End and essay with the phrase If only I had been more careful, that wouldnt have happened.

Everyone is bound to make mistakes in life. It is part of human nature. But there are
mistakes that a person will deeply regret. There was a mistake that I did when I was a young boy that
I deeply regret. I wish I could have turned back time and change what I had done. But who am I
kidding? Turning back time is an impossible thing to do. I will forever remember what I had done.
The mark left by the mistake I did was such a huge irreparable scar.
It all began when I was still attending kindergarten. I was a small and stubborn boy. I ignored
every advice that was being told to me. I was immature; I thought it was all pointless words with no
meaning. Little did I know it would have such a huge impact on my life. Every single advice that was
thrown at me entered one ear and out the other.
As a little kid, I always loved to play with my friends regardless of the location. As long as
there is an empty space, be it by the roadside or by the river, we will start playing. Our favourite
place however is to play by the roadside. We did not care about the oncoming traffic or the
consequences of playing by the roadside. My mum constantly nagged about the danger of playing by
the roadside. Being a stubborn kid, I ignored my mums constant nagging and continued playing by
the roadside.
One day, I was playing tag with my friends by the roadside. We ran along the road while
ignoring the traffic. Albeit being nagged constantly by my mum about, I just did not give a single care
in this world about it. I thought in my mind, I am having fun so why must I stop just because some
say so? We played during the peak hours where the traffic on the road was packed. As we were
playing, I accidentally pushed my friend onto the road. The oncoming car was moving so fast that the
driver did not have any time to react and the car hit my friend. My friend was knocked unconscious
and was bleeding profusely. The driver of the car immediately called the ambulance and a few
minutes later the ambulance arrived. My friend was immediately rushed to the emergency room and
was taken into the operating room.
His parents were called and they arrived in the hospital immediately. They were waiting
anxiously outside the operating room as they were pacing back and forth in the waiting room
awaiting the doctor to emerge from the operating room with news about their son. My parents were
also in the waiting room with me. I was scared what will happen to him and me. I was afraid of being
blamed and scolded at by my parents and his parents. The clock struck midnight, and the doctor
came out from the operating room. The look on his face was grim as he told the condition about
their son to the parents. After the doctor walked away, my parents asked about his condition.
Apparently his injuries are so severe that he had to be admitted into the intensive care unit and
undergo another operation the next day. His parents were crying their lungs out and I could not do
anything. I thought to myself, What had I done? Because of my arrogance and immaturity, this
happened. I should be on the bed not him.


Weeks passed and after undergoing operations for the umpteenth time, he was finally
admitted out from the hospital. However, that was not good news, he was paralyzed from his waist
down. He was not able to walk anymore, and it was my fault that he ended up like that. I went to
him and his parents and went down on my knees and started apologizing like no tomorrow. His
parents pulled me up and said, It is not your fault, everyone does mistakes and it never ends up
well. Fortunately for us our son is still alive and that is all that matters. My friend also reassured me
that it was not my fault and there is completely nothing to worry about. I started to cry a waterfall of
tears. I knew they were hesitating when they said that, but they still continued to say it. This mistake
is a mistake that I can never take back. No matter how much I regret it, no matter how many times I
apologize, I can never make him walk on his own again.
Life is full of regrets. Some regrets are small and some regrets are big. How I wish I had
listened to my parents advice when I was young. Advices are really important and it could possibly
help you live a better life. This is a mistake that I will never ever repeat in my life. I would not be able
to bear seeing another friend of mine being injured because of my arrogance. If only I had been
careful, that would not have happened.