I believe without a single shadow of a doubt that it is necessary

In the wise and steady voice of Lois Lowry, author and seer of the human heart, we hear a message as old as civilization itself: “I believe without a single shadow of a doubt that it is necessary for young people to learn to make choices. Learning to make right choices is the only way they will survive in an increasingly frightening world.” These are not words spoken lightly — they are a warning, a prayer, and a torch held out to those who walk into the future. For Lowry, whose stories explore the fragile balance between freedom and control, choice is the essence of being human. To deny it is to deny growth; to fear it is to invite bondage.

The ancients understood this truth well. The philosophers of Greece taught that virtue was not born in obedience, but in decision — that a man becomes wise not by following rules, but by learning to choose rightly when no rule can guide him. Choice is the forge of the soul, where one’s character is tested and made strong. In the comfort of certainty, there is no wisdom; it is only when the young face the storms of doubt and consequence that they learn the art of discernment. Lowry’s words remind us that to protect the young from all hardship is to rob them of the very strength they will one day need.

Consider the world she describes as “increasingly frightening” — a world of noise, division, and endless choice, where truth is often hidden beneath distraction. The youth of every generation inherit a landscape more complex than the last. Without the courage and clarity to choose, they will drift like leaves in the wind, blown by every voice that shouts the loudest. Thus, the teaching of decision-making is not merely practical; it is sacred. It shapes citizens, creators, and dreamers who can act with conscience and conviction even when the world trembles around them.

There is an echo of this truth in the story of Nelson Mandela. As a young man, he faced choices that would define not only his life but the destiny of a nation. He could have chosen silence, safety, or bitterness. Instead, he chose the path of justice — a road paved with pain, prison, and sacrifice. Yet it was that same path that led to the birth of freedom in South Africa. Choice, when guided by purpose and courage, can turn oppression into transformation, despair into legacy. Mandela’s life, like Lowry’s words, teaches that survival in a fearful world demands not submission, but moral strength — the ability to decide rightly even when the cost is great.

To learn to choose, then, is not simply to pick between options; it is to listen to the inner compass of truth. It requires humility, reflection, and the bravery to accept responsibility for one’s path. The elders of old knew this: they would send their young into the wilderness not to punish them, but to teach them to hear the voice within. For wisdom cannot be handed down like a possession — it must be earned through experience, through the fire of trial and the quiet of contemplation.

But this teaching carries with it a warning. If the young are not taught to choose for themselves, others will choose for them — governments, corporations, the shifting tides of public opinion. A generation untrained in discernment becomes a generation easily deceived. Thus, Lowry’s call is not one of indulgence but of duty: the duty of parents, teachers, and elders to prepare the young not merely with knowledge, but with judgment — to teach them not what to think, but how to think.

So, to all who listen — parents, mentors, and dreamers — heed this lesson: do not shield the young from choice. Let them stumble, let them weigh, let them learn. Speak with them of truth and consequence, of empathy and integrity. Give them the tools to choose not ease, but goodness; not popularity, but principle. For only then will they stand unshaken in the tempest of the world.

Thus, may Lois Lowry’s words be carved into the stone of memory: “Learning to make right choices is the only way they will survive.” It is both prophecy and promise. Teach them to choose, and they will endure. Teach them to choose rightly, and they will lead — not with fear, but with wisdom bright enough to light the path for generations yet unborn.