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The Necessity of Uncertainty by Michelle Woods |
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I believe in uncertainty and the power that it has over every individual. Uncertainty is a basic necessity for human development; it shapes and molds us into the people that we choose to become. It challenges us to take a chance or return to our safe places, embrace uncertainty or be forced into insecurity.
Most aspects of the human experience such as personality, physical ability, mental ability, and emotional capacity, are all essentially predetermined. Hard as we may try, it is nearly impossible to change who we are in regards to these characteristics. This is where uncertainty comes in. It gives all individuals, at one point or another in life, the opportunity to determine who they are and what they intend to become.
Uncertainty is the one facet of the human condition that is entirely universal. In some cases, it forces us to make a decision. In others we are simply left to endure the storm. It truly tests us, pushing us in order to determine who we are in how we react to these situations.
Each of us can recall a time in which uncertainty has been a part of our lives. We encounter it everyday: to stick with the t-shirt and jeans, or choose a livelier and yet slightly risky artsy look? This is clearly a petty example of uncertainty, or is it? For the average college student, this decision seems insignificant. For a preteen in middle school, however, this decision could mean the difference between social acceptance and exclusion for months to come. A choice must be made, even though the potential outcomes are unknown. In some cases, an individual may even refuse to make a choice because of the lack of certainty in the situation. Each decision, or lack thereof, works to determine the character of an individual.
A few years ago, I went through a time in my life in which I had absolutely no control over my own future. The family business was failing due to a series of unfortunate events, and my life was completely out of my control. For over a year, my life was based upon uncertainty. I had no idea where I would be living, how my family could afford to pay bills and buy food, or where I would be going to school. I had a choice between accepting the uncertainty in my life and hoping that everything would work out for the best, or denying the situation in an effort to avoid the insecurity that plagued my life. I chose acceptance. I willingly continued in the direction that my life was taking, and I believe that the person that I am today was shaped by this time in my life.
We are constantly presented with situations in which the outcome is unknown. The significance lies not in the invalid concept that we all experience the same circumstances or that we perceive events in the same way. Rather, we are all put in situations that force us to reevaluate ourselves. Our reactions to these situations develop within us a resolve and an ability to identify who we are, something that is neither inherent nor unchangeable.
Uncertainty is necessary in that it gives us the opportunity to become something than we could never have been otherwise, or to return to who we've always been. Neither of these outcomes is essentially right or wrong, nor is one necessarily better than the other. The importance in this is that we are all given opportunities to change ourselves and others, something truly valuable in a world of seemingly predetermined fate.
Michelle Woods is an education major from Allen, Texas.
