Shaping Opportunity - Austin Cottingham

Did you know that your opportunities are crumbling by the second? An opportunity is something that you can lose if you are not careful. What is opportunity you might say? An opportunity is a chance to change your circumstances for the better or worse. The American Macmillan Dictionary also says, “a chance to do something, or a situation in which it is easy for you to do something.” The word opportunity is also used for social justice and equality. Opportunity is everywhere, and all you need to do is find it.
Opportunity follows you around everywhere, like a baby duck. Opportunity is a chance for improvement in your current circumstances. Most circumstances are different and opportunity always finds a way to slip into your life. An opportunity has the power to change many things such as perceptions, feelings, life choices, and circumstances. Most cases of opportunity come in small doses unless you are faced with a hard situation. An opportunity could also be perceived as a bad thing; when you make bad decisions you take an opportunity to change your situation in a way that may not be favorable to you or others.
Sometimes people give you the opportunity to make a difference. An example of this could be help on your ACT or giving you advice that could aid your decision making. This would improve how you use your opportunities. Opportunities can come in different forms as well. Most opportunities come in the form of choices, and others could be not as noticeable in conversations. When you look for opportunities you tend to find more and care a lot more for your decision making as a whole. Half of what you do in your normal day to day life consists of decisions and opportunities that a person could take advantage of.
 The word opportunity in today’s society is usually chained to equal rights and monetary value. Opportunity means so much more than just equal rights. It also means better living situations, better qualities of life, and more ways to change the lives of others during the process. People on the other end of the political scale could also use the word opportunity in unique ways. This could be tied to how people with different ethnicities have a better or worse opportunity in this country. One of America’s slogans is the statement that this country is the land of opportunity.
My experiences with opportunity include being dealt a bad hand and trying to improve the bad circumstances. I have opportunities every day; some of these opportunities could be future impacts on people's lives. When I am faced with an opportunity I try to make the best of it. Sometimes I don’t recognize an opportunity that could help me with what I’m doing. These missed opportunities just show me what I could do next time, almost like a personal lesson. For me, an opportunity is not something to beat around the bush with; I have done this multiple times and the chance to make a change slips right out of my hands, never to be seen again. Almost half of the opportunities that cross my path end up fading away right before I notice they were there.
Opportunity is spotted everywhere you look for it. During your daily life try to spot some of these important chances to change your life for the better. Also be careful when trying to make an opportunity, because it could end up disastrous. You should always seize the chance to have an opportunity fulfilled because it could give you a leg up on the competition. Try to look for more ways to also improve your chance for an opportunity, like trying not to stay in a safe space and trying things in life. Remember opportunity isn’t something that life gives to you, you need to go out and seek opportunity.