"You Have a Choice in Life—Except Where You Were Born"
The place you are born is the one thing in life that is entirely outside your control. It's the starting line—an accident of geography, time, and circumstance. It shapes your early environment, your culture, your language, and often your opportunities. But from that moment on, life gradually becomes a series of choices.
You choose how to respond to your environment.
You choose what to believe.
You choose what to strive for, who to love, what to value, and even—eventually—where to go.
You choose what to believe.
You choose what to strive for, who to love, what to value, and even—eventually—where to go.
You may not get to choose your beginning, but you do choose your direction. That’s the quiet power we all hold: the ability to write our own story from a page we didn’t start.
Yes, the place you're born can shape your worldview. It can offer privilege or present challenges. But it doesn’t have to define your worth, your dreams, or your identity. Life is filled with doors, and while you may not have chosen the hallway you started in, you can decide which doors you walk through—and which ones you build yourself.
Few months after arrived in Germany I took a trip to the place where I was born. it was just about time as I was a rare bird there for the last few decades. my last visit was in 2010 for a short week. I'm sort of, but only sort of... proud to be born there, but I never intended to stay, I was dreaming of the day I will leave from early childhood. so I went away at a fairly young age, and went far. found home and citizenship in Canada. I have been asked, 'how is to be back'. honest answer:'good, but I don't belong here anymore'. I never did. it's small-ish hungarian city in Transylvania, called csikszereda surrounded by mountains. it's geographically trapped in the territory of Romania, but many people for decades and decades feel like that the city does not belong there. it's a long and painful history and for some is hard to let it go, and they shouldn't let it go at all. its Hungarian origins are heavily suppressed and questioned by authorities, there was heavy persecution for decades in place, but over 80% of the population still considering themselves hungarians and many carry hungarian passport.
