Has any of you seen the movie "Sliding Doors" starring Gwyneth Paltrow? This show came out a few years ago, probably about the time I was still in law school. The central character was on how someone's life could change just because of a simple common occurrence like whether she missed the train. A typical what-if scenario. It was a movie on the parallel alternative lives of the same lady if she had taken the train and if she had not.
The movie started off with her getting fired, then mugged in the lift. It climaxed to the part where she was going to take the Underground Tube. A kid was playing on the stairs in front of her, thus blocking her way. The parallel alternative started from there. What if the kid blocked her and she missed the train? She would have gotten home just when her boyfriend's lover left, cried about her miserable day, tried to find jobs to support herself and her boyfriend who was in the middle of writing a best-selling novel, found two jobs - one in a sandwich shop during the day and another as a waitress at night, got pregnant, went for a job interview by her boyfriend's lover, finally found out about the affair, fell, miscarried, survived and threw her boyfriend out.
Now the parallel alternative. What if the kid's mother carried him away and she was able to get on the train in just that split second? She would have walked in on her boyfriend and his lover, beat him up, went to bunk in with her best friend, changed her image, met a new guy in a bar, fell in love with him, got pregnant, got knocked down by a car, miscarried, did not survive, leaving the new dude broken-hearted. How sad. :-( The ending was very sweet though.
There are many sliding doors in people's lives. The question would always be what if ....? Just for myself, what if I have never given up law? Would I be a successful lawyer now? Maybe, maybe not. What if I had gotten the scholarship to the US? Perhaps I would be a consultant at Hudson already. Or what if I had gotten the scholarship to UK? Maybe I would have been a university lecturer, or at least a higher-level teacher. What if I never gave up my performing dream? Maybe I would have been a repetiteur or a choral conductor now. What if I never went into teaching? Perhaps I could have gone into journalism and my career would most likely have been established by now.
I used to be depressed when I hear of how well my peers are doing. My primary school classmates are all established in their careers and have at least an Honours degree and above. My secondary school classmates are either doctors, lawyers, teachers, psychologists, journalists, MARCOM officers or engineers. Some are already married with kids and their husbands are just as established. Me? I am going nowhere in terms of career and love life. Fast reaching the non-marketability age in terms of both career and marriage.
As I think of how my life is now and what it could have been, there is no doubt a tinge of regret. But I guess rather than being regretful, I should try to make the most of the situation. As long as I am satisfied with my life, it does not really matter what my life could have been, does it? And instead of hoping for my life to change, I should be more proactive and do something myself. So I have to continue sending out resumes (I have already sent out 30 so far) hoping to snag the dream job, doubling my efforts to get someone's attention hoping to snag the dream guy, and start preparing food for the Hawaiian-themed poolside party tonight. I want to party hard and have all the fun I want tonight!
The movie started off with her getting fired, then mugged in the lift. It climaxed to the part where she was going to take the Underground Tube. A kid was playing on the stairs in front of her, thus blocking her way. The parallel alternative started from there. What if the kid blocked her and she missed the train? She would have gotten home just when her boyfriend's lover left, cried about her miserable day, tried to find jobs to support herself and her boyfriend who was in the middle of writing a best-selling novel, found two jobs - one in a sandwich shop during the day and another as a waitress at night, got pregnant, went for a job interview by her boyfriend's lover, finally found out about the affair, fell, miscarried, survived and threw her boyfriend out.
Now the parallel alternative. What if the kid's mother carried him away and she was able to get on the train in just that split second? She would have walked in on her boyfriend and his lover, beat him up, went to bunk in with her best friend, changed her image, met a new guy in a bar, fell in love with him, got pregnant, got knocked down by a car, miscarried, did not survive, leaving the new dude broken-hearted. How sad. :-( The ending was very sweet though.
There are many sliding doors in people's lives. The question would always be what if ....? Just for myself, what if I have never given up law? Would I be a successful lawyer now? Maybe, maybe not. What if I had gotten the scholarship to the US? Perhaps I would be a consultant at Hudson already. Or what if I had gotten the scholarship to UK? Maybe I would have been a university lecturer, or at least a higher-level teacher. What if I never gave up my performing dream? Maybe I would have been a repetiteur or a choral conductor now. What if I never went into teaching? Perhaps I could have gone into journalism and my career would most likely have been established by now.
I used to be depressed when I hear of how well my peers are doing. My primary school classmates are all established in their careers and have at least an Honours degree and above. My secondary school classmates are either doctors, lawyers, teachers, psychologists, journalists, MARCOM officers or engineers. Some are already married with kids and their husbands are just as established. Me? I am going nowhere in terms of career and love life. Fast reaching the non-marketability age in terms of both career and marriage.
As I think of how my life is now and what it could have been, there is no doubt a tinge of regret. But I guess rather than being regretful, I should try to make the most of the situation. As long as I am satisfied with my life, it does not really matter what my life could have been, does it? And instead of hoping for my life to change, I should be more proactive and do something myself. So I have to continue sending out resumes (I have already sent out 30 so far) hoping to snag the dream job, doubling my efforts to get someone's attention hoping to snag the dream guy, and start preparing food for the Hawaiian-themed poolside party tonight. I want to party hard and have all the fun I want tonight!
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