When I was six, I met childhood friend
number one. Lets call him N. He had just moved in next door and we went to the same kindergarten. I was a little boy at heart and we both had some pretty rough adventures then. Grazing our elbows and knees from climbing the jungle gym and playing superman on the park swings. I was the taller one at that time and hence, I considered myself the leader out of our 'small gang'. N was like my little minion. Too adorable, to think of it.
When I was seven, someone had nicked my prized possession at school. It was my newly bought set of tinned coloring pencils. I hadnt even gotten round to using half the 48 shades of colors that was in them. I was so upset. It was the last week of school and I was packing to move to the UK when N comes jumping off the school bus with tinned coloring pencils in hand! He found the prick who took them and literally punched them in the face for me. I actually thought he was my hero. I cried when we hugged to leave for the airport and I thought I would never see him again.
When I was eight I spoke with a British accent. I was acting in school plays as leads and singing in the school choir. I discovered my niche for sports and PE was always my favorite period in school. I met best friend number one. Lets call him R. And despite my notorious dislike and unsportsmanlike behaviour when it came to losing on the Nintendo console, we became really good friends. R and I started reading Enid Blyton stories and started scouring the nearby woodlands for the Magic Faraway Tree. We were convinced it was real.
At twelve, I came to terms with my jealousy. I slowly accepted that friends were not mutually exclusive, and that others could be friends with mine. I then left the UK for home, Malaysia.
Puberty came with a vengeance at thirteen complete with teenage angst, retaliation and self-centeredness. I was packed off to boarding school kicking and screaming and was determined to be mad at my parents forever. That lasted about a month or so. I endured the awkwardness and trials of puberty, finding out my 'bits' and 'bobs'. Life also introduced me to bestfriend number two and three. We called ourselves the triple H's.
When I was fifteen, I was very active, and challenged myself to a lot of different things. I was on the debate team, the athletics team and the basketball team which was just an opportunity to skip all the classes I could by going to meets and competitions. This molded my character and instilled some traits that have stayed with me throughout, making me the person I am today.
Seventeen was a nostalgic year, the year leaving high school and all the friends I had made behind. I was in my prime. Captain of the basketball and athletics team and some other student bodies, dating the school jock, valedictorian, I felt invincible, on top of the world and I got to experience it all with bestfriend two and three. It was a year of success but also full of uncertainty, because we had no idea what was going to happen in years to come. Tshirts were signed, promises were made, and opportunity awaited.
Eighteen introduced me to life outside the confines of the school walls. My circle of friends expanded and I rediscovered the social crowd back home which I was sheltered from, cooped up in boarding school. It was a slight culture shock, but I slowly came around to a new way of thought, and slowly got used to social 'norms' and customs. It was a very fun year, despite the stress of the tough course I was doing. The new friends I made at college and the other two H's made life a lot easier to handle. It was a year of firsts; the first major breakup, the first car accident, the first taste of independence.
Twenty brought me back to the UK, the land where I would encounter the many challenges of my life. I was one of the older people in the course, but that didnt stop me from hitting the party circuit as hard as any other fresher. It was a year where I made a bunch of crazy, crazy friends, and some saner ones, experienced all that uni life had to offer, gained the tag sober hijab socialite, and assimilated into a life that was so foreign from my own. It was a year where the limits of my friendship were tested, a year where I had to change the clothes of friends who had passed out in their own vomit, play mother to a group of wasted friends, but had the most interesting experiences of my relatively sheltered, privileged life.
When I was twenty one, my feet took me everywhere. We had random road trips, travelled to different countries, the world was literally my oyster and I discovered that there was more to life than these four walls. I met a person that became the ultimate bestfriend. We'll call him... AA. AA was my travel partner, my confidant, the reason I smiled everyday that summer. He taught me a lot about myself, and we also learned from and about each other. It was the year saw my sisters as equals and my parents as people who only wanted the best for me. I started to see the importance of family more than anything else.
At twenty two, I moved into my first real house and I learnt that life wasnt as easy as it looked, but I breezed through it. I learnt to cook for people other than to feed myself and was also reunited with N. Remember N? I discovered a particular self motivating book and that changed my life around. Apparently the change ran deeper than I realized and affected more people than I thought it would, in a very positive way. It was at this age too that I fell in love with my ultimate bestfriend, AA and I imagined spending the rest of my life with him. It was a quiet, blissful year.
Being twenty four was a year I would choose to forget. It was one of the darkest times of my life. There was a lot of hurt, anguish and anger. It wasnt pretty.
I learnt the meaning of regret. I realized that I had hurt many people along the way, the most hurtful infliction upon my very own self, of my own doing. I realized let myself down and compromised too much. It was a year of reconciliation and soul searching - back to basics... and also a lot of tears.
And now, atnineteen (lol), I am with renewed faith and perspective. I admit there's still mountains to be conquered but I am nearing the end of a certain phase of life thats been on for farrrr too long! The future is a scary place surely filled with trials and tribulations, challenges and promises, but I have plans I intend to carry out, godwilling. May He ease things.
