choice in reading this or that vs. choice of reading or something else

i just made a personal connection to the statement that "our choices determine who we are"... and i feel like i suddenly truly understand the reason for giving choices - though i always felt there was benefit in giving choices - to children in my classroom. given the choice of reading two different books or given the choice to do "anything in the classroom" are obviously two different things. but what about the student who chooses to read a book in the latter of these situations. that student can really feel like a 'reader' if they choose reading over other free choices. and it tells me that they truly enjoy reading - more than the fact that they are engaged in reading when i tell them to read, it tells me they love reading because they chose it over everything else (although they don't have access to video games & television in my classroom). it's like in harry potter 6 (here we go again with harry potter) when dumbledore is trying to tell harry the importance of his attitude toward the battle with voldemort. harry realizes that he would want to seek and fight voldemort even if he didn't have to, or whether he was the chosen one or not. i get chills at the part where harry is thinking: it was the difference between being dragged into the ring and walking into the ring with your head held high. i'm reading a research article that has finally brought this epiphany to me where i can verbalize it rather than just have a feeling that i know - i knew choice was a good idea, now i understand why.