Topic: Is there anything you would like to change about your life? Why? “An action causes a reaction”, states the famous Newton’s third law of motion. This is in fact, very true, not only just in Science, but in our everyday life as well. Therefore, there are consequences for every action that we have ever taken. The big question here, though, is just—do I regret some of the things I have done and the decisions that I have made when I realised the consequences?
I do, for like any other human being, I am not perfect, and will never be, so of course, I have done many things which I regret a lot to this very day and truly wish that I could travel back in time to change them. One of the first things that I had ever truly regretted happened when I was in Primary Three. At that time, I was still very naive and ignorant, especially of the fact that the test for the Gifted Education Programme was really very important. Back then, I had thought that it was another one of those useless and mundane tests.
So with that thought in mind, I went to sit for the second round and just randomly selected the answers in the test, not putting in any effort at all. It was only later when I saw all my classmates who had gotten into the GEP leave for their new schools to begin their new chapters of education did I realise my foolishness. In the split second that the reality crashed down on me, of the fact that I would be missing out on countless opportunities and that I would never be as good as those in the GEP no matter how hard I will ever try, I finally understood the feeling of sorrow and regret.
At that moment, I would have given anything, anything at all to go back in time and retake the test. Sadly, that was impossible, and over time, the pain and guilt slowly mellowed, till only a dull lingering ache that would always be there remained. My second regret happened in Primary Four. That year in June, I signed up to take the Violin Grade 8 Exam. Of course, I was extremely excited as it would be a great accomplishment for me if I managed to pass the exam, considering that I was only ten at that time.
Unfortunately, at that time, to me, excitement did not necessarily mean hard work, and I managed to delude myself into believing that if I managed to achieve Grade 5 in Primary Two without practicing for over an hour each day, then I could pass Grade 8 the same way. Seconds turned into minutes, hours, days, and eventually months as they ticked by. Soon, there was only one month left before the exam in June. By then, my mother had started to get really worried for me as I was still as lackadaisical as ever for my violin practice and was afraid that I would not pass.
However, being the ignorant kid that I was, I turned a deaf ear to all her advice and did not listen at all when she reminded me to practice the violin. Yet, I continued to expect to pass the violin exam. Finally, the day of the exam arrived. Needless to say, I was not sufficiently prepared and failed the exam terribly. Fortunately, since then, I had learnt my lesson and retook the exam at the end of the year and passed. However, I still really regret my failure at the first attempt.
After all, I could have been more focused, practised the violin more often, and listened to my mother’s advices the first time and avoided the failure. Though I still passed in the end, I had wasted a lot of resources such as money and time of both myself and many others, all due to my horrible attitude during the first attempt. Looking back, it was a really stupid mistake, and if I were given the chance to go back in time, I would definitely change my attitude and practice the violin harder to pass the exam the first time round.
Unfortunately, all these are just talks and will never be really put into action, as after all, it is impossible to go back in time. Still, as we should always look on the bright side of things, I suppose that I should actually feel glad that I have made these mistakes as they have taught me many lessons, of which the most important to me is, “Do everything to the best of my extent and always think twice before I act for it is only then that I will not regret anything I have done. ” After all, regret is useless, as what we have done cannot be changed.
