“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 naïve 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