something really apt

From kyx! lol koped from one of his notes.

Take off your shoes. Wear mine. Walk around a little. How does it feel?

Not that I ask too much. It's akin to a competition: sometimes we participate and don't get the result we want. Though we might accept that those above us deserve their placing, we still have every right to be disappointed. It's the same thing.

You think of the people before us, how they were different. But is that analogy valid? Let us examine it by means of another analogy. The analogy to an analogy. Concentric circles. How inceptive. 

Consider two students. Their relative proficiencies in the various subjects are irrelevant. One aims for a 3.6, the other wants a 4.0. They both get 3.8. Though they both get the same thing, the first student is happy; the second isn't. Call him stupid for aiming for an unrealistic 4.0, but the quest for perfection is an admirable undertaking. Tread softly, because you tread on his dreams. 

From here on, it's a simple matter: what do you do when you've given your all but your all is not enough?

What do you do when you've tried your best but it does not manifest?

The dauntless intrepid one goes: try harder!

The tiny voice in the back of your head screams: I've tried my best!

The pragmatist goes: give up.

Alas, we are humans, and humans are we; easier options are preferred. The pragmatist wins again. 

Besides, sometimes, by the time you realise that it's not enough, it's too late to try again. 

And there is one logical outcome: apostasy. 

When you're not happy with what you're given, you can decide that you'd rather have nothing. So you throw it all away and wander around in search of greener pastures. In short, severance. 

But giving something up is never easy. It's a long, painstaking process that stretches over days, even months. Yet, for the sake of a brighter future, it must be done. We can only move on by cutting the restraints that tether us. 

But it is not to be! Halfway through the process, they call you back, threatening to jeopardise whatever progress you have made! And you would have to start again, from step one. You'd have to relive the opening throes of the Severance. An unpleasant thought at best. 

In the end, you find yourself looking in from outside the window. 

Call it hypocrisy. Call it betrayal. I don't need your pity or sympathy. I don't even expect your empathy. In fact, I don't know why I'm even accounting for my actions. But I hope that you respect my decisions. Indeed, we all encounter choices in our life. When one door closes, another opens. Perhaps, when one door opens, another closes. Maybe the opening of one door necessitates the closing of another. 

And with this, I unfetter my burdened conscience.

I am free.