Choice: an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities. A possible course of action and the power of choosing.

Your entire life revolves around personal choices. No one can take that away from you unless you choose to allow them to. With that comes accountability. Something our world seriously lacks.

It's easier to blame others for your actions and it has become acceptable to play the victim instead of own up to something you ultimately chose to do. We as a society are doing nothing for our future generations by patting them on the back every time they continue to make a "mistake," and slap them on the wrist when a harsher punishment was justified.

And we wonder why the world is the way it is...

You have murderers walking the streets because "we would rather rehabilitate than punish." "We aren't our mistakes." You are right, we aren't. Our mistakes are our actions - our choices that we decided to make. That "mistake" is no longer able to tell their family that they love them, no longer able to have a future because an individual decided to play God and rip their life from them. Why? Because they see there is no real consequence to their actions anymore. No justification to their choices.

Let's talk about addiction. The choice to use or abuse. I am not going to discuss whether it is a disease. I am talking about the choice. In the end, the addict has to choose to get clean in order for them to successfully stay in recovery. They have to make the choice between fighting for their life or becoming another victim of an overdose. If they are in recovery, it's their choice to fight everyday for it and the happiness they deserve.

Everything in life stems from a choice. Good or evil, right or wrong, left or right. Think about it. No matter how big or small there's always that word. Choice.

Your choices in life lead to your actions and your behaviors. Not your environment, not how you were raised, and not the color of your skin. It falls on you. You may make a mistake and choose the wrong path, but that's the beauty of it. You learn and you choose to not make it again.

Life isn't going to always go right. It's on you to wake up each day and choose whether to be happy and embrace life. Your choice to follow the wrong crowd and become another stereotype. Your choice to choose racism and hate.

All it takes is thought. Before you make a decision think about whether you are ready to be held fully accountable for your choices and the consequences.