Sunday, January 01, 2006

the paralyzing freedom of choice

One cheeseburger-- no onions, no pickles, one cheeseburger with lettuce and mayo only, an order of fries, cooked twice so they're extra crispy, and a diet coke, no ice, please.

We have gone crazy over the importance of choice. Choice means I want to have it my way, every time, or I'll call the manager.

I think everyone who has lived overseas finds the abundance of choices in America overwhelming. I've stood in tears in front of the tomato sauce aisle. How do you pick the best kind when there are so many to choose from? I've left a store without buying anything because I was too overwhelmed with the number of choices I had to make. It's completely baffling to me, still, to stand in front of a fast food menu and try decide the perfect sandwich. And don't even get me started on Starbucks. I always have to apologize to the barista.

It's the middle of our home school year and it's time to order materials. We've been weak in science this year and I recently realized that though we've studied American history twice, we've never really made it past the Civil War (in the grand tradition of my public school education where, in 12 years, I don't think I ever learned about anything after the carbetbaggers).

So, I need to choose a science curriculum and some history materials. I thought choices were hard before. Now, thanks to the power of the internet, I can be even more confused than ever. And all this from the comfort of my own home.

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