Is There A "Right" Answer?

Is there such thing as a "right" answer? Let's face it, especially in this day and age, the question is quite valid. We're a society that loves multiple choices; look at the variety of choices on the menu at any restaurant in this great nation. I remember when Hardees only used to do burgers; now they do that, chicken, and more. Olive Garden used to only serve Italian food, Denny's only breakfast food, and IHOP only pancakes; those places don't serve just that now, they serve pretty much everything and anything.

I have a really difficult time ordering at restaurants with that many choices; ask anyone who's eaten with me, I take forever to order and even longer to eat; I'm a slow, slow eater. I've always been and it's hell for the poor people around me. They finish their food, they're sitting there patiently waiting for me to finish while I just talk, and talk, and talk. I like my meals to be social, otherwise what's the point of eating with someone?

Anyway, the moral of this particular tangent is that multiple choices and I don't do well together. Statistically speaking, I'm pretty sure that I do better with tests that have one right answer then tests that have potentially four or more. Multiple choices kinda freeze me up; not horribly, but enough to slow down my thought processes and make me question "Which one is right?" I've wasted a lot of my life second, third, and fourth guessing myself in multiple choice situations.

But life is made up of multiple choice situations; every day we face those as human beings and we make the choices that, at the time, seem right. But is there such a thing as a "right" answer? With the plethora of multiple choices we have and the plethora of ones that seem "right" which one isn't the false "right" answer?

I don't know the answer to a lot of multiple choices questions that have been asked of me lately. "What are you going to with your life?" I don't know. "Well, that's okay, you have a lot of choices."

At that, my brain screams "I KNOW!!!!" in complete frustration. Getting myself to agree to do something is hard; I have to be committed to it all the way or not at all. I'm a person of extremes...I see things in a black and white, victory and defeat mindset. I either win or lose. It's either right or wrong. I operate from one end of the spectrum or the other, but very rarely do I operate in the middle. I'm not one to straddle a fence...I make my opinion known (usually rather loudly and rudely) and then apologize for it later if I'm wrong (which happens a lot). That's me. That's what I am.

Is that good? Probably not. Can I change it? Probably not. Bottom line is, I have no clue what to do with my life. I have multiple choices; multiple upon multiple choices and I feel like I'm standing in line at (insert random fast food place here) and there's dozens of people behind me, waiting for me to make up my mind; and folks, they're getting antsy. They're getting tired of waiting.

I don't blame them. So am I. Let's face it, it's not as though I haven't been here before; I made my decision, decided to bank on college, and then I burned out. I'm back in line again, wanting to reorder, and people are rolling their eyes. Again, can't blame them, I understand, they want me to get out of line already.

That however, leads to the other issue; I'm tired of being in line. I'm tired of being presented with multiple choices and having to choose the "right" one. The odds that the one I choose as the "right" one is indeed the real right one are small. People make far more wrong choices than right ones in their lives. I'm no different, in fact I'm probably the one that's screwing up the odds for everyone else because of my propensity to make the wrong choices. You see, I get dumber the more frustrated and tired I get. I make dumb, dumb choices in that state.

So, I'm kinda stuck in a catch 22 here. I want to take the proper amount of time to analyze all my options and make the real right choice, but the longer I take the more tired and frustrated I get, and then I do something dumb. It's a vicious cycle.

Again, is there a "right" answer? Does it really exist or are we, as human beings, doomed to choose the lesser of multiple evils? Part of me wants to agree that there is no "right" answer. We're just screwed from the get go, doomed to choose between multiple evils and we had better pray the evil we choose kills us slowly, so we can maximize the amount of time we have on this Earth to do something decent. It's a rather pessimistic view, isn't it?

Of course, I rather like the optimistic side of me. It says that there is indeed a right answer and it provides a lot of examples for that. I make right choices in what I eat (most days), in what I do (most days), and in how I act (most days). So, if I can make those right choices, why can't I make this one? Confidence is key, says the optimist in me, and maintaining that confidence (without it becoming egotistical) is the best way to make the right choice.

Then there's the third part of me...let's say the part that acts as a balance between my pessimistic and optimistic sides. The part that can swing the vote one way or the other, or come up with it's own course of action. That part of me is confused. Both the pessimistic side and optimistic side of myself make true points, and my deciding third part, the one that holds the swing vote, can't make up its mind.

So I'm stuck. Multiple choices, multiple "right" answers, and no real bearings on what is, and isn't the real right answer.

Meanwhile, that line behind me grows more impatient and I share the sentiment.

At the end of the day, it's my fault. I'm not denying that. I made the choices that got me into this mess in the first place. Now I have to make the ones that get me even deeper into this mess or get me out of it. And you know what? That's on me.

It would just help if the menu was a little smaller at least. Alas, it's a devil of my own making and I made it well...which I'm not particularly happy with; why couldn't it be like my junky tool box I made in Wood Shop? That thing sucked. It's measurements were off, it was poorly constructed, and it was not pretty looking at all.

Actually, never mind; my sucky tool box from Wood Shop is still around today. It's lasted.

Let's hope this doesn't.