No Room for Mistakes
One night after working a back-to-back 9 hour shift with no break, I brought home a bucket of greasy chicken, sat in front of the television, shoved food down my throat, then spaced out for the next 4 hours. I didn't bother to touch the remote control the entire time, allowing more junk to be shoved down the back of my throat - TV junk. I came across one show called the Bad Girls Club. (Can't remember which channel I had on, but it's not worth finding out.) It's a "reality" show about... bad girls, I supposed. I mindlessly watched the contents of the show until one of the "bad girls" said one thing that stirred quite a reaction in my mind. And I was alive. (I think therefore I am, right?)
The bad girls were in a state of war. All the girls had issues with one another, and on that particular night, some of them finally had it. The girls had just returned from a night in town. Bad girl A was enjoying herself all evening by dancing provocatively, and capturing all the men's attention. Bad girl B disapproved of her act, and tried to convince her to behave in the club only to be ignored and held in contempt. Bad girl B, being the feisty one, became very upset. After leaving the club, she got rowdy, and a cat fight commenced. When the two were finally separated, bad girl A yelled out these words: "I'm 22. I'm still young. I can still make mistakes. You're 26. You're too old to make mistakes."
First of all, she's talking about the age difference between a 22-year-old and a 26-year-old; not a 4-year-old and a 75-year-old. I'm very age-conscious myself. But..., really?
And since when? Since when does making a mistake not lead to certain consequences? Even at 4, mommy tells you not to run, and you don't listen, so you fall and crack your skull. How about at 15? Mommy tells you to stay in school, and you don't, and you become a high school janitor where you get to watch those who listened to their mothers. At 17, mommy tells you to be careful when you're with a boy, and you don't listen, and you end up with herpes, or HIV, or a baby, or all of the above. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. But since when? Since when have we ever been free of consequences? And if we were, why wouldn't it apply to a 26-year-old, or a 36-year-old, or a 96-year-old? Some people may never learn, but they can still live forever, right?
Perhaps she said so out of this consideration: she had more time to live, so she might have more time to mend her mistakes or start over. Well, how did she know that? What if she got hit by a bus the next day? She would be forever remembered as "the thong girl." Would she have regretted that? Or would it not matter anymore?
Youth is generally associated with physical capabilities and energy levels. And even that, we cannot take for granted.
We all want to think that the stupid things we do, in time we would be able to look back and laugh at them. Of course, we would do innocent, silly, fun things from time to time, no matter what age (point: innocent). And we can look back at those things when we no longer have a care in the world, and laugh, and rejoice at the life we've had. But there are deliberate, ignorant, horrible things that we can do that when we look back, we may only come to the realization that it's too late, that we can't undo the damages. We look back, and we see the dark times of our lives, filled with regret and shame, all because we thought we could make mistakes.
When I rearranged my apartment, I found a stack of old journals of mine. I wasn't very impressed with my old self. I wasn't impressed at all. But at least I wasn't stupid enough to have done regretful things. Things that would lead me to bad places and bad situations. I can embrace my past for having shaped my life, and I don't feel so bad about myself now.
We can't change the past, and we can't predict the future, but we can actively participate in today's decisions to create a rewarding life worthy of rejoice. When you're 22, you're old enough to make decisions on your own, for your own. You're too old to say you can still make mistakes. And yes, everybody makes mistakes every once in a while, and sometimes it's okay. It's about the attitude. It's also about taking control so that you don't let bad things happen out of ignorance; and if bad things do happen, you can look into your conscience, and know it's not your fault.
I know I could be quite a nazi at times, but I really think I have a point here.
The bad girls were in a state of war. All the girls had issues with one another, and on that particular night, some of them finally had it. The girls had just returned from a night in town. Bad girl A was enjoying herself all evening by dancing provocatively, and capturing all the men's attention. Bad girl B disapproved of her act, and tried to convince her to behave in the club only to be ignored and held in contempt. Bad girl B, being the feisty one, became very upset. After leaving the club, she got rowdy, and a cat fight commenced. When the two were finally separated, bad girl A yelled out these words: "I'm 22. I'm still young. I can still make mistakes. You're 26. You're too old to make mistakes."
First of all, she's talking about the age difference between a 22-year-old and a 26-year-old; not a 4-year-old and a 75-year-old. I'm very age-conscious myself. But..., really?
And since when? Since when does making a mistake not lead to certain consequences? Even at 4, mommy tells you not to run, and you don't listen, so you fall and crack your skull. How about at 15? Mommy tells you to stay in school, and you don't, and you become a high school janitor where you get to watch those who listened to their mothers. At 17, mommy tells you to be careful when you're with a boy, and you don't listen, and you end up with herpes, or HIV, or a baby, or all of the above. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. But since when? Since when have we ever been free of consequences? And if we were, why wouldn't it apply to a 26-year-old, or a 36-year-old, or a 96-year-old? Some people may never learn, but they can still live forever, right?
Perhaps she said so out of this consideration: she had more time to live, so she might have more time to mend her mistakes or start over. Well, how did she know that? What if she got hit by a bus the next day? She would be forever remembered as "the thong girl." Would she have regretted that? Or would it not matter anymore?
Youth is generally associated with physical capabilities and energy levels. And even that, we cannot take for granted.
We all want to think that the stupid things we do, in time we would be able to look back and laugh at them. Of course, we would do innocent, silly, fun things from time to time, no matter what age (point: innocent). And we can look back at those things when we no longer have a care in the world, and laugh, and rejoice at the life we've had. But there are deliberate, ignorant, horrible things that we can do that when we look back, we may only come to the realization that it's too late, that we can't undo the damages. We look back, and we see the dark times of our lives, filled with regret and shame, all because we thought we could make mistakes.
When I rearranged my apartment, I found a stack of old journals of mine. I wasn't very impressed with my old self. I wasn't impressed at all. But at least I wasn't stupid enough to have done regretful things. Things that would lead me to bad places and bad situations. I can embrace my past for having shaped my life, and I don't feel so bad about myself now.
We can't change the past, and we can't predict the future, but we can actively participate in today's decisions to create a rewarding life worthy of rejoice. When you're 22, you're old enough to make decisions on your own, for your own. You're too old to say you can still make mistakes. And yes, everybody makes mistakes every once in a while, and sometimes it's okay. It's about the attitude. It's also about taking control so that you don't let bad things happen out of ignorance; and if bad things do happen, you can look into your conscience, and know it's not your fault.
I know I could be quite a nazi at times, but I really think I have a point here.
Comments
My beef with mistakes is not so much having made them, but in the spirit they were made. Consider a murder case - committing a murder in the heat of the moment may not be excusable; but committing a pre-meditated murder is far more criminal and difficult to forgive. Making mistakes is human. Deliberately choosing to fault is ignorance.