The Road Not Taken (by Robert Frost)
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Learned this poem during English Literature class when I was in Form 4. Back then I was too young, too innocent, and too naive to understand even a single thing about this poem. All that I know was to absorb and memorize every single word my English teacher taught me about that poem, for the purpose of getting an A1 for my SPM, which I managed to. Thank God for it! Years passed, and yes, this poem gone together with the wind...
But this morning, the memoirs of this poem came back to me. All of sudden. Kinda weird, but the fact is, it did happen. Of course I don't memorized the full verse of it, but "two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both..." kept playing and ringing in my head. I have no idea why is it so, it just happened. I quickly open my browser and search for the entire poem. I got it. The same old poem I've learned in Green Road Secondary School (GRSS), years back. For a moment or two, my mind flew back to those good-old-days. It was fun. Those days, life was a bed of roses, and a bucketful of chocolates and candies too. Everything was nice. So nice!
Then, I finally got it. This poem is very much related to what I'm now, facing paths which I, myself aren't sure of where they'll lead me. Tough situation with tough decision to make. Sigh! Why does it has to be like this? Why me? To keep myself calm, I keep telling myself, "everything happens for a reason!" Yes, there's a reason for everything. Knowing that gives me some good reason to keep breathing. That's how I motivate myself. Geee... :)
How hard I push myself, there are also times when I feel like quitting, yes, I really wanna quit. But, as I look back and I tell myself, I've walked this far, too far, and I shouldn't turn back. Deep down, I know, someday, somehow, I'll be able to reach "there". Maybe not today, not tomorrow, not next year, but maybe in my next life, I will.
They decisions I live with today are all un-explain-able. Never a time I regretted making those decisions, for I know, i know it very well, that's what I want. Some would probably question me, "WHY?"... Well, my answer would simply be, "10, 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years from now, I don't want to wake up and find myself having a regret (or could be, regrets!) in me." By then, I'll never-never-never-ever have the chance(s) I have today. If the decision I made today is a wrong one, at least, by tomorrow, I'll get to learn some lessons. I rather learn from my mistake than not learning at all. If happiness means I have to sacrifice or risk my life, why not I try? For happiness is all that i want, all that i've ever wanted. Like what Shelby (acted by Julia Roberts) said to her Mama, M'Lynn (acted by Sally Field) in the Steel Magnolias (1986) movie , "Mama, I don't know why you have to make everything so difficult. I look at having a baby as the opportunity of a lifetime. Sure there may be risk involved, but that's true for anybody. But you get through it and life goes on. And when it's all said and done there will be a little piece of immortality with Jackson's good looks and my sense of style, I hope. Please, please I need your support. I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special."
posted by - yours truly - at 