George Washington said, “We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.” What Washington is trying to say is that people should not dwell on the past, unless it is for the purpose of learning from their failures. It is not good to look on the past because it means that one is not focusing on the present. It is important to focus on the present because that is where life takes place. Life does not take place in the past or in the future. Life takes place now. When people wish that they could be back in the past, it is a foolish, fruitless and futile effort. The past cannot come back. The only things that human beings really possess is the present.
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On page one, Yunior confesses “She caught you with fifty! Sure, over a six-year period, but still. Fifty girls? Damn!” (Diaz 1). Yunior realizes, too late, that he has committed an egregious wrong against his beloved. He has cheated and lied so badly that even he in incredulous about his actions. Yunior can hardly believe the depths of his own horrible ways. Although the relationship is a total loss, however, Yunior’s life need not be a complete loss. The real problem is not even the fact that he cheated on his partner, even though, admittedly, that is terrible. The real problem with Yunior is that he then takes the next five years to obsess about his ex-girlfriend, stubbornly refusing to move on and live his life. By wishing for the past, Yunior allows his present life to suffer. He should only be looking back at his past relationship, which is now beyond repair, exclusively for the purpose of figuring out where he went wrong, why he went wrong, and how he can prevent himself from going wrong in the present. The only thing human beings control over is the present. Unfortunately, this is not only Yunior’s only …show more content…
He sadly cannot do so as he was caught cheating on her but he keeps trying to relive the past. On the first page, he admits that he “[tries] every trick in the book to keep her. You write her letters. You drive her to work. You quote poems by Pablo Neruda. You compose a mass e-mail disowning all your sucias” (Diaz 1). Yunior now realizes that his girlfriend is a lost cause, and what he is doing is not going to help him at all. His girlfriend said “I’ll put a machete in you” if he was caught cheating. In this case, his girlfriend will not stab him, but instead will break up with him. Her statement is not to be taken in the literal sense, but it is to be taken in a sense that the relationship will end. Looking back into the past is like trying to put spilled milk back into the carton. You cannot do that, what happened in the past stays in the past, and Yunior cannot make things better with his ex-girlfriend by helping her or doing things for her. Another instance where Yunior is looking back on the past is when he goes into his stage of depression after his running injury. Immediately after his diagnosis, he goes home and becomes a hermit before “[he calls] the ex, but of course she doesn’t pick up” (Diaz 7). This is after the fact that his girlfriend already broke up with him, and poor Yunior wants to get back with her and to the “good old days.” Once he broke
On page one, Yunior confesses “She caught you with fifty! Sure, over a six-year period, but still. Fifty girls? Damn!” (Diaz 1). Yunior realizes, too late, that he has committed an egregious wrong against his beloved. He has cheated and lied so badly that even he in incredulous about his actions. Yunior can hardly believe the depths of his own horrible ways. Although the relationship is a total loss, however, Yunior’s life need not be a complete loss. The real problem is not even the fact that he cheated on his partner, even though, admittedly, that is terrible. The real problem with Yunior is that he then takes the next five years to obsess about his ex-girlfriend, stubbornly refusing to move on and live his life. By wishing for the past, Yunior allows his present life to suffer. He should only be looking back at his past relationship, which is now beyond repair, exclusively for the purpose of figuring out where he went wrong, why he went wrong, and how he can prevent himself from going wrong in the present. The only thing human beings control over is the present. Unfortunately, this is not only Yunior’s only …show more content…
He sadly cannot do so as he was caught cheating on her but he keeps trying to relive the past. On the first page, he admits that he “[tries] every trick in the book to keep her. You write her letters. You drive her to work. You quote poems by Pablo Neruda. You compose a mass e-mail disowning all your sucias” (Diaz 1). Yunior now realizes that his girlfriend is a lost cause, and what he is doing is not going to help him at all. His girlfriend said “I’ll put a machete in you” if he was caught cheating. In this case, his girlfriend will not stab him, but instead will break up with him. Her statement is not to be taken in the literal sense, but it is to be taken in a sense that the relationship will end. Looking back into the past is like trying to put spilled milk back into the carton. You cannot do that, what happened in the past stays in the past, and Yunior cannot make things better with his ex-girlfriend by helping her or doing things for her. Another instance where Yunior is looking back on the past is when he goes into his stage of depression after his running injury. Immediately after his diagnosis, he goes home and becomes a hermit before “[he calls] the ex, but of course she doesn’t pick up” (Diaz 7). This is after the fact that his girlfriend already broke up with him, and poor Yunior wants to get back with her and to the “good old days.” Once he broke