you can't take it back

"Don't make me say things to you that we will both going to regret."

This is an often quoted line that we frequently see in films or television shows during a spat between a couple. In many ways, it reflects the significance of our words and actions, and the impact it will have on others. Some words said out of anger may leave behind intangible scars, and as we know, scars can heal, but they can never go away.

Similarly, our attitudes towards different groups of people, once established, have a tendency to remain sticky and resist change. We can't take back what we have displayed towards others - be it apathy, indifference, nonchalance - and it takes courage, and perhaps a dose of strong character as well, to cross the barrier and effect change.

Browsing through the blogs of a few classmates, there are many times I find myself realizing how little I actually know of them. True, I would say that my class is not a great example of class unity, and that there are many divisive factions that might possibly impede getting to know certain classmates, but I have to also admit that my partial indifference to them played a part. Comparing this to my initial enthusiasm and zest for class at the start of last year, what with organizing Valentine's Day gift exchange and setting up the class blog, I can't help but feel a tinge of wistfulness and regret about it.

Each friend represent a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
Five years down the road, I wonder if I will still keep in contact with any of the girls in the class. Sometimes, it feels like we're more of acquaintances than friends. We say hi to one another, smile, and talk about class matters, but at the end of the day, we leave the classroom not getting to know the person better, not getting to know who he or she is underneath all the facade we assume.

I guess it's too late to do anything about it. From now onwards, it's a mad dash towards Prelims and As, leaving little time for class gatherings and what-nots. Even then, cultivated mindsets are hard to be changed, and as much as I would like to know each individual better, it takes two hands to clap.

In any case, I am still grateful for the opportunity to know of the many individuals who have displayed memorable traits, and I'm still glad to be in 5A! Of comic cynicism, ego overload and overwhelming niceness among many other distinct characteristics, these classmates truly represent a different world in me.

You can't take the past back.
But you can always cherish the present,
And look towards the future.