This is in response to Maya's blog entry on "about regrets".
Regret is a topic I always dig out to torture myself. I like to sound all perfectionist and say I have no regrets. But I do have them, in fact many of them. All the perfectionist me can say now is "Yes, I have regrets and if given a second chance in life, I would live life the other way round. But the whole purpose of saying sorry (including those from yourself to yourself) is not to repeat the same mistake, to learn from it, and to make the most of whatever that is beyond that realisation of a regret."
My little cousin once said something which I now tag to her as the wise girl who said it. My mother asked her if she was sure about (doing) something. She said, "Chue bu hou huey". Literally translated to "Definitely no regrets". Sounds very adult for a kid to say four words that sound so confident that there is not a hint of possible oncoming regrets hovering over her. Next time before embarking on an action, do two things: 1) remind yourself, "When in doubt, don't do it" and 2) ask yourself, "Chue bu hou huey?!"
Whatever your regret is, think Sliding Doors (1998). Life could go this way, or that way, but either way, we will all turn out just fine. Different results, but just fine.
Angel Lam
- Angel Lam
- Singapore
- Angel holds a degree in Communication from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia with specializations in Journalism and Psychology. She entered the United Nations system as the Communications Associate of the Malaysia country office, where she formulated and implemented media strategies on international development issues relating to integrity and transparency, democratic governance, environment, HIV/AIDS, poverty reduction and South-South cooperation, as well as gender issues and the Millennium Development Goals. Angel also worked on several development projects on Afghanistan, particularly in reviving its dried fruits industry through modern agro-processing methodologies, and in encouraging foreign direct investment to the reconstruction of Afghanistan, for which she championed while at the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency, the investment arm of the Government of Afghanistan. She is currently a recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew Postgaduate Scholarship at the LKY School of Public Policy, the political science arm of the National University of Singapore, where her work and research in international development and poverty alleviation continues.