I remember hearing the song Perfection by Guy Sebastian for the first time. It is the song he made and sung at his wedding day, dedicated to his bride. And I began to wonder, what exactly being perfect means.

Nobody’s perfect. We have heard this statement over and over and over again, but do we really believe it? Even when we say to others, “I’m not perfect,” deep down, do we actually regard it as the truth?

Sometimes, I don’t. I have what it’s called ‘perfection syndrome’, if there’s any. I used to want to be the best, to look flawless, and perhaps, to be perfect. I want my cake, and I want to eat it too.

But I’m not perfect, nobody is, so why did Guy Sebastian claimed his bride to be perfect?

You see, the concept of perfection lies in the eyes of the beholder.

Some while back, Steve Jobs delivered a speech to the Standford graduates. He said that in the end, everything that we are going through, have gone through, and will go through, is a series of dots that one day will connect to each other. “Connect the dots,” he referred it as.

Everything, every little or big mistake, every wrong or right choice, will make sense once day. It needs to be there.

As you perhaps know, last week, I offended a whole lot of people. I didn’t know how much exactly, but safely to say, I might offend every person in my senior high school year. Or perhaps half, or a quarter. The point is, I still offended them.

While my intention is not to be offensive, regardless to say the topic is sensitive and I will end up offending them. And I know I have taken the risk. Because I want to get my point across, not necessarily about what happened in Prom, but about the concept of perfection.

In that article I argued that not everything needs to be fixed, because even though things are not flawless, I can live with it.

As Bob Goof in his novel Love Does says, things don’t need to be perfect. Sometimes they are full with rocks and dirt, and that’s okay. Go on with it, and make the best out of it.

So why do I choose to write about my Prom Night? Perhaps a part of me still can’t let the thought go, and I still can’t move on with it. Every time I’m reminded of it, my stomach would twist, and I know, there is something wrong. As I’ve done with all my writings, I write about my unfinished businesses to be able to turn a new page.

In a sense, I write to let go.

Still, that doesn’t justify the wrong facts that I have written, mainly because I only got the stories from the people who share my view. So as a writer myself, I apologise for getting my facts wrong.

And although what I wrote might scar my reputation, I am relieved that I am at peace with my Prom. Hearing the story from the opposite side did help, and I am smiling at how free I am now. I am, finally, letting go.

I might not be able to get away with this issue, but that’s okay. Because I know my risks, I am fully prepared in taking oppositions, and I know that my views are idealistic. And one day this mistake of mine will be connected in the series of dots somewhere.

Perhaps, it’s there to teach me to be humble more than ever.

 

Photo by WongFu Productions