Should age play a part in a person's life? In terms of how he should think and deal with everything in his life, like the people and issues arising around him?
Since young, I've been always the youngest in comparision to most of my peers. It was all normal from kindergarden till the year I was in primary 3. I undertook the PTS program, which allowed kids of that age, subject to certain academical criterias to skip their primary 4s and move on to primary 5. From then onwards, I started a year younger.
Younger than my classmates, but at least I was not alone. I was in the best class, and yet still had a few extraordinarily clever friends who had skipped a year with me. I finished within the top ten in class, however, below expectations in the UPSR, getting a 6As and a B over 7 subjects that I had taken.
In secondary school, I studied in Singapore. They offered 2 streams, 4 years for 'express' stream and 'ordinary' for the normal stream. My peers in secondary school was totally awed by a Malaysian guy coming over at 12 years old when they were all 13. Looking back then, I wonder if any of them actually thought all Malaysian graduated from Primary at the age of 11.
In the first year, I travelled every morning to school, which was a mere 30 minutes drive, gratefully thanks to Ms Liew who was more like my nanny (in a good way, in case she's reading this) than my teacher. I still remember her knowing all about my results whenever it turned bad or something --- reports to my parents. Haha! That was tense, but I didn't care so much then.
My 4 years during secondary school, as compared to the Malaysian's 5, I constantly topped the entire standard. Well, my secondary school wasn't a top class school, but I still loved it for the relaxed, neighbourhoody feeling it gave. In addition to that, I managed to get myself (due to a *certain* influence, I suspect, in retrospective) into the Student Council. I wasn't a forerunner for the President post in my later schooling years, but I did managed to get myself up there. Possibly by this really quirky campaign speech I delivered then.
"... I believe that anyone can be the President. You, you or even you. Even a LIZARD by the roadside can be a president. But what really matters, is what can you do for the school!"
Hey, I was young k?
But in deep down, I knew that I was being treated very differently by the school. To them, I was the higest hope for the next
legendary Dave Ong, a guy who had previously gotten straight As (the school's very first) for the O levels. I was like, the hope of the school that could possibly push them back onto the headlines again for promotional purposes.
"See? We produced another straight As student again! We're a good school! Come, come! "
I loved my time there. My peers were not crazy people who stressed so much about studies, but instead had lots of lame laughter and huge smiles. My student council rocks. My Ex-Co till this day still rocks. I remember our camp, where we pushed for our very first Student Council Campfire. We asked/beg/
stole stuff from the scouts and guides. Those were great memories!
But in the end, I wasn't able to deliver the marks the school was asking for; of 8 subs, I got a 7As and a B.
Another single B! Curse or what?
I wasn't that much affected thou, but I could tell the teacher, Ms Valerie, who taught the 'B' subject was. Aha!
At the end of my secondary school, I decided to go back Malaysia. Not that I didn't like Singapore and I wanted to leave my friends, but I just decided that the thrill of living in KL alone was too great to ignore. Complete autonomy over myself!
Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Ah, how good it smelled!
I popped into Taylors College, 2 years younger than my peers. Where I stayed by myself in this room rented by this old couple, daughter who I came to know as the famous evonne and his old dog, and attended class S3, where I met tons of funny buggers till today I cannot forget. How to forget la!? ZOMG. To forget would be for me to get amnesia, which could only possibly be hit on the head by a Boeing 777.
I'd love to elaborate more here, but the experience's so rich enough that it wouldn't do my memories any justice to briefly mention them here. I would very much like to dedicate a single post to my experiences in Taylors later on. =)
Make things short, I involved myself in DotA, AsiaCafe, Winangali - the course's annual magazine (front cover was a collab of me with Andrew k? *proud*), Sarah's (yeah, the same sarah) Dog Tag Gang, and also a proud exam result of 98.3 percentile across the entire SAM cohort.
That was when all hell broke lose.
After I finished my engineering course, my parents wanted me to do accounting instead, citing
money and job prospects. Whereas I had been looking at the direction of engineering all my life.
To me, I had been a science student through secondary, thro my foundation - accountancy had never appeared in my head ever once. Even when I was a kid, I always played with toys and lego bricks, citing them as my "newest invention", I read extensively on science encylopedias etc. Being an engineer could be said to be my childhood ambition, my one and only love.
And suddenly, I was forced to wake up from my childhood slumber. My parents had supported me all my life till 16 years old. And now, I was suddenly shook awake to the realities of the world. It wasn't a problem of if
you wanted/could or not now, it was a matter of
what others wanted you to do.
Suddenly, the line between "what you
want to do" and "what you
have to do" have never been so clear. However, then, I was still young and didn't know what to do nor how to defend myself. My ambition against my own parents' wishes - which could be extrapolated to the demands of the society.
Perphaps it was for my good, it could see now with the benefit of hindsight. But it didn't help to give me so much options initially, and take them all away in a blink of an eye! I remember one night, crying in their room, a 16 year old boy, trying to argue his way through
letting him study engineering but to no avail. Just all, but taking his childhood ambition away...
Against my will, I was sent to do ACCA in Sunway. Till this day, I've never enjoyed accountancy. I still love engineering, but I know that it's no way back for me anymore. And I have pinned my hopes on my friends from Taylors who are doing them. All and all. That's why I always treated them as very special people to me, regardless of them knowing or not. I pray that you guys will achieve greatness in the future, succeed in your careers, no matter civil, chemical, mechanical, mechatronic, electrical etc etc. Even my friends doing medicine, denstistry or even law (yes, you lah! who else!), I sincerely hope that this has been your dream job and with no problems walking on this path.
As for me, what's happened to me now?
Coming to London to study, is the only good thing i can see from this whole
hell. I still hate accountancy, and it pains me everytime anyone asks me "
Why have you changed from engineering to accountancy?".
IF, if, if you've read this and you are my friend, please answer this for me, for everytime I attempt to think of an answer my heart feels sour instantly.
"Due to money constraints and job prospects, my friend. For money and job.
"
I have never told anyone about this before, and this is one of the rare times I've actually blogged about my raw honest feelings on this blog. Please act as if you've never read this before, and please don't leave any comments on the tagbox regarding this post. Just know it, and keep it.
And what made me think about all my past now?
Because I'm doing my 6,500 word Oxford Brookes Research and Analysis Project, a
19 year old at the final year of his
professional ACCA -cum- honours degree course, in a classroom of
25 - 30 year olds, analysing the horrifically dense clouds of financial statements of huge multi-national companies. And effectively, my
project mentor's just screwed me, giving me a choice: to do the easier, project topic of his choice which will be due 2 months later, or to do a choice of mine which he sets to be
1 week later.
But hey! At least I've got a choice this time, that I'm
not letting go easily.
And I was just wondering what would have been happening to me, if I had reversed time and was just a normal 19 years old kid.
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If Chunhowe acts young, or immature, that's because he wants to be young. He's afraid of growing old, he's constantly afraid of the outside world. He wishes that he could still be in secondary school living life without a worry and playing with his classmates running around the corridors squeezing his guyfriends' nipples. If his childishness or playfulness actually affects/irritates you, please just understand that he is actually very vunerable and scared of you too. xxx.
