Moving on from the bonsai

So, at this point, the bonsai tree I bought is pretty dead, which speaks volumes about me. I am kinda sad that I couldn't nurture it, but the stakes were still fairly low - after all, it was only a $20 tree after all, not a child or something. In these situations, people have been advising me for years to try to draw some kind of positive from the experience, to reflect on what I have learned so that I do not kill any more tiny trees in the future. So, here are some of the things I learned during the miniature murder which I committed:

• Do your research before you buy. Don't let your ego get ahead of you, and assume you'll be able to figure it out, or just wing something that you've never done before. Do some research on what's involved with bonsai care, the best type of tree to buy, what your tree will need from you etc. And then go buy a tree, after you've done all that, you idiot.
• Always fully commit. Once you've realised your own lack of knowledge and admitted to yourself that actually, this is going to be a significant amount of work, own it. Don't pussyfoot around, now you have made a mistake, embrace it and throw yourself into putting it right.
• Bonsais are needy motherfuckers. Seriously - I didn't water it enough and it started dying, and then I watered it too much and it continued dying. Make up your goddamn mind.

I have had to awkwardly hide the remains of the tree in my room before people visit the flat this evening as I am too ashamed of my own failure in my duty of care over the plant. RIP.