Twelfth Night Viola's Decisions

Life throws obstacles at everyone which causes people to make tough decisions throughout their lives. When your heart says one thing and your mind says something else you’re drawn to making decisions with one or the other, and that is something shown every day. What isn’t always shown, is the people that use both to overcome those tough times. Using both your heart and your head is the most effective way to steer you through the challenging times in your life.
In the Twelfth Night written by William Shakespeare, it demonstrates Viola using her head to make the decision to dress up as a boy and become a part of the Duke Orsino’s court. She states, “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid For such disguise as haply shall become The form of my Intent”

Which might be true for some people; Viola (from the Twelfth Night) tends to make a lot of decisions with her head rather than her heart, however, she eventually followed her heart and revealed her true self to everyone while opening herself up to the Duke about how she really felt. She stated “Do not embrace me till each circumstance Of place, time, fortune, do cohere and jump That I am Viola” (5.1.224-226), then continues to confess her love for the Duke by saying “Everything I said before I’ll say again, I swear I meant every word” (5.1.264-266) She had spent most of the book making decisions with her head, and ended the book making a decision from her heart by revealing to the Duke and everyone else that she was in fact a female, and had been in love with the Duke the entire time. She listened to her heart. She listened to her head. She listened to herself, and she was able to receive the best outcome she could have wished for. Shakespeare, however is not the only example where the heart and mind work hand in hand. In a 2012 film titled “Brave” it demonstrates a girl that goes by the name of Merida who was a Scottish princess. She spent her days being told to act like a princess when all she wanted to do were things deemed “un-lady like”. One evening, that was demonstrated when her mother says “Merida, a princess does not place her weapons on the table.” (Brave-Queen Elinor) And Merida responds with “Mum, It’s just my bow!” (Brave-Merida). She followed her heart to a witch who was supposed to refine her fate; when things didn’t go as planned she used her mind to find a solution to the situation that she had put herself in. She stated that “There are those who say fate is something beyond our command. That destiny is not our own, but I know better. Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it.”