The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


After reading this poem, I was not able to fully comprehend it immediately. However, I read a poem analysis and managed to better comprehend this poem. According to the analysis, this poem is one of the best-known, but most misunderstood poems in the world. It is basically about the importance of making the right choice.

In the first stanza, the speakers describes his position. He is in the middle of the woods and comes across two roads. He would like to take both roads, but doubts that he would have the chance, thus he carefully looks down both roads for a long time. In the second stanza, the speaker looks down one road but decides to go down the other. This is because he feels that the second path seems less worn and has less traffic. He then describes that the difference is not much, but only a little. In the third stanza, he continues to describe the two paths, how the fallen leaves are still fresh and have not been stepped on.

The last stanza is the tricky one. Firstly, the "sigh" in the first line can mean two things; one, the speaker has chosen the right path and sighs in relieve; two, the speaker has chosen the wrong path and sighs in disappointment. Secondly, the speaker himself is not too sure what this "sigh" means as he says "somewhere ages and ages hence:". This mean that the speaker is yet to know whether he had took the right path. Thirdly, the word "difference" in the last line is directly affect by the connotation of "sigh" in the first line. If the "sigh" meant that he is relieved, then "difference" would mean a positive difference; if the "sigh" meant disappointment, then it would be a negative "difference".

In all, I found this poem very tricky and it indeed boils down to making the right choices. Making the right choices would ultimately determine your future.

Sacrifice

Write about a time when in wanting to make someone happy you were forced to make a sacrifice. 

What should I do? Is this the right choice? These were some of the questions that ran through my mind as I stood there in the bookstore, holding one item in each hand. In my left hand was the newest, coolest video game that had just reached Singapore. I have been waiting for this video game to reach stores for a long time and have been saving since. Now, my hands on this video game and enough money in my pocket, I was finally ready to try out this new cool game. However, tomorrow is my best friend's birthday and I wanted to give him,  John, a special present. I had always knew he wanted this storybook and wanted to give it to him as his birthday present. Coincidentally, his birthday accurately falls on the day my new video game releases. With only enough money to buy one present, I am in a dilemma.

Anyway, did I see this book when I went to his house just last week? Or was it another? Fresh hopes and ideas that might convince me to buy the video game flashed through my mind. My eyes greedily fell upon the video game package and I dreamily thought of how I would spend my upcoming school holidays. This is the game I had been waiting for for such a long time! How could I bear to sacrifice this to for a book? However, My eyes turned and gazed upon the boring old book. Although most of my instincts would tell me to put that book down and pay for the video game, my brain stopped me and made me think twice before deciding. John had been my best friend since Primary One and we spent a lot of time together. He had always been there helping me and making school life more bearable. I also recall him lending me lunch money a few days ago.

With all those good points, how could I not give him a good birthday present in return? Making a mental note to return him the money, I put the video game back and walked towards cashier...