<p>I'm taking it for the first time this year next Saturday, the 26th! Here's the essay I wrote for practice ;-) Thanks so much!!! I have a few things to say about this essay, but I'll refrain till I hear your comments :-P I don't want to skew your opinions before they're formed! I'll gladly grade your essay if you grade mine!</p>
<p>Prompt: Are we free to make our own decisions in life, or are our decisions always limited by the rules of society?</p>
<p>Society is a powerful thing. It has the power to accomplish anything, and can sway the minds of the people to an inordinate amount. However, no matter what the rest of society believes and limits, it is unable to limit one's thoughts. I believe that we are free to make our own decisions in life, no matter what rules of society there may be.</p>
<p>First, people make decisions that aren't limited by the rules of society countless times in the history of civil rights activists. *(awkward sentence :-P I was feeling a little too pressed for time here) Take, for example, Mahatma Gandhi. In India, from the 1900-1930's, the people of India had succumbed to the British's rules of society. They were not to demur any law or action of the British government, and were basically to keep their mouths closed and blindly follow the government. However, Gandhi ignored these so-called "rules" of society, and spoke up for his country, evincing the various problems with the British rule. The fact that he brought forth his opinion and publicly decried the government, while disregarding the "rules" of society shows that we are free to make our own decisions without being limited in society. Mahatma Gandhi eventually brought freedom to India from the British government, and you can see examples of disregard of the rules of society in many others leaders, such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and so on.</p>
<p>Another example of being free to make one's own choices comes from a piece of literature, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. One of the protagonists, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who is to defend a black man who allegedly assaulted a white woman. Most other lawyers in the town would let the white woman win the case regardless of innocence, due to the fact that the town is revealed to be extremely racist. Atticus Finch, however goes against the "rules" of society that tell himm not to defend the black man. He defends the black man wholeheartedly, even though society disapproved of his opinion that the black man was innocent. Atticus Finch is hailed as one of literature's greatest heroes, and one can see that the "rules of society" are not limiting the actions of this man, who follows his opinions. Therefore, Atticus Finch shows that we are free to make our own choices in life.</p>
<p>In conclusion, society can attempt to limit our actions, but it cannot limit our thoughts, which lead to our actions. Examples of civil rights leaders, and Atticus Finch show us that we are free to make our own choices in life, without our decisions being limited by society.</p>
<p>Thanks so much!! Again, I will grade your essay if you grade mine :-)</p>
My biggest downfall is the reading passages :-P</p>