[PHOTOS] We Asked Some Malaysians What They'd Do If They Could Go Back In Time...
What would YOU change about your past if you could turn back time? NOTE: Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
Published for United International Pictures, 21 Jan 2015, 09:22 PM — Updated almost 10 years ago
1. Had he known the outcome, Sid would have stopped himself from asking a girl out onstage on prom night.
"I once asked a girl out onstage during prom. I got on stage, sang her favourite song, and after the song I asked her out. She said no. In front of everybody I know. You can't imagine the embarrassment!" Sid explained.
"You see, I thought it would be a yes coz I knew she was single. Well, I thought she was single. Turns out, she's been dating this guy for about a week. I took so long to plan it, but it completely backfired on me."
"Anyway, she dumped him two weeks later... and we got together," he added. "But I still wouldn't have done the asking-her-out-onstage thing."
2. One of Rachel's cousins passed away unexpectedly a few years ago. Going back in time, she would've put in more effort to keep in touch with him.
"We were really close as kids, even though his family stayed in KL and mine in Penang. We'd meet during every Chinese New Year to hang out and stuff. But as we grew up, our differences made us drift apart so we weren't as close as we once were. Soon, we barely spoke to each other and they just stopped coming back to Penang altogether," Rachel said.
"The day I found out he'd passed away, I was actually preparing to return to Penang from KL, where I was in the middle of an internship. When I got the call from my mom, I decided to ditch my flight to attend the funeral. It was just me and his two siblings (pictured below) because elders are not supposed to mourn."
3. Sarah would make sure her 10-year-old self does not read in the dark so she does not have to wear glasses for the rest of her life.
"When I was a kid, I read a lot. I also like to lie on my stomach while I read, meaning you'd find me on my bed with a book 90% of the time. The problem is, my bed is a double-decker bed and I'm on the bottom bunk. So obviously, it's dark all the time lah right. I'd also lose track of time and forget to turn on the light," Sarah explained.
"My parents would scold me all the time for reading in the dark but I never quite listened to them... until I had to wear glasses. My dad would tease me all the time about having "four eyes" and although wearing glasses doesn't bother me anymore, I still wish I'd known better then."
4. He's not sure if there are clown schools in Malaysia, but Rain wished he'd listened to his funny bone instead of going off to become a doctor.
"I also don't know why I am studying to become a doctor. I want to be a clown! Okay, not the type that scares children lah but the fun type of clown," Rain said.
"I even have a multi-coloured wig and giant glasses for when I want to 'cheer my friends up'. Eh, studying medicine very stress one you know."
5. Throughout her childhood, Isabelle has been subjected to some pretty horrible haircuts she wished she'd say no to.
"For YEARS, my mom wouldn't let me grow my hair longer. Don't ask me why, I have no idea why. Until I was 13 or so, my hair has never reached past my shoulders because my mom would bring me to the hair saloon or cut my fringe when she feels it has gotten too long," she mused.
"Meanwhile, my younger sister got to keep her hair long because she'd start crying whenever my mom wanted to cut her hair. I should've done that in the first place."
6. Jeff was quite a rebellious kid in his teens and he wished he had appreciated his dad a lot more when he was alive.
"If I could turn back time, I like to have a chance to tell my dad I love him, coz he passed away 13 years ago. Back then, I was quite a rascal... very 'havoc' lah. I do know he loves me very much, because every time I get in trouble he would help me out," Jeff said.
"I just didn't show or say how much I love and appreciate him. Definitely proud to be his son."
7. Now that she knows better, Alyson would make better fashion choices in her teens.
As Alyson puts it, "When I was about 13 or 14 years old, I had ZERO clue about fashion. Bell-bottom jeans were the 'IN' thing back then, and Jolin Tsai wore them all the time! Sadly, I'm not her so I can't really pull it off hahahhaaa!"
"As for my mom's hand-me-downs... I always thought everyone wore their mom's second-hand clothes! My mom would also tell me "It's a nice blouse" and like a good daughter, I believed her."
8. Lee devised a way to secure her 'future financial security' by making a sure-fire investment.
"Okay, maybe it's too late for ME to invest in Apple, but I'd send an anonymous tip-off to my parents to invest in Apple when they first started out. When was that... the '70s? We would've been SO RICH now!" she said.