LLTM: "The Giver"

In eighth grade, we read The Giver by Lois Lowry as a class.  I enjoyed it, so I decided to read the excerpt the book had pulled out, chapters seven and eight.  It begins in the auditorium where the main character, Jonas, receives his adulthood job at the age of twelve.  He will have this job for the rest of his life, or until his successor comes, but the assignment he is given is rare, yet the highest regarded in the community.

I feel that in some ways, life would be a lot easier if the heads of community were to watch us, then decide what areas of society would best suit us.  It would take away the pressure of needing to go to a well-rounded, recognizable college, one that we feel and hope will get us ready for the real world.  It would take away the stress to get good grades, especially in high school, and would allow for a more enjoyable childhood, even if it only lasted twelve years as in the book.

And yet, there are many other ways in which I'm glad I don't live in a society that makes nearly all of my choices for me.  I'm glad I don't live in a community where I'm taught responses or behavioral instincts from when I'm born.  I'm glad I can choose for myself, even though there are many things that I wish I didn't have to choose between and hope that someone could simply make the choice for me.  And then there are the times when I'm scared of making the wrong choice, but I still enjoy that I can leave from all those decisions because I was the only one that could have made them.  Granted, many people have influenced what choices I make, even now as a freshman in college and 250+ miles away from home, but my parents (as much as I'd hate to admit it (so you two can skip the rest of this paragraph and start the next one)) have influenced me greatly, and I appreciate it.

I guess what it boils down to is that while there are some things I wish I didn't have to decide for myself, some choices I wish I didn't have to make, I'm glad that I live in a society that allows me to not only make those choices (and sometimes mistakes), but therefore gives me the ability to learn from them, gain experience, and also gives me the ability to give advise to others through those experiences.