The take home message? Life has its ups and downs. Right from the very beginning.
How to manage this? You persevere and try your utmost best to make tomorrow better than it was yesterday.
P xx
When I was seven, someone had nicked my prized possession at school. It was my newly bought set of tinned coloring pencils. I hadnt even gotten round to using half the 48 shades of colors that was in them. I was so upset. It was the last week of school and I was packing to move to the UK when N comes jumping off the school bus with tinned coloring pencils in hand! He found the prick who took them and literally punched them in the face for me. I actually thought he was my hero. I cried when we hugged to leave for the airport and I thought I would never see him again.
When I was eight I spoke with a British accent. I was acting in school plays as leads and singing in the school choir. I discovered my niche for sports and PE was always my favorite period in school. I met best friend number one. Lets call him R. And despite my notorious dislike and unsportsmanlike behaviour when it came to losing on the Nintendo console, we became really good friends. R and I started reading Enid Blyton stories and started scouring the nearby woodlands for the Magic Faraway Tree. We were convinced it was real.
At twelve, I came to terms with my jealousy. I slowly accepted that friends were not mutually exclusive, and that others could be friends with mine. I then left the UK for home, Malaysia.
Puberty came with a vengeance at thirteen complete with teenage angst, retaliation and self-centeredness. I was packed off to boarding school kicking and screaming and was determined to be mad at my parents forever. That lasted about a month or so. I endured the awkwardness and trials of puberty, finding out my 'bits' and 'bobs'. Life also introduced me to bestfriend number two and three. We called ourselves the triple H's.
When I was fifteen, I was very active, and challenged myself to a lot of different things. I was on the debate team, the athletics team and the basketball team which was just an opportunity to skip all the classes I could by going to meets and competitions. This molded my character and instilled some traits that have stayed with me throughout, making me the person I am today.
Seventeen was a nostalgic year, the year leaving high school and all the friends I had made behind. I was in my prime. Captain of the basketball and athletics team and some other student bodies, dating the school jock, valedictorian, I felt invincible, on top of the world and I got to experience it all with bestfriend two and three. It was a year of success but also full of uncertainty, because we had no idea what was going to happen in years to come. Tshirts were signed, promises were made, and opportunity awaited.
Eighteen introduced me to life outside the confines of the school walls. My circle of friends expanded and I rediscovered the social crowd back home which I was sheltered from, cooped up in boarding school. It was a slight culture shock, but I slowly came around to a new way of thought, and slowly got used to social 'norms' and customs. It was a very fun year, despite the stress of the tough course I was doing. The new friends I made at college and the other two H's made life a lot easier to handle. It was a year of firsts; the first major breakup, the first car accident, the first taste of independence.
Twenty brought me back to the UK, the land where I would encounter the many challenges of my life. I was one of the older people in the course, but that didnt stop me from hitting the party circuit as hard as any other fresher. It was a year where I made a bunch of crazy, crazy friends, and some saner ones, experienced all that uni life had to offer, gained the tag sober hijab socialite, and assimilated into a life that was so foreign from my own. It was a year where the limits of my friendship were tested, a year where I had to change the clothes of friends who had passed out in their own vomit, play mother to a group of wasted friends, but had the most interesting experiences of my relatively sheltered, privileged life.
When I was twenty one, my feet took me everywhere. We had random road trips, travelled to different countries, the world was literally my oyster and I discovered that there was more to life than these four walls. I met a person that became the ultimate bestfriend. We'll call him... AA. AA was my travel partner, my confidant, the reason I smiled everyday that summer. He taught me a lot about myself, and we also learned from and about each other. It was the year saw my sisters as equals and my parents as people who only wanted the best for me. I started to see the importance of family more than anything else.
At twenty two, I moved into my first real house and I learnt that life wasnt as easy as it looked, but I breezed through it. I learnt to cook for people other than to feed myself and was also reunited with N. Remember N? I discovered a particular self motivating book and that changed my life around. Apparently the change ran deeper than I realized and affected more people than I thought it would, in a very positive way. It was at this age too that I fell in love with my ultimate bestfriend, AA and I imagined spending the rest of my life with him. It was a quiet, blissful year.
Being twenty four was a year I would choose to forget. It was one of the darkest times of my life. There was a lot of hurt, anguish and anger. It wasnt pretty.
I learnt the meaning of regret. I realized that I had hurt many people along the way, the most hurtful infliction upon my very own self, of my own doing. I realized let myself down and compromised too much. It was a year of reconciliation and soul searching - back to basics... and also a lot of tears.
And now, at
The take home message? Life has its ups and downs. Right from the very beginning.
How to manage this? You persevere and try your utmost best to make tomorrow better than it was yesterday.
P xx
3 comments:
Welcome back :)!
Are you better now choms?
I've missed you. :~)
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