While looking through the past posts, I discovered that too much current affairs have been covered. Its about time for something more lighthearted.

Once again, its coming to the end of the academic year, and it is quite a magical feeling in the air. I've managed to survive the year and I managed to get myself packed up and ready to go back to Singapore. On thing is, everything in the above paragraph is false. Oh, it IS the end of the academic year I guess. Nevertheless, while juggling upon working on my project, bridge and such, I had a interesting conversation with a friend at the bridge club.

She's 21, and currently in a year 2 course in History of Art in UCL. She is appling for another university course after quitting from her current course because she no longer had any interest in the subject. Just after the bridge game, she commented that she wished she had the 'asian drive' to do anything they can to the best, even if they don't like it. Her parents did not go against her decision, but where not anywhere close to being supportive. I spent the night talking about the issue in general, convincing her of the fact that this is never a decision where she will regret, because these big decisions are made on the basis of your best knowledge. It might not be the right decision, but if you were put into the same situation with the same knowledge, it would have been your best result anyways.

The conversation moved along to issues like this in general, and she said that everything in life is not black and white. I disagreed, and stated, "I think that life is black and white. Just that we are seeing it through coloured lenses."

She didn't refute me on the statement, but merely smiled. However, I do still stand by the statement. When I grew up, from a child to a teenager, I've always been amused by how decisions in our life got more and more murky. From when there was always a right decision, to when absolutely everything was wrong. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that usually, there is one right decision. Which is the one you end up making. It is not right in the sense that it invokes the optimal result, but it is right in the sense that it seems to invoke the best possible one. The result itself is secondary. The expectation of the result at the point of making the decision is what that is more important.

In the end, there's no point in considering only making results that gives the optimal result, because we know that in life, these kind of things rarely exist. We are instead expected to pick the decision that gives the best result we expect. Thus, in theory, there will almost always be a best decision, and that life is simply black and white. However, many would disagree on this issue, stating that in the end, comparing different results are difficult, and it would be impossible for one to perfectly compare 2 different results. To these people, I say, stop being fickle. If 2 things are inherently different, it would be impossible to not be able pick between the two. In the end, the inability to choose is not because of the results themselves, but the people not being able or having no balls to make their own decision.

So I beseech people who are in difficult periods of their lives, having to make difficult decisions. Do not put it to others, god, the world. Sit down, have a cup of coffee, and rationally make the decision where you know you have made to the best of your ability.

At least you won't regret it.