• AP Magazine

    An alternative way to explore and explain the mysteries of our world. "Published since 1985, online since 2001."

  • 1
Alternate Perceptions Magazine, February 2025


Your Path In Life

by: Stan Prachniak



At a young age, you were likely provided a “path” by society, and your parents or guardians. You were told what to do, when to do it, and (for the most part) why it had to be done. Probably the most obvious example of your early path in life is that you were required to go to school so you could get an education and be “smart.” Of course, this is only one of the many reasons that you were required attend school. Other important things you could’ve learned included life skills like organization, responsibility, socialization, respect, and acceptable/unacceptable behaviors. The path of education is pretty standard and you were required to follow it until you successfully graduated or reached adulthood. There is a standard progression of mandatory subjects and classes in primary and secondary education, and limited opportunities to deviate from this path. Other than graduating early or dropping out of school, there were not really any ways to alter this path.

Some of the only control you had to discover who you truly were and who you wanted to become was through extracurricular activities and any interests that took up your “free” time. These activities are where the early signs of your life path began to form. The tricky part here was that while you were navigating these life experiences, you likely didn’t notice that these were the things that helped make you who you were and provided you with ideas about who you wanted to become.

When you were attending primary school, there was a certain structure to your life. You probably stayed in the same classroom with the same classmates all day long. The only times you might have interacted with kids in other classes were at lunch and recess. As you progressed from primary school to secondary school, the structure shifted a bit in order to give you some freedom and to begin to accept more responsibility. At around seventh grade or so, you were probably presented more opportunities to become independent. One way this might have been done was by allowing you to walk from classroom to classroom on your own rather than having your teacher escort your whole class through the halls to your next subject. When you entered high school, you were given even more opportunities to be independent and responsible. Chances are, you were responsible for taking notes during class rather than being given handouts or daily assignments to help you learn—you became responsible for the information you deemed to be important. If you were interested in a certain subject, you probably paid close attention and took good notes. The interest you had in that certain subject was a hint that could lead you to your path in life.

In our society, people are legally considered an adult when they turn 18. For many, becoming an “adult” came with freedom but it also came with a lot of added responsibility and stress, especially if you chose to venture out on your own. This is the first time in your life that you were completely responsible for your own decisions and actions. You had the opportunity to decide where you wanted your path to take you. You were not bound by the educational path that you had been restricted to for so many years. If you wanted to go to college (and had the means), you went to college. If you decided that college wasn’t for you, you likely chose to begin working full-time and began experimenting with your freedom. Legally, it was completely up to you. You might have had external pressure from parents or other family members to do what they thought was best for you, but the was ultimately yours to make. With either decision, you began to create your own path in life. Once you made that decision, you probably began to learn more about yourself what you wanted to do in life. Even though you committed to whatever choice you made, you still had the opportunity to change your mind. If you went to college, picked a major and then decided that field of study wasn’t for you, you changed majors. If you began working full-time and realized that the company you were working for wasn’t where you wanted to be, you chose to find another place to work.

The point here is that your path in life will not be a “straight-shot.” You will encounter obstacles and you will make decisions that will lead to future decisions, and these obstacles and decisions are the things that will shape your path or even direct you to a more meaningful path. There will be countless times in life where you will have an opportunity to change your path or choose to remain on your current path. In these moments it is important to keep in mind that there are many areas of your life that contribute to the path you are on. Things like relationships, your job/career, and your health are just a few examples. A change in any of these areas can have a profound impact on your life, and these effects should always be considered before making important decisions.

Freedom To Change offers a way for you to discover what makes you who you are, who you want to become, and help you set goals that can lead you to your true path in life. For more information on the Freedom To Change materials, visit www.freedom2change.org.


Wednesday, February 12, 2025