Freedom

I find ideas about free will to be very interesting. The philosophical definition of freedom is the power to do otherwise; that is, when we make choices, the ability to choose alternatively. A good illustration of this is a picture of a path with different forks in the road. The path itself symbolizes life, and the forks in the road symbolize times when we have choices to make. When we reach a decision, we choose the direction and follow along that path.
Thinking about the illustration, a thought comes to mind. What if it doesn’t matter which route we take? What if all routes lead to the same destination? For a quick example, say a high school senior reaches a “fork in the road” and needs to make a decision about which university to apply to. Then, say whatever school he chooses, and whatever major he decides to pursue, his future ultimately holds that he will eventually graduate and end up working at the same location under the same boss. I can literally think of countless scenarios in which this “ultimate destination” might take place.
The question I pose is this: if we are to reach certain “forks in the road” and decide which route to take, and if all routes ultimately lead to the same destination, are we still free? We do still get to choose how to get there, but we don’t get to choose where we end up. If one were to somehow prove that we all reach a guaranteed destination, could they disprove freedom? There is at least one destination we can’t avoid – death. This is just food for thought.