Life is a guessing game

One thing about having freewill is that nothing is completely predictable.
Supposedly we are born as the result of someone's choosing to have a child. We don't get to pick our birth arrangements, so the upbringing is up to chance. No two childhoods are the same it seems since there are so many variables from family size, education, income, social class, and geographic location to name a few.
We grow up learning what we like and don't like. We try to obtain the things we desire, and we pursue the things that interest us. Variables dictate a lot of things but for the most part the true factors are individualized.

No one made me go to college. I had nothing better to do that was reasonable. My parents both had degrees, and my brother went to school.
I wanted to be something in the mold of a wanderer, like a daydream out of Salinger's most famous work. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do for a living. I just wanted to write nonsense and watch people. A buddy of mine was in South America when I was finishing high school, so I had an opportunity to do the Butch Cassidy thing and run away from almost everyone that knew me.
Starting fresh with a new life was so appealing, but I chickened out. Being newly out of high school is when you go to college. Sure you can flunk out but if you don't go when you are young and dumb, then the odds are that you won't make the effort down the road when you have adult obligations.

Going to college is expressway to adulthood for sheltered people. No one made me wake up in the morning or to go to bed at night. No one forced me to eat. No one forced me to go to church.
I had to open a checking account since carrying cash was stupid and debit cards didn't exist. I remember having temp checks that no one wanted to accept like no one wanted to accept my American Express Travelers Cheques when I was photo ID-less in Merida, Mexico.
I remember being offered credit cards every time I walked to class. My first credit card was to Sears and I had never shopped at Sears. My phone rang while I was trying to sleep(it was finals week), and I said, "Sure, I live at 1978 Cannon Drive..." to get them to stop interrupting my sleep. Never used the card, so I closed it five years later when I realized I had 20 credit cards that I never used.

No one made me choose a major. I chose what seemed to be best suited for my skills but changed my mind when I decided that I didn't want to kill people as a result of my indifferent about my work. I changed my path until I saw a major that made sense, so I punted for grad school. Any degree was needed for grad school, so I pursued the easiest thing I could, English literature. Being able to write and read is something anyone with a pulse can due well enough to pass. Seriously, if you can't BS, the you have no business living.

Long story short, I made a lot of decisions that seem trivial, but in the grand scheme of things, they paved the way for my current state of happiness. Nothing is perfect for there's so much to do still, but having a wonderful family and home is something I don't take for granted. Jobs come and go. I have faith that what will be, will be. In the meantime, I work on the things I can control like tiling my kitchen floor.