A Daring Adventure

Helen Keller, the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, once said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.” Write what this quotation means to you. What is fate? Who or what controls fate? What gives a particular event meaning in our lives? What gives meaning to our lives as a whole?

I agree with the quote in that life can be viewed as a continual strive for progress and change, relying on our own independence and wild freedom. When fate comes into the picture, however, then it starts becoming slightly debatable.

Fate refers to destiny, which then refers to a future event that is inevitable. Whether or not one believes in this is up to the religious background of the individual. Some Protestants asset that life is predestined by God, whereas others believe that there is only free will in the world. I personally believe a combination of both. For me, fate is split into choice and purpose. My choice is the free will I exercise every day (what subject I will major in, whether I should drink Coke or Sprite, what kind of religion I choose to believe in), but because of my religious beliefs, I believe that I have a specific purpose, both in a spiritual and physical sense, that is set out for me by a higher force. This unique purpose is the purpose of my life, and I believe it to be the purpose of most people's lives.

Ultimately it is a person's individual values that gives a particular event meaning. An event only impacts us significantly if we allow it to do so, and it usually occurs because we either value it greatly or not enough. It is based on individual views of values. In the same way, a person's values gives meaning to one's life. For me, I value religion, so my religious purpose is the ultimate pursuit of my life, while at the same time working hard now so that I can play a positive role in society. Others without a clear purpose may be working for material wealth and worldly success, as they continue their education with the goal of making money in the future. Others strive to seek their purpose, some want to play a role in society and help others, and still others abide by the rule of "eat and drink and be merry, for tomorrow you will die." No guesses as to what kind of raucous behavior these people get themselves into.