A page before 30

In slightly less than 24 hours, I will have to bid my 20s farewell and welcome a whole new adventure… life in the 30s… the bid 3-O. To me, it has been an eventful time. I spent some time reflecting on my life and realised how blessed I am. I may not have the best things in life… perhaps not yet, but I will never exchange it for anything else.

If I am given the chance to relive a period of my life, it will definitely be my secondary school days. Those were the formative days of my life, the times when I learned so much, a time when I felt I finally blossomed. I must say, huge credit has to be given to this organisation called… The Boys’ Brigade (“BB”)

Being born into a very notorious neighbour led to my Mom locking me in the house and not allowing me to mix with others in the area. But all that changed when I hit 13, the year I entered secondary school. I told parents that I will be kicked out of school if I don’t join any uniform organisation. I lied, there was no such rule and I merely want to join BB.

It was in BB that I learned so many things. From sports to music to other skills, my life was transformed, literally. It was also a time when I developed in character. It was also the time I got to be on stage doing something I truly enjoy… performing arts, be it acting or singing. It was also in BB that my face appeared in the papers.

Without BB, I don’t think I will be who I am today. It was also the time when I first heard about God and accepted Christ. It also got my church life going and gave me many beautiful memories.

Sad to say, BB is slowly dying. Being in uniform and standing in the sun on a Saturday afternoon doing marching is no longer cool. Going camping and spending nights in the jungle acting all macho is no longer cool. “Cool-ness” is now defined by what kind of gadgets you have, how expensive are your garments and having non-mamak coffee.

Then it was time to leave school. My father wanted me to start working after form 5 because that’s what all my cousins did. They were doing quite well earning a nominal income and a having typical Chinese parents means I am to start making money as soon as possible. I remember crying and begging and then I threw a big tantrum saying that I will not work but I will study. I managed to get my message across, a decision my father never regrets.

I still remember it as thought it was only yesterday… the euphoria of entering college, no more school uniform, long breaks in between classes and of course… girls!!! Coming from an all-boys school, college life was like a whole new world. But it was bad, results in college were not as good as though I used to get in school… far from it. Guess freedom did a big damage there.

Thank God I still managed to get into Uni and due to the financial crisis then, I did a twinning programme with UK. I remember my father’s eyes nearly popped out of his eyes when I told him how much everything will cost. But I guess getting partial scholarship helped a lot. I also got a bit funding from an association of former BB-members.
I remember feeling really big after graduating, as though I can conquer the world. I was wrong, the end of education life is the beginning of life in the real world. I have written quite a number of entries on life as a modern slave so I guess I don’t really need to go there.

But besides the hard work and late night and feeling so small working in a big corporation, I have to say one thing… being in a relationship with someone as a working individual as compared to being in a relationship as a student are two distinct realms. Life is no longer about taking the bus together or sharing the same plate of meal or helping each other with homework. It’s now a whole new phase in life. I am sure many of you will agree with me on this.

As I journeyed through my 20s, life taught me a lesson I will never forget… no matter how you feel towards your parents… always cherish them. Mom left me all in a sudden a little more than a year ago no matter how much time has passed or will pass, it will never take away the pain. If you screw up in a relationship with a guy/girl, you can make amend in the next one but with mothers, you only have one chance. Don’t screw it up!

Sad stories aside, one of the highs of my 20s is none other than meeting Jules. I first saw her in a dance club during my party animal days but we didn’t really talk until very much later. Things blossomed from our very first lunch date at McDonalds and the rest as they say… is history.
Of course, the latest sequence of events has taught me that life is indeed fragile and we are not to live as though we are invincible. But the beauty of it all is that God has brought me back to the light amidst it all. Perhaps everything is the work of His hands. Regardless, I thank Him for sustaining me for almost 30 years and I know in faith, that He will sustain me for many more to come.

P/S: For those of you who have been asking me to post pictures of yours truly, I hope this is more than enough.

P/S/S: New poll out… vote vote vote…