The Luck of the Draw

A few months ago, I traveled to Nicaragua, where my dad attempted to teach my siblings and I exactly how fortunate we are to be born where we are born. Due to lack of a better name, I like to refer to this concept as the “luck of our birth place,” and I’ve been thinking about it often.

For example, when a child is born in the United States, their life is automatically prescribed to be a thousand times different than that of a child who was born in India, or any country for that matter. Although there is no way to determine who has the better life and who has more opportunities (there is no need to compare such things anyway) it it interesting to think that from our very first breaths, depending on where we happen to be, our opportunities are set. Undeniably, there are the incredible exceptions of the children who work their way out of their current situations and become extremely successful, but for the sake of making a point and furthering my argument, this is going to be a generalization of what “generally happens.” Something so simple as the “luck of the draw” can have such a colossal impact on the rest of our lives, yet it’s something we have absolutely no control over.

As I was discussing this subject with my friends a few days ago, we reached the conclusion that this is an extremely difficult thing to judge. It’s hard, if not impossible, to determine the success of someone else because success is a completely personal thing, based on personal beliefs and goals. While some people might perceive one as having a life of poverty, starvation and lacking proper sanitation and necessities, someone else might perceive the same life as the complete opposite. Who are we to judge whether these people are happy? And, given their current situations, what they have is most likely all they have ever known. They aren’t used to a life of eating luxurious dinners at fancy restaurants and talking on the latest iPhone as we drive our brand new hybrid cars through our wealthy cities. With the little possessions that these people have, chances are, they are more thankful for everything than we will ever be. It’s even possible that they have a much more simple happiness due to their lack of these unnecessary and materialistic possessions (distractions).

It really makes you wonder what your life would be like if you were born in another country. Would you be as educated as you are now? Would you have as many/more siblings? Would you have the same job? Would you have the same family? Same marriage even? Did you get to chose your spouse? Did you have your children when you were 17 years old? Do you live in a house? With a floor? And a toilet?

Would you even still be alive??

It makes me more grateful of everything I have, and more inspired to take, pursue, and gladly accept, every opportunity that comes my way.