My Life as a 20ish Single

He that never changes his opinions, never corrects his mistakes,
and will never be wiser on the morrow than he is today.

~Tryon Edwards~

As we change, so will our circumstances.

A professor stood before his class of twenty senior
organic biology students about to hand out the final
exam.

"I want to say that it's been a pleasure teaching you this
semester. I know you've all worked extremely hard and
many of you are off to medical school after summer. So
that no one gets their GPA messed up because they might have
been celebrating a bit too much this week, anyone who would
like to opt out of the final exam today will receive a 'B' for the
course."

There was much rejoicing in the class as students got up,
walked to the front of the class, and took the professor up on his
offer. As the last taker left the room, the professor looked
out over the handful of remaining students and asked,
"Anyone else? This is your last chance."

One final student rose up and opted out of the final.

The professor closed the door and took attendance of those
students remaining.

"I'm glad to see you believe in yourself," he said.

"You all get 'A's."


How many have taken the easy way out?

The short road, the easy path, the light load...

I stood at the altar in front of the couple.

I have witnessed many weddings. The dresses, tuxedos, the church decorations, and the food are what most focus on.

I was enamored by the word...that one word.

The one word answer to the question,
"...do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

I expected the typical, "I do." Those two words made both famous and infamous. I was not expecting his answer.

A voice loud and clear rang out with one word.

"Absolutely!"

It was A MountainWings Moment.

Far too often, "we do" but not absolutely. Our commitment is filled with ifs, ands, and buts.

We do as long as it's convenient.
We do as long as it benefits us.
We do as long as it's not painful.
We do as long as they remain beautiful or handsome.
We do as long as they keep their figure.
We do as long as the bills are paid.
We do as long they stay healthy.
We do as long as no one more exciting looks our way.
We do as long as it suits us.

What things or people in life are we truly committed to?
To whom have we really said and meant, "Absolutely."

Is this the way a man and a woman should enter into marriage? Should they feel that level of commitment? Should they really believe that the only way they would ever separate is by death?

Up until yesterday, I've always believed that my way of doing things resolves around one motto: I will try my very best with no regret.

What I didn't realise is the fact that it has limited applicability. That motto is only true when I am allowed to do things on my own. It falls apart when a task is to be completed as group work.

My group members greeted the assignment with foolish comments such as 10 marks only, I don't care; it doesn't matter, just say X and Y; this is such a waste of time. Right from the start, I could feel the uneasiness whenever we met for group discussions. But things couldn't be worst when we finally completed the introduction.

That morning, I spotted a missing comma in the introduction copy and decided to voice my concern. What happened later is something that I need to leave behind before going to sleep tonight. "Adding a comma wouldn't get you more marks!", said one of the girl. Needless to say, I was furious. For those who know me well, marks is the last thing that I am after. Yet, I gave exactly the opposite impression.

Today, I did some literature search and managed to come up with some research papers that might be useful in our assignment. In fact, I am sure they are valuable resources. But as I write, I am still in the middle of deciding whether to disclose these papers to my group members or not.

Why should I bother giving my very best to those who don't appreciate it and risk the possibility of getting another lemon?

So many of us don't even have the free time to even think of
what we would do with a lot free time.

What would you do?

You hadn't thought about it either huh?

Time is a finite resource, just as money is. What we do with a little is often reflective of what we would do with a lot.

How we handle what we have now determines the spirit and style in which we would handle much more.

~ a MountainWing original

Perhaps I should start learning how not to get distracted easily now. While I could temporary avoid the distraction by hiding inside the room as of now, I am sure time will come when this option is no longer possible.

Time for a change.