Fate Vs. Free Will

Fate vs. free will are concepts that everyone deals with in their daily life. Was an event that just happened fate? Or a long string of coincidences? In a lot of cases, I think it's more of a coincidence than fate. I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, but it's not fate that it happened. It happens, because that's life. Going through life, everything isn't necessarily a coincidence. Things happen based on past experiences, and actions you take help create your future. I do think that everyone is, for the most part, in control of themselves and their futures, and your future is created based on past experiences and what you have done to work up to what will happen next, though obviously many details of your future aren't known ahead of time, and can not be determined. 

Everyone, however, is not in control of other people's lives, and since generally people cross paths and intersect with other people, some things become out of your control. For example, if you leave your house 2 minutes late, and end up missing the train you normally catch, and that train ends up crashing, that is clearly out of your control. But it is out of your control, because that is laid in the hands of other people. Is it fate? Fate is described as "The development of events outside a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power" and while i certainly agree that many things become out of one's control, a supernatural controlling it keeps me skeptical. I think that leaving your house a few minutes late is more luck than fate, and like said before, everything happens for a reason, but fate doesn't control that. 

At the end of Oedipus, it is realized that Apollo ordained Oedipus's destiny, but it was his own choice to damage his sight. I think that there is a little bit of self control in everyone's future, and your life is more a string of coincidences, and everything just happens for a reason, rather than fate.