My MSN nick this week reads, “I should’ve known…”

So many people have asked me what it meant.

Simply said, it’s “I should’ve known that you’d act the way you did.”

Why?

Many times, we hope against hope that a person we know would act differently from how we perceive them to be. For example, a girlfriend hopes that her not-very-sweet boyfriend would at least send her a bouquet of flowers on Valentine’s day, or even a box of chocolates would do. But of course, he isn’t likely to do so, and won’t send her everything on V-Day. And the girl, even though she knew that would happen, would feel disappointed, because she had hoped that her boyfriend would act differently on the day of hearts.

Or how about a super cute guy you meet whom you felt you had a connection to. Because he’s so darn attractive, people would say that he’s most likely to be a player. He also does things a player would do like feed you lines and not call you often (If a guy is interested, he cannot help but contact you). But every time you’re with him, you feel that you’re very special, and it’s great just hanging out with this guy. Nevertheless, you do discover one day that he’s a player.

That you were played.

You knew it wasn’t entirely your fault. He was simply too slick, too suave, and too good to be true. But then again, you intuitively felt he was a player, yet you didn’t take it to heart because you had hoped it wouldn’t it be true.

You know it’s wrong to expect. But you can’t help it. It’s hard not to expect. I think it’s part of human nature.

And of course, because there was a slight hint of expectation there, you’re bound to get disappointed.

And as you bang your head on the wall while saying to yourself, “I should’ve known better,” you know there’s always going to be a next time. Even though you know there’s a big chance you’ll be disappointed the next time, after the hurt passes away, you know you’ll roll again your sleeves and try again.

Why? Because we’re human.

If you want to live your life to the fullest, we’re sure to get hurt. Life entails a lot of risk. But with great risks comes to opportunity for greater rewards. And this is what life is — to live and to risk out your neck, and your heart on a daily basis.

Sure, you can always protect your heart and keep it to yourself at all times.

But what fun would that be?