Tuesdays with Ian - Keep Your Options Open?

Every time I am compelled to order something at a restaurant with more than 3 things on the menu (ie hamburger, cheeseburger, bacon burger), it necessitates an almost unparalleled herculean act of decision-making and resolve.  And even with only three choices, it can get pretty complicated.  Am I willing to spend more money on extra strips of bacon in order to satisfy my appetite for grease and fatty meat or will I be equally satisfied with the normal hamburger at a reduced cost? The repercussions of a misstep or poor decision could be too ghastly to contemplate or, as I learned in Chinese class the other day, 不堪设想。

Judging by the paralysis induced by as simple a decision such as the aforementioned entree selection, just imagine the abject trepidation caused by a vastly more important decision, such as deciding whether Colgate is the brand of toothpaste for me or if Crest is more favorable choice where my dental hygiene is concerned.

In all seriousness though, to be a young university student in the 21st century is to navigate an ocean of decisions about the future in a 1-man rowboat of experience.  In a biological sense, I am a stem-cell attempting to determine what course of differentiation will lead to fulfillment, satisfaction and future self-actualization.  Do I want to be a heart-tissue cell, skin cell, brain cell, muscle cell?  Musician, dermatologist, rocket scientist, mechanical engineer?  The possibilities are endless... but the question is, which is best?

Here's another question.  Does it matter that much?  Sometimes I wish it was just like the old days and you did whatever your father did and called it quits.  Who says my life wouldn't be just as happy and fulfilling if I was a blacksmith like my good ol' pop!  (He's not really a blacksmith if you're wondering...) Or a farmer or doctor or whatever. The point is, in a world of outsourcing and specialization, why can't decision-making be left to some omniscient, benevolent being bent on our eternal welfare?

Unfortunately, said all-knowing being likely understands the importance of me making decisions on my own.

Bottom line is: I have far too many options.

Oh if only the air was this clear...