Chapter 1: I am who I am because of what I lived

What makes me, me? What combination of elements can create me—not just my physical self, but my inner self, the “me” that exists only when no one is watching? If I were born again, what is the probability that I would still be me?

There are many factors I did not control that defined me: my parents, the kindergarten they chose for me, the clothes they dressed me in, the school they introduced me to, the house where I lived, the teachers I was assigned; there is an infinite universe of things that did not depend on me that defined me. But, if all those things were repeated exactly the same way once more, would I still be me?

In the center of the infinite universe of things that do not depend on me yet defined me, the truth is hidden; what turned me into this human being who wonders on a Friday night if he is truly free, are the decisions I made.

My parents chose my kindergarten, but it was my decision to stand out and get good grades; it was their decision to have me apply to one of the most prestigious public schools of that time, but it was my decision to pass that exam; I couldn’t choose my teachers, but it was my decision to take advantage of the situation and learn even from the worst ones.

While it was my parents who chose the social circle where my personality would be defined, it was my decision to create my own circle of friends; while my cousins introduced me to Rock music, it was my decision to embrace it and lock myself into that genre. The more I look into my past, the more I notice that I am who I am today because of the decisions I made. The world dealt me a hand of cards, but I decided how to play them.

So, what makes me, me? What makes me, me, are all the decisions I took.

Chapter 2: I live in a world of chance

It was chance that led my mother to enroll me in that school. She was passing by, saw the line, and an impulse made her join it when she saw there were hardly any people; almost immediately after, the line filled up and became endless. If she had decided to go another way that day, if she hadn’t listened to her impulse, if people had lined up earlier, I would not be me. I am who I am because of the school I went to, the social group I frequented, and what I learned; and all of that was the fruit of chance.

Chance made me meet a teacher one day, who would later create his own academy; chance made me find this teacher again much later, and chance ensured that upon returning to his academy, I would meet the girl who would become my high school sweetheart. All of these are random events over which I had no control; it was chance that she was ending a relationship and that I was single; chance meant I didn’t meet her friend first, and chance meant we happened to know the same people and sat together.

I am a product of chance; my life is what it is because of the endless series of coincidences that happened one after another, and all those coincidences converge on me asking myself if I am free on a Friday night.

Chapter 3: Am I truly free?

So, where do we stand? Am I who I am because of my decisions, or am I who I am as a result of chance? The answer, as always, is: “it’s complicated…”

It is true that the decisions I made brought me here, but it is also true that I made those decisions in a random environment; the decision doesn’t really matter much if the future depends on chance. So, do I control my life? Or do I just float in the sea of coincidence?

I control how I react to life. Life throws coincidences at me, unique and unrepeatable scenarios for which I am never prepared, but my reaction to those singular events defines me. “I think, therefore I am” should actually be “I decide, that is proof that I exist.”

Thesis Summary in Best Quotes:

Chapter 1: I am who I am because of what I lived

What combination of elements can create me—not just my physical self, but my inner self, the “me” that exists only when no one is watching?

In the center of the infinite universe of things that do not depend on me yet defined me, the truth is hidden.

The more I look into my past, the more I notice that I am who I am today because of the decisions I made. The world dealt me a hand of cards, but I decided how to play them.

Chapter 2: I live in a world of chance

I am who I am because of the school I went to, the social group I frequented, and what I learned; and all of that was the fruit of chance.

it was chance that she was ending a relationship and that I was single; chance meant I didn’t meet her friend first, and chance meant we happened to know the same people and sat together.

I am a product of chance; my life is what it is because of the endless series of coincidences that happened one after another, and all those coincidences converge on me.

Chapter 3: Am I truly free?

the decision doesn’t really matter much if the future depends on chance. So, do I control my life? Or do I just float in the sea of coincidence?

I control how I react to life. Life throws coincidences at me, unique and unrepeatable scenarios for which I am never prepared, but my reaction to those singular events defines me. “I think, therefore I am” should actually be “I decide, that is proof that I exist.”