Our Future

Will Cozadd
Locke
9th

To What Extent Are We Constrained By The Past And To What Extent Can We Break It? In other words, to what extent does the past determine our future?

Our Future is shaped by three factors: environment, education, and past experiences. Devoid of a supportive and nurturing environment, a brilliant mind can go unnoticed, and an opportunity lost. Not having an education decreases your intellect, which can in turn, negatively influence your chance for a certain career. Past experiences affect you most of all, for successes lead to confidence and mistakes can sometimes lead to wisdom. Anybody can alter their future, but the past affects whether or not they choose to do so and how effective they will be.

Feeling supported and cared for encourages people to take risks and try new things. People with great environments become more confident and trusting, while those who were neglected remain hesitant. If a child is brought up thinking he can be president, he will have a much greater chance of success than someone who’s goal in life is to barely make it. At birth, a child’s brain is like a sponge, soaking up knowledge; and if all it learns is how to exist, its ability to change will be forever restrained. Anybody can change their future, but with a proper environment, people will have drive, motivation, and the courage to do it in the best way.

Education also is key, because with a wide range of knowledge, people can pursue a plethora of future opportunities. Without an education, people have to strive harder to get jobs and earn money, slowing down the speed at which they can change. With an average education, one can get a job with relative ease, and begin saving up for college. With a great education, one can expedite that process or even find somebody to sponsor furthering his or her learning. Again, breaking our past for a better future is always possible, but with a great education, one has more realistic opportunities.

Experiences may seem good or bad in the moment, but one thing they all have in common is that they help you grow. A good experience will give you courage about a topic, while a bad one will give you wisdom and humility. All experiences bestow valuable qualities upon you, so the more life experiences one has, the better off they will be. To have powerful experiences, one must go out of ones comfort zone, and try something new. Experiences provide knowledge, and in life, knowledge is power.

You can shape your future. However, to know when to shape it, how to shape it, and what you are shaping it into, you must embody three qualities: Past experiences, education, and environment. These qualities will help you become who you want to be. The past does affect your future, but only in certain instances and situations.