The Choices We Make

I had an interview this past Friday, and during the interview, we began talking about choices one makes in life (specifically, the interviewer and I both confessed to being introspective and looking back over choices we'd made, and wondering how our lives would have been different had we made a different choice).

From a professional standpoint, for me, I can look back to my 9th-10th grade years of school, as the 'turning point' for my career.

Up until high school, I had wanted to be a sports statistician. Even now, my love of and fascination with sports statistics is unparalleled. I was a huge fan of Bill James, who was, by popular consensus, the fore-father of "sabermetrics," which intended to break down baseball statistics into more sensible analysis.

In any event, in 9th grade I was writing a book, on sabermetrics, as part of an independent study project. My ambition was quite high -- I was going to design *the* authoritative player evaluation system ... as a 9th grader ... (and I still couldn't pass algebra; ah, youth!).

Part of my 'research' involved talking with professionals in the field -- I tried to reach Bill James, but was unsuccessful. I ended up speaking with Craig Wright, whom - at the time - was the only person employed by a major league team (the Texas Rangers). One day, as we were talking, I asked him, "so, what is the most important subject for me to pay attention to, as I go into high school and college?"

He replied, immediately, "English."

I was confused. I explained, "No, I want to do what you're doing." After all, wouldn't I need to excel in statistics? or accounting? or algebra?

And he replied, "If you can't effectively communicate your findings, it's as good as never having done them in the first place."

Fast forward to a year or two later. I was doing statistics for the high school basketball team, and my friend - the sports editor for the high school paper - came to me to get material for a piece he was writing. I provided him with all the data, and definitely portrayed the team in a good light. He wrote a story that was a bit more negative; and, consequently, I was blamed for the piece by the players (who thought I'd sold them out).

I marched in to the faculty adviser's office, and said, "This piece on the basketball team is completely inaccurate, and a retraction needs be printed; or - better still - a new story." And, she threw me a pad and pen and said, "That's an excellent idea; have it to me in two weeks." The rest is history.

It's amazing to see how a few choices we make, that seem innocuous at first glance, can be complete life-changers in retrospect. Obviously, personal choices (where we go to college; whom we date; whom we marry; jobs we leave and jobs we take) all help to create the person we end up being.

So, what is the *earliest* choice you can recall making, and how did it affect who you are today? Let's get some great stories!