Some things are up to us and some are not up to us . . .

So begins The Handbook by Epictetus. This short piece is a study in stoicism: a guide that offers guideposts on how to be Master of the Self. In my very simple words, it talks about choosing your attitude and knowing the difference between what we can control, what we can't control. It encourages us to"work" on what we can control and not getting bogged down in external "things" that are not up to us. I have spent the past week discussing this text in my freshman seminar class. My students, who daily range from disengaged, to mildly entertained, to active learners, completely got into this book.

That is to say, some loved it, and many hated it.

If I'm a stoic, I'm a robot! You can't live like that! That's not living!

We talked about passion, the life unexamined, being philosophers, and debated if we should bother taking action when things are "out of our control." There still isn't buy-in from many of the students, and I am thankful that they question the text.

What I am more thankful for is their willingness to consider this book in today's reality. Epictetus argues that others' opinions are not up to us. My students think we influence others' opinions a great deal. They also agreed that in the "Big Picture" what does it matter?

What does it matter what cell phone they have, or what car they drive? It doesn't, probably. But, does it matter what they major in or what kind of job they have? Different "Big Picture," right?

Is it the label, the status, or the dollars that matter? My students wrestle with these questions as they try to determine their path at the university. Maybe for some those three things matter. But even though my group of 18-19 year-old students are fairly conventional, they are also pretty idealistic and very big on being "true" to themselves.

This is the bigger, daily struggle. Whether they choose to go about it as a stoic or a cynic, they go about it everyday. The thing I want them to understand, they'll keep going at it everyday. Deciding a major, getting a job, buying a house, all small decisions with many opportunities for change and growth. I want them to understand that most of the time, plenty is up to us like location, like jobs, like friends. Other "things" might shift when we make "choices." But we can also change our definitions and our expectations, can't we?