“Why are you so nice to me?” she wailed and collapsed into heart-broken sobs.

He took her in his arms, and careful not to touch her upper-mid back, pulled her close and cuddled her. “I believes we s’pose to be nice to each other. M’Da usta reads to me outta the Bible. He telled me ’bout the Fall an’ how the Devil usta be a good angel and now him’s bad. We humans ‘spose to be good one to another; some of us is; ‘tothers ain’t so much…” Gee, page 67

People have a lot more freedom than you think. That choice also includes whether you choose to be a good person. In my book, “Gee,” the eponymous protagonist lives a hard-knock life. He had to overcome a series of challenges that no other ten-year-old did; from poverty to losing a parent and a sister—his world filled with loss and struggle. Nevertheless, things eventually turn out better once he realizes he has a special gift he can’t exactly put into words.

You would think that the young lad would eventually turn into a rotten person to the core after going through such hardships. Fortunately, he became the opposite when he used his street smarts and unique gift for good. From helping round up criminals to supporting his local grocer, Gee is a boy whose character shines throughout the story. His character is admirable not because of his hardship but his choice to be good no matter what.

As much as upbringing, environment, and genetics shape our character, we must look at another element. That factor, of course, is choice. Unlike the three, our choices include freedom and give us more possibilities. We can’t choose how we were born and brought up, but we can decide how to live our life after. Once we discover the power of choice and how it can shape us, we begin to take charge of our lives and, hopefully, become better individuals.

by DL Davies