their post high school plans and future have many free willed options that they must make. Thinking about what college you want to attend is completely up to you, a college should meet one’s own specific qualifications and standards. So going through the process of selecting colleges to apply to can be extremely gratifying when one is making their own decisions, however not all people have this choice. I personally have friends who are being pushed to go to colleges they do not want to go to, and this can be seen as going against free will.

Not everyone is free in making their post high school plans. There are students who have parents that determine their college for them and even pressure them into things such as following in the family footsteps even if the student does not want to do that. My honest opinion on this is that it is cruel and demeaning to rob someone of their own free will in choosing their post high school plans. Students who have no say in their life after high school are generally less likely to stay on that path that was chosen for them and make their own based on their free will later on in life.

With all of this being said, being a senior in high school who is thinking about their post high school plans is rough. However it doesn’t have to be rough! You are in control over where you want to go and what you want to pursue, and for those of you out there who have no say in it then I encourage you to step in and take control over your freedom. Good luck with all of your high school plans and future accomplishments!