Want to Do, Ought to Do

Desiree D’Moore Mrs. Farley World Literature Honors February 18, 2013 As a child, decisions like finishing homework during free time or choosing to procrastinate for the last minute often arise, and the adolescent would usually chose the latter. This situation is one of the common, least life changing ones dealt by many people, while other predicaments can be on a more serious not, like choosing between what is moral and immoral. These accounts show that throughout life, situations arise and one has to think about how they should deal with it to approach a resolution.
It might be easier to do what “we want to do” rather than doing what we “ought to do,” and take “the one less traveled by” as Robert Frost might say. These decisions must be made, no matter the size of the problem or the amount of effort. Through history, the arrival of choices between right and wrong make a large impact on how lives plan out. Simple situations like finishing a homework assignment can also be a conflict that a person has to deal with in life, and in the long run, can impact how lives plan out.
Children and teenagers often choose to do what they want rather than what is expected of them. While as a child, one choses to do their work on time and in a correct fashion, their study habits and routine would remain consistent, and would carry these traits to their older years, creating a responsible adult. If one choses to slack off in school and not put their full effort, then more often than not, the person would continue being lazy when they are older. A small decision like doing homework proves that small efforts make a large impact on a life.

Doing homework is done of the smaller decision that one needs to face when there is much more life changing decision which is made, life fighting for freedom. Historical events in history have altered what the world is today, and the decision between what they wanted to do and what they had to do play a large part of the outcome. The French Revolution all started with what the 3rd Estate, the largest part of the French population, had to decide for them: should they fight for equal rights or continue to allow the First and Second Estate, which consisted of the clergy and nobles, to live luxurious lifestyles for the peasants’ expenses?
They wanted to fight for what they believed was right, and allow the government to be delegates instead of orders so each person would have a say, but they also had to remember that the nobles and clergy were in charge. In this case what they wanted to do was much more difficult than just doing what was thought to be the way it was supposed to be. The Third Estate came together and created the National Assembly, and eventually, made a more morally and economically correct France.
Together as one body, because of one choice, they proved that they could overcome their obstacle and create more equal rights for their nation. From very small to very large decision, the course of a life can change drastically by one choice. Whether it is doing homework or fighting for equality, the decisions of doing what “we want to do” and what “we ought to do” clash together and created the possibility on putting one’s life in their own hands. With these simple decisions, the outcome can take a positive or negative turn and it is within the person to do what is right and just.