Have Dreams, Will Travel: New? Perhaps :)

Well, I am here. Here I am.

Back on Malaysian ground and feeling rather hesitant on blogging because of...my endless misconstrued line of thoughts. The thing about not talking about things when it just happened is the difficulty of recalling them after two months.

Integrating back into Malaysian culture has been smoother than I expected! I have now realised that I have different accents when speaking with different people. It's not that I'm trying to be fake, it's just that I have this tendency to ensure that when I'm conversing with someone, that someone doesn't feel out of place at all - causing me to involuntarily speak accordingly. :P Make sense? I guess not. In short, I greet my friends at home with my beloved Sabahan colloquialism, I skype with my American family in plain English (I suppose the occasional slip of the tongue finds me saying 'water', 'certain' and 'mountain' differently), I chat with my Chinese-speaking college friends with a Chinese slang, and somewhere along those lines, some Indian-accented words somehow slip into my vocabulary due to my awesome Indian peers. And all of this I just LOVE. I just love the diversity of it. (;

I had probably two weeks of 'sakai'-ness watching these weird machines eat up my LRT ticket and running through them so they wouldn't close on me, being greeted by the amazing Malaysian customer service, firstly getting shoved then squashed into a KTM for the LADIES coach, and just having that thought in my head that I'm finally HOME. :)

It really does open your eyes (at least mine) to things you never thought of. If my year could have a theme, 2011 would definitely be a year of appreciation and gratitude. Life in a different country and then subsequently in college has one similarity that has been shouting at me this whole time - being away from family and home. It's funny, really. Because when you talk about going to college, people mention more freedom, the ability to socialise more, heavier workload, and independence. But what really struck me deep wasn't all that. The thing that made me question myself was whether anyone else who had went to college experienced this mentality that all this while, we've been taking our lives for granted. At home, all I worried about was getting my homework done but I didn't realise how fortunate I was to be able to go downstairs and have lunch prepared without the thought of whether it exceeded my daily budget. At home, forgetting to turn off the water heater is nothing but living on your own, unless you don't mind your electricity bill sky rocketing, here's a tip: DON'T forget.

I guess what I mean to say is that I know I am not of a severely poor family background and yet still coming from one that has to watch what comes out of our pockets. For that, I can truly say at this point of time, I am grateful. I am blessed. And I think it's a very important thing to be aware of - don't take things for granted even if you have 'em. And family time now is just SO MUCH more valued even though I've always loved it. Now, I'd pounce at every chance to have breakfast with family as to the previous times when I'd pass for more time to study. I'd try to squeeze in some time for a movie with papa or just a day at home with mommy despite a tempting invitation for a movie with friends. In this adolescent age, I guess I wouldn't find many who'd understand where I'm coming from. But I don't know exactly what it is, I just feel the importance of family severely outweighing everything else even more than before. So, I guess you could say it is a new inclination of mine. Mama's girl or Papa's girl - call me whatever you want but I'm lovin' it.

Reconnecting with friends has always been a joy. Meeting up with my besties reminded me of high school and good ole' Amber and Bev times. Forever in my heart and you guys know it! We were talking about how grown up we felt, how awkward it was not having the same routine we lived by for 17 years of our life, and of course, going our separate ways. *sigh*

Apa tinguk tinguk? :P

I wish you the BEST in life from the BOTTOM of my heart. Really.

Love ya guys!

Awww

Alright, moving on to college talk. I feel I've been repeating myself a lot but oh well. I am taking Edexcel A-Levels at HELP University in Kuala Lumpur. These are my subject combinations: Biology, English Literature, History, and Mathematics. I have never failed to acquire a puzzled look from many. So, don't be shy, show me that frown :)

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Why suddenly got Biology a?...Not need to take Chemistry also meh?

Well, I chose Bio because of my love for the subject! I am currently inclined to study Psychology (which may change) and so I thought it relevant to take it. Just like everyone else who has their 'thang', I think my memory can be said to be a plus point for Bio too and I thought why not make use of the talents God gave me.

Ultimately, the Asian mentality that students who take Biology, Physics and Chemistry are the only people worth considering intelligent and making the 'right' choice continue to frustrate me to no end. However, I do have to force myself to step back and understand that I too can see where they are coming from. The arts haven't been fully explored in Asia nor encouraged, but it doesn't mean that it is 'bad'. I treat this as my personal goal to change this stigma in the future. Yes, art students can be just as smart as science students. (Woops, just a small rant there).

You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?"

- George Barnard Shaw

Q: Hah? I couldn't even stand SPM Sejarah and now you're taking History?!

Haha. Well, the idea of regurgitating the SPM Sejarah textbook has never been very appealling to me even. The format for A Levels is different and requires a lot of understanding rather than mere memory. But as I said, I am humbled by my knack of remembering information and MORE importantly, my passion for history and people. Culture, places, and events have always intrigued but not being able to explore it to the fullest has made my thirst for learning History even stronger. US History was a delight and now I am very excited to tackle European History! It's like I'm looking at the WHOLE WORLD!

Q: Literature last year only one person got A, you know. You sure you want to take the risk? I heard very hard.

Firstly, nothing is not hard. Secondly, what's life without taking the risk. I am aware that Lit is a hard A to crack and it continues to be one of my qualms as probably every minute detail given my habit of worrying about everything under the sun. BUT it shall not deter from doing my best because for where my treasure is, there my heart will be also. I believe that as long as I have the LOVE and PASSION for something, I will be able to give my all to it and just reap whatever I have sowed because you can't give any more than your best, really. Writing has and always will be something dear to me.

On a side note, even though I will ALWAYS be striving for the BEST I am capable of achieving, personally, I believe that getting an A isn't THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES MY WORLD SPIN. It's like Miley Cyrus' song 'The Climb":

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's THE CLIMB

It's not what's at the end, it's what you get throughout the journey that matters most.

*sensing a heightened sense of ecstasy coming your way*

Apart from that, my college life has been pretty spiced up especially with my exchange student friends who most fortunately seem to live around the KL area. A month ago, we gave back to the community by sharing our experiences to students at an English Language Centre and I also got to bunk at my friend's house in Malacca which was just beautiful! - Chicken rice balls, HEAVENLY cendol, Jonker Street, St Paul's Hill, I can go on forever.

My friend Thessa and her mom were so kind for letting me stay for the weekend - amazing people!

I decided to join the United Nations Club and I'm under the UNESCO division in which I see some pretty exciting things coming up - Halloween carnival and building a house! Going to try help out with the HELP Residence Student Affairs club to make life at the residence more interesting. Another one of those random discoveries, my whole Lit class decided to audition for the annual A-Levels annual drama production and surprisingly, I got the part I auditioned for! It's so exciting to see the amount of lines I have and yet it terrifies me to death but I guess we'll just have to see how this plays out (:

Hari Raya Party at the Residence!

Catchin' a movie Friday after college

The people I meet in college continue to amaze me - so talented and friendly! :)

Undoubtedly, there are many more things going on in my life what with a Biology test coming up, the awesome MOVIE DAYS I look forward to on Sundays after church and the occasional splurge on ICE CREAM as well, I think it's safe to say that I am very much contented and happy as I can possibly be. Word.

Till then!