Talking about the quote

What does the following quote mean?  Can you control your destiny?  Can a destiny change?  At this time, what is your destiny?

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

- William Jennings Bryan

This quote means that what happens to you in the future is entirely up to you. It means that you decide what happens in your life. In a perfect world this would be the case, but the world is not perfect.

In this world, there are things that you can control in your life and things you can do to change your destiny. but there are many things where you don't have a say in what happens to you. Your destiny is not set in stone, and can be changed. but there are things that you can not change. You do not have complete control.

Your destiny could be something great. You could be famous, or an intellectual genius, but destiny is not only achievement related. Your destiny is every single thing that happens to you in your future. Every thing in detail, down to what you wear tomorrow or where you go next week. It is what you will buy, eat, and drink. Destiny is what you will do. Destiny is also how you die. You do not have control over everything.

Example: You are a great student in college studying to become an astronomer. Your life is going perfect and if you make the right choices everything will go your way. As you cross a road to get some food and a car comes speeding down the road and hits you. Your destiny was to get hit by that car. You did not decide it, but it happens. No control over how you go out. You have control over nearly every thing in your life, but being able to decide on everything that happens to you is impossible.

At the time, my destiny is to graduate from high school, go to college and have a good life. These are the parts which I have the ability to choose how I get there. I have no way of knowing how I will die, or what happens to the ones I love, or what I will talk to my parents about tomorrow. Everything is have said on this topic is based on personal experience. This is something which I have seen happen to people I knew. I have discussed the topic of destiny with many others and this is what I always say. Your destiny is shaped by you and everyone around you.