30th May 2007
Wednesday
Two chances one too many

It is so maddening to know that one mistake can be judged by others for a long time and by yourself for a lifetime.


Do you believe in giving second chances to others? Do you believe in accepting second chances?


The society we are in preaches about offering second chances to people. But how successful is this "second chance" thinking among people?



Student A is a regular secondary school student who have problems with his studies. He hangs out with friends who smoke and spout vulgarities all the time. People associate him with those gangsters even though he is not a gangster.

One day, student A fails his exams and has to repeat an academic year. He regrets that he has wasted a year studying things that he could have left behind already. In his repeat year, he studies much harder and stops hanging out with his old friends. He also cuts down the time spent on his CCA and hobbies.

In this new academic year, the new class Student A is in looks down upon him as a repeat student. To them, he is not smart enough. He is someone who has failed to meet the minimum requirements to at least promote to the next level. To his previous class, he is someone who is not as smart as them. He is someone who is inferior to them because he is a retainee.

The luxury of this second chance given to him by the school does not encompass the thinking of his peers. The perception of him, that everyone else has, does not change. Instead, it gets worse. He is thankful for the second chance he has gotten from the school. Yet the second chance robbed him of his personal life.

This short scenario depicts a hypothetical situation where one person receives a second chance that affects him adversely. Second chances are not as simple as it seems. Whether you accept a second chance or not, affects the way you will be treated. Everything comes with a price. And usually, that price is costly to pay.

When a person gives you a second chance, it does not mean that everyone else has done the same thing.

Random.