I have realized over the course of my first year of college a very important thing: you can do anything if only you try hard enough.
This sounds cliche, of course. How any anyone do anything?
In philosophy, you learn about free will and whether it exists or not for humanity. Of course, this is a pretty loaded question without a completely straightforward answer.
Some philosophers argue that free will does not exist. There are physical parameters such as time, neural transmissions and your own personal history that seal your future where you think you are making decisions, but they are not actually your decisions.
To me, although there are parameters that can limit our choices, you still have the free will to choose. For instance, you choose what major you want in college. Other philosophers who do not believe in free will argue there are certain things in my history that defined my choice in majoring in Creative Writing here at Denison. To me, there are influences in my past and with my relationships with others that might influence my decision slightly but, ultimately, I chose what my major is. I could have extensive knowledge and a love for fencing, but not want to major in it.
So, it is easy to see how if people don’t try, it may seem like they do not have a choice in their progress.
By trying hard, I feel I have accomplished many feats during my time in college so far.I have been adamant that I scored an internship during my first summer in college. I did not want to wander the part-time coffeehouse jobs nearby my hometown, but wanted to venture out. My one way ticket: getting an internship in a city far enough away from home, but close enough to visit. I found as many internships as possible, thrusting myself into every application form that could lead me to my goal. What I found was that I could do what I wanted, as long as I became the applicant with the experience I needed and displayed my personality.
For weeks, I did not get replies to my pleas of internship: I became weary of my capabilities. I worried if I was going to be able to accomplish my goal or if I was overshooting my skills so early. Multiple people told me I was almost shooting for the stars as most people went home for their entire first summer.
I did not listen and still hoped.
I got my internship
and cried.
So, you can hear critique and opinions of your progress, but ultimately, it matters about how you view yourself, how you know yourself, and how you carry yourself. Then, you have free will. Then, you free your mind.