Kimo's Essay #12

Kimo Gray
12.15.08
Mr. Salsich
English

Regrets: Live, Learn, Move on

“The successful person frets over the past and worries over the future, while the happy person lives in the moment, not a care of what has happened or what will.” This quote, of which I have quoted numerous times as my friends will tell, speaks of everyone, and the decisions they make that bind them to their fate. If this unknown philosopher is correct, then there is also no way to be both happy and successful; how then, do we make this impossible choice? I believe in letting go of regrets, and making amends to the amendable, and forgetting the unforgettable.


Why do we hold regrets when we know that the past does not contribute to the future? It is sensible to not hold regrets, to always move on like clockwork. But we are not a sensible people. We are a people of emotion of sentimental sensations, and therefore it would be impossible to abolish regret. One example of regret in my life would be the insignificant opportunities I have with my family that I waste. Whether it is putting my brother to bed, or just playing a time consuming board game with my sisters, I never seem to make time, always preoccupied with everything at once. I love my family, and I know that all that I do for them makes up for these minor regrets. Another regret I have is with procrastination. Procrastination is a deadly disease; one that is founds in the bright colors of television and distractions and is not fought with antibiotics but rather with will-power. I have often struggled with procrastination, and I always feel empty when the day has arrived with no paper to give, no presentation to share, nothing to give but a hollow “sorry.” But I learn to move on, to see the world anew every day and to make sure the old mistakes aren’t repeated, relearned, or rejected. Whether I am a ‘procrastination-aholic,’ or there isn’t enough time in the day, regrets are something to be worked past, and though they may never be gone, that doesn’t mean we can’t rise above them.


I am only 14 years old, but as of late I have taken a good long look at my life and assessed how to prepare for another future. In our 9th grade forum, many students spoke of contrary beliefs of mine; many suggested that the only way to go throughout life was with regrets. The quantity of people alluding to this statement shocked me- perhaps my way of thinking ad been wrong. If so, I would have to believe that I would regret believing in not having regrets. Regrets certainly are a large part of life, whether you chose to dwell on them or move past, there will always be regrets. One amend I discovered in my life was to become more organized in my school life, in my home life, and in everything I do. It has brought me happiness overcoming this regret, as I now don’t have to drag myself through my room or dig for a paper in my plan book. Now that I don’t have to worry about the past in the present there is no need to worry about the future. My father, a man who maybe not the most impressive man I know but is definitely one of the greatest, always imposed his beliefs on me as a child. Whether this was wrong on his part, I know not to say but he did teach me important things in life, the difference between right and wrong, how to always win at tic-tac-toe, how to treat others, and how to treat yourself. Living with regrets is always a hard thing; contrary to my advice I have lived my life with many large regrets that only till recently had been contained like a little red sandstorm in the back of my head. But letting go of your regrets is the key to happiness, and it can come to anyone, even a 9th grader.


I like to think of myself as a happy person, but then I am not one to dismiss the past or to abolish the future. Regrets can come in all shapes and sizes, and it is our each personal struggle to deal with them. Whether it’s something small like forgetting to brush your teeth, or something bigger, life goes on. Be happy when you can, because though a life without regrets may be a life without care, a life without care is not a life at all.


1. I am trying to work on organization in my writing. I’m also trying to understand the tools better.
2. I enjoyed my chiasmus, as I think it contributes to the passage well. I also like my S-V split
3. I think that my concluding paragraph wasn’t very exciting, and that I may have gotten a bit sidetracked in my first body paragraph.
4. C




Bold-Chiasmus

Italics-S-V split