His Story

Fearfully and wonderfully created in his mother’s womb, birthed forth 22 years ago, amidst the pain of maternal labour and parental joy.

Fast forward 17 years, on the brink of adulthood. What started as a brief flirtation with ideas of overseas studies, progressed further onto the tedious processing of paperwork and application forms. He assumed a calm demeanor during the selection test, consisting of 3 tough papers (of which 1 he was virtually clueless about), never for a moment placing realistic hopes or desires on the scholarship. As the story goes, within a flurry of 3 weeks, a future so unsure was transformed by nothing short of a miracle into that which seems so bright and enticing, albeit mysterious. One evening he was still kicking a football around on Malaysian soil, the next, he would be doing so in the land where football is termed the o-so- American “soccer”. His mailing address would no longer be KL, Malaysia but Singapore.

He relished the idea of a new adventure away from home but surprise of surprises, the moment he was left alone, reality set in and what seemed so relishing and exciting before now appeared to be a tad bit foreboding. He would look back to realize that that incident would probably be the only time he would ever feel that way. Like an eaglet thrown off the cliff and forced to fly on its own, it did seem that way to the homegrown young man. Well endowed by his Creator with a quick mind and adaptiveness as well as a group of friendly fellow scholars, settling down did not seem a hurdle in any way. He survived through an eye-opening first week which birthed men among the boys in the same boat. It signified a commitment to the finishing of a tough, rough and unenviable journey ahead in the quest for academic excellence as pictured by a group of serious officers from the Ministry of Education. A journey, which a few had failed to turn up for and another quit before the end of the week. Doubts he had, just like everyone else, but he pulled through without breaking much sweat, one among many answered prayers.

Very soon, this close knitted group of ASEAN scholars, brought together by similar circumstances transited seamlessly into the Singaporean education system. Served a full course of Singaporean enthusiasm and college-patriotism cum loyalty during the weeklong orientation, he was quickly mistaken as a fellow Singaporean by many. He found that claims of Singaporean “kiasu-ness” were unfounded and over-generalized. He grew to love his new home and friends. Mundane high school life was now replaced with an active junior college lifestyle, dry lessons with funny lectures and interactive tutorials, uninterested teachers with a broad spectrum of experienced and energetic lecturers and 2 caring principals. A dull olive green uniform would now replace the blue prefect uniform he used to wear. The dull olive green colour will always be an epitome of the irony of how exciting life in Singapore’s oldest junior college can be.

Studies inevitably became the last thing on his mind, with the tempting varieties of activities spread out. He made friends quickly and was very soon exposed to different cultures. It did seem that Singapore was a melting pot of Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesian, Thai, Filipino, Bruneian, Indian, Chinese and many other cultures. Wanting to try out something new, he, out of the spur of the moment tried out for his college’s world renowned choir, fresh from an Austrian-Hungarian-Czech tour. He scraped in and indulged himself for a while with a pseudo-understanding for music scores. As much as he loved the sound of music, the rigorous vocal training and songs in unfamiliar tongues drove him back to his passion- football or rather, soccer, now.

He placed soccer first in his list of priorities, training hard to make the team, which he did. Juggling a schedule of soccer, church and social activities, studies was soon put behind the scenes. He assumed that he could use his last minute studying style to pull him through. It was hence not a surprise that his results deteriorated. He was no longer the top or anywhere among the honour-roll students, among which, both his own roommates were. The taunts he received from a rare few “kiasu” Singaporeans did nothing to turn his focus, nor did the constant reminders from his lecturers and parents. Self confidence and unfounded pride told him that he would be among the top if he bothered trying. Hence he enjoyed his Singaporean summer, excelling in everything except studies.

Reality struck late, a few weeks before his final examinations. Realising that it was his future that he had been staking, the avid soccer player traded his playing field for the national library, frequenting it every day, making it his sanctuary for studies. The many prayers uttered for him were duly and graciously answered when he undeservingly managed to turn a last-minute revision of 2 years worth of syllabus into 4 distinctions in the examination it mattered most- his Singapore-Cambridge ‘ A’ Level Examinations. He wondered yet again at how nothing short of a miracle pulled him through. Now, many doors and opportunities will be opened, he allowed himself to start dreaming of a bright and fulfilling future overseas.

Another success story, or so he thought, little did he know that disappointment lay in store for him, a painful package to be opened on the path he was predestined to take.

It would be another story to tell.