Choices

Well if you know me at all, you'll know I'm a huge Nicholas Sparks fan. I am in the middle of reading "The Choice" (about a year after it came into print, but hey! I've been busy...) I came to a part in chapter 9 that I want to share. At this point, Gabby (lead female character) is laying on the beach talking to Stephanie (Travis's, main male character, sister):

Gabby: "Then you really don't know me, do you?"
After a moment, Stephanie rolled over to face her. "Yes," she
said. "I do." She couldn't hide the challenge in her tone.
"Okay, how about this? You're a good girl and always have been, but deep down, you think there's more to life than always following the rules, and there's a part of you that craves the unknown. If you're honest with yourself, Travis (or insert your own male here) is part of that. You're selective when it comes to sex, but once you commit to someone, the standards you would normally hold yourself to go out the window. You think you'll marry your boyfriend, but can't help but wonder why you don't have a ring on your finger yet. You love your family, but you wanted to make your own decisions about who you become, which is why you live here. Even so, you worry your choices will earn your family's disapproval. How am I doing so far?"

Later Stephanie says: "I just inserted your 'amazingly personal experiences' into pretty much every woman who ever lived.... But it's pretty amazing, huh? It always amazes me that once you cut through the clutter, people are pretty much the same. Especially through adolescence and early adulthood. For the most part, people go through the same experiences and think the same things, but somehow no one ever escapes the belief that his experience is unique in every conceivable way."

After reading this I was wondering if this really was a fiction novel. I know I'm not alone when I say that I've had to make some choices in the past few months that make me think. I wonder what the outcomes will be, the people who will be affected, and if they will make me unique or not. Or, even worse, are they making me more like everyone else? Choices come in all forms- big, small, important, inconsequential. The one thing that really matters though is if you yourself are satisfied with the choices that you make.


Pick up "The Choice," a comfy couch and enjoy!