Sample by My Essay Writer
One of the most difficult decisions in my life was made when I decided to attend film school immediately after high school. This seemed like the most rational thing to do because I was passionate about film. Strangely, my mother supported me in my decision. I say it is strange because I’ve heard of many parents refusing to allow their child to spend a lot of money and time striving for an unlikely career. But my mother knew it was important to me, and I didn’t want to go through life asking, “Why didn’t I at least try?” The decision proved fruitless, in the career sense of the word – but I feel more complete for trying, and now I know I won’t regret not making an effort.
As the chapter suggests, perfect certainty is rare, and this is certainly the case when making many decisions about which course to take in life. For example, when I decided to enrol in film school, I had no idea about whether I would actually be able to secure a job after I finished. I didn’t even consider whether I would need funding for further education. This uncertainty creates risk, the chapter states. I was at risk of not finding a film-related job, but I had a mountain of student loan debt at the end of my studies. I also dedicated a year of my life and a substantial amount of savings.
The steps in the decision-making process as outlined in the chapter are more detailed, but identical to the steps I took when I was younger. For example, I first identified and diagnosed the problem: I knew I needed to enter post-secondary studies, because I’d be letting my extremely academic family down if I didn’t and I thought film studies would be fun, rather than strenuous. Second and third, I generated and evaluated alternative solutions: I thought I could take a year off and let my family down, or I could study business. Fourth, I made the decision to go to film school. Fifth, I carried out that decision. Sixth, I evaluated my decision.
While all steps are similar to what I performed, I didn’t delve into each as much as what the chapter recommends. While I considered the affects the decision would have on my family, I didn’t consider rationally the costs associated with enrolment, as I naively figured I could repay any loan relatively easily. Generating alternative actions, as suggested in the chapter, are often based on past experiences. I hadn’t experienced the need to make a decision like this, so I had no experience on which to draw. After all, this was my first major life decision. Evaluating alternatives, as outlined, I predicting what might happen if an alternative decision was made. I then made my choice, which was assertive, rather than being based on what can happen: “paralysis by analysis.” Then it was time to implement the decision, during which I predicted how my future would look, performed the necessary steps to put my plan into action, found financial resources necessary for the plan, estimated the time needed and assigned the entire task to myself. Finally, it wasn’t until after the year program that I was able to evaluate my steps and discover I couldn’t find a job in my field and I was confronted by debt.
I would again conduct each one of the steps outlined; however, I am wiser and would consider other outcomes, such as the difficultly in repaying student debt. I continue toevaluate whether I gave the profession the full effort it deserves. However, I felt satisfied knowing that I made an effort. Looking back, it would be easy to say I would instead take a more secure route. But without knowing the consequences of the decision that I do now, I’d still be wondering for the rest of my life about whether I should have taken a shot at a career in film.
