“I err, and therefore I am”.
The number of days left in this city has whittled down to a
number I can count on my fingers. A couple of days ago I asked my friend if he
regretted choosing Stockholm for his exchange.
“Now that you asked, actually I do”, he replied.
During the long bleak winter, so did I. It was cold, people
you knew travelled and those, whom you gave up the people you knew for,
hibernated at home. The atmosphere at school was different. The American-Pie-like
craziness I expected, I got, but then I realised that it was not really what I
wanted. I left Singapore in search for people whom I thought might appreciate
life more. Instead I saw scores that drank and partied, only to complain of
headaches and hangover the next day.
So I avoided the parties, the drinks and rejected invitation
after invitation. I stayed in my comfort zone and ventured out along tracks
that I knew was safe, that I knew had something in the end for me. I was
convinced that actions had to have a purpose, that they should ultimately serve
to make me better. I was convinced that I was right.
And therefore I was wrong.
In her talk titled Being Wrong, ‘wrongologist’ Kathryn
Schulz talks of how a firm opinion of being right blinds one to the possibility
of other opportunities. On reflection, parties are still stupid, but they are
still an excellent opportunity to befriend people. Actions are most satisfying
when they have a purpose, but sometimes the journey is more important than the
goal. It is good to be right, but it is human to be wrong.
Do not get me wrong. I am not depressed and languishing in regret.
As late as the lesson might have come, it is enlightening to realise the narrow
path that I have been on. My first year in NUS was a year of regret about
competition and stress. Then I relooked that year and that school and learnt
some lessons about the things in life that truly mattered and the two years since
then have been the most memorable.
Likewise, mistakes made in Stockholm can be corrected in
Singapore.
Comments
Post a Comment