"All I know is that YOU have a suspension, and YOU have a suspension, and YOU, and YOU!" And with that, I was whisked away to the Principal's office, to face my judgment.
I was in the first year of Middle School, and I had just been caught fighting alongside my two Jewish friends against two or three upperclassmen. I was the smallest kid in my class, but I had received martial arts training a few years earlier, which gave me a notable advantage.
The fight began suddenly, when my friends were beset upon during what should have been a friendly soccer game. It was a decidedly vicious affair, with punching, kicking, and relatively unbridled violence. I originally was not part of the brawl, but seeing my friends in trouble from afar, I sprinted to them, and hurled myself into combat with reckless abandon.
After about a minute or two, the teachers, who took a while to understand what was going on, became involved, and it ended almost as quickly as it had begun. My parents were called by the school, as were those of my friends, and those of our adversaries. At some point we all broke into tears, as our fate was pronounced. I received a week's suspension from school, with a clear warning that if I ever was caught fighting again I would be expelled. Everyone else involved received similar punishments.
Of course, the school's policy was thoroughly steeped in hypocrisy. Being from a relatively low socioeconomic class compared to my fellow students, I could not get away with fighting. By comparison, the richer kids, who were widely understood to be virtually untouchable, fought practically on a daily basis, and there was nothing the teachers could do to stop them.
As for me, I was grounded by my parents, and unequivocally instructed to never lay a finger upon another person again. And to this very day, I have dutifully obeyed. I have not swung a punch nor drawn blood since the events of that day.
The entire debacle was not a complete waste though. Very few people ever physically bullied me again. I had proven my prowess, and it had an overall beneficial effect upon my reputation.
So: would I do it all over again if given the chance to change history? Yes. I would. It was a learning experience that I would not trade for all the gold in the world. Moreover, it helped make me into the man who stands before you today.
Life is not without peril. And we stumble through it as best we can. But you cannot learn from the mistakes you do not make, and trying to live a life without regrets is itself regrettable, often leaving you wondering what would have happened if you had made just a few more missteps along the way.
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