LIFE IS FULL OF RANDOM CHOICES

By Truth or Derrick

 

For the first time ever: a Choose-Your-Own-Truth-or-Derrick!

 

OK here’s how it works: the following column is an amazing melodrama filled with passion, romance and adventure. But unlike the best melodramas, you, the ever-so-important but never-cared-for reader, get to choose your own ending.

 

So when you get to the end of each lettered section, jump around to either given choice.

 

START HERE:

 

“You are making decisions now that will affect the rest of your entire life,” the teacher told us, “so you better know what you’re doing.”

 

We were in fourth grade, and we didn’t have the slightest clue what we were doing. It was all we could do just to decide how to get to school in the morning.

 

To go on the bus, jump to “H.” To ride the bike, jump to “D.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A

 

When I started high school, it didn’t take long to totally forget about what happened that day, and old childhood superhero capes soon cluttered my closet — their final resting place. But I became very involved with various activities in high school because I wanted to be the most competitive student I could be.

 

To join clubs and sports, jump to “G.” To follow the scholarly academic-only route, jump to “F.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B

 

When I started high school, it didn’t take long to totally forget about what happened that day, and after making a few tie-dye shirts, I forgot completely about my ambitions to save the world. But I became very involved with various activities in high school because I wanted to be the most competitive student I could be.

 

To join clubs and sports, jump to “G.” To follow the scholarly academic-only route, jump to “F.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C

 

She slapped that cheek too. But I learned a valuable lesson that I now know I never would have known if I had retaliated: life is too short to get mad. Why waste time fighting when we could be cherishing the good moments of life? After all, it truly isn’t that long until we’re all going to be dead.

 

Jump to either “A” or “B.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

D

 

On the way to school, it wasn’t long before I began wishing I had chosen to ride the bus. Soon, I heard a rumble of playing cards thwapping ominously on wheels. I turned to discover I wasn’t the only biker on the street, and the big kids following me didn’t look friendly.

 

It was that day, after those kids left me bruised and lumpy on the street, that I decided what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

 

To follow the path of the peace activist, jump to “B.” To follow the path of the local hero defending the helpless, jump to “A.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E

 

I socked her mouth. After that, no one messed with me. And I learned a valuable lesson that I never would have known if I had let her walk all over me: life is too short to let people control your life. Why waste time being a doormat when we could be cherishing the good moments of our own life? After all, it truly isn’t that long until we’re all going to be dead.

 

Jump to “A” or “B.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

F

 

I set to work immediately on my AP classes and community service projects. I created and stuck to an action plan in which I studied diligently for five hours a day after school and twelve collective hours on weekends.

 

My whole life was ahead of me, and it was wonderful. Sure, life wasn’t that fulfilling right then, but it was easy to see that in the future, I would be incredibly happy. So it was worth going through the misery.

 

Then, that glorious day came that I was accepted to the college of my choice. I was shipped away in the airplane immediately.

 

To fly Southwest, jump to “I.” To fly American Airlines, jump to “I” also.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G

 

Everyone said I was the most popular kid in school. I could make any basket, score any goal or fundraise for any organization. I was rarely at home all throughout high school, and everyone said my life was great.

 

Sure, I hated each day suffering through all the practices, but everyone said that I had a great future ahead of me in sports. On one glorious day, I received an invitation to compete in a national soccer tournament. If I won, I could get a soccer scholarship at basically any school to which I might apply.

 

To fly Delta Airlines, jump to “I.” To fly in a private jet, jump to “I” also.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

H

 

On the way to school, it wasn’t long before I began wishing I had ridden my bike. I grabbed my seat in the back and thought everything would be fine … and then she came.

 

“Is that seat taken?” said the most beautiful girl in the fourth grade, Betty.

 

I stammered. “Uhh…” I began. But it was too late. The words were almost out of my mouth already: “I think you’re delicious.”

 

I still have a scar from the slap she gave me.

 

To retaliate, jump to E. To turn the other cheek, jump to C.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I

On the plane, I was filled with nervous anticipation. But after experiencing some rough turbulence, the cabin was no longer filled with oxygen. The plane took a nosedive and all the passengers could see the water below.

In my final seconds, I pondered a lot about my life, and the choices that had shaped it.