Some people face them from young, some later in their lives…or all their lives… good lessons do come out of them
The thing about life. It is interesting. It is like a pandora box waiting to be opened. You will discover more about yourself if you explore, experience and experiment. We are not meant to be standing still . Like a rolling stone, we could gather moss. Only if the stone’s surface has been roughened by the vicissitudes of life.
On looking back, we become rich not by money but by our life encounters that we are thankful for. In fact, the more challenging, the better. Therein lies our discovery of the solutions to our obstacles, hindrances and impediments.
I was a quiet child from a humble background. In my family of seven siblings, my father survived on a salary of S$300 to bring food to the table. My mother was a hardworking housewife, toiling each day to get by. I was told, we could ‘squeeze ‘ water out of stone to survive, so to speak . Frugality naturally became our second nature. Industriousness became a by product.
Being quiet was an impediment to many opportunities but sometimes I managed to rise above them due to the need to reach my goals. From an unknown school, I had wanted to go to an elite school just for the hell of it. My grades were borderline but on that day, I met the principal, I suddenly found my voice. I expressed my desire to be accepted by the school. The principal could sense the passion in my eyes and by sheer luck, I was accepted.
It was not a happy existence in the secondary school. There were many talented and brilliant students as well as rich ones too. The poor students who had intelligence were save. I was in the mediocre range and struggling. The truth is you become a nobody and watched others excel.
My humiliation was not being recognized as a student with potential. In fact, my essay book had been flung out the classroom window few times which I then ran down the building to retrieve. My essay pages were often blank or incoherent due to mental block or sheer emptiness in my brain vault. I was often asked to repeat the instructions given by the teacher but of course I failed to, being a poor listener engaged in my own vanquished thoughts.
I became a flower on the wall, albeit a sad one. In the final year, I became aware that my form teacher had not once stopped at my desk to ask how I was doing. I was bypassed like an insignificant object.
But the irony of the year end result was that I passed reasonably well to get into college. I still coveted for a good college which I made it by the skin of my teeth but my passion to excel did not grow. Most of the two years were spent ruminating of my unknown future and why other girls were so clever.
College ended and my friends dispersed to the courses that were highly popular. We called it the big four- Medicine, Dentistry, Accountancy and Law. These were seen as highly respected and stable professions with good money to be earned.
As expected, there was not enough money for the last child and my parents were getting old and my father had retired. I worked as a receptionist and while at it, I came across an advertisement in the newspapers recruiting air stewardesses for Singapore Airlines. Meanwhile, my friends had gone on to pursue their dreams in University.
I decided to go for the interview which attracted some thousands of hopeful girls. Singapore Airlines was still relatively unknown but under the strong governance of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, one can expect it to be among the top in no time and it did. In the interview, I was asked why I did not go straight to the University. I said that I loved serving customers especially in SQ and would do my best to make the airline proud. The truth was the lack of money. In any case, I managed to overcome my obstacle to this employment and was thrilled by my ingenuity despite my quiet nature.
It was the real world that I had entered. Having responsibilities, serving customers to ensure that that they were happy and keeping the National flag flying high. One grows up very fast in this job compared to a desk bound one. People comes in all shapes and sizes and temperaments. Colleagues could be helpful or mean. Unexpected incidents pleasant and unpleasant cropped up. In one and a half years, my eyes were opened to the world and inconsistencies of life. But we all learned to cope…fast, especially in the airlines and an international job.
After one and a half years, I grew a little wiser and had the opportunity to finally enter the University to study dentistry. That was another whole new world of challenges which warrant another article. Anyway, when the road is not smooth, you would learn more.
If I had come from a well heeled family, my path would have been different. Out of adversity arises the need to overcome. I have learnt a few things;
1 Sometimes you ask and it shall be given but there must be a good reason.
2 Nobody can help you but yourself. If you want to be in someone’s good books, receive their admiration and be commended, then you have to give them a reason to do so.
3 You need to continually work hard. If you are not endowed with special talent or have high intellect, you need to acquire them through hard work and persistence and you will get there.
4 A poor family is not necessary a bad thing. It gives more impetus to the person to do something proactive than to have everything within your easy reach and not appreciate that you could attain the goals yourself.
5 People do not be mean to be condescending though some are. They are just naturally drawn to people who are smart and rich, though I doubt the latter attracts real friends.
6 Keep plugging along. The road of life is never smooth even till the end. As it surprises you, you could further surprise yourself by coming up with innovative ways and ideas.
7 The world is indeed fascinating because there are so many variations-race, culture, languages, food, philosophies, lifestyles, hobbies, etc. There is so much to live for.
Now, I am in the 60s and it used to be a time for retirement. But people have longer life spans in today’s world. Living longer brings other problems linked to aging and a need to adapt to changes in the new world.
I think that we are living in such an interesting and exciting era that retirement is not on my cards. We should still try to keep abreast of the changes and ride on the benefits of the wonderful technological changes and medical advances. They arise because there are people who overcame challenges and bring conveniences to the masses. Life will always have its ups and downs but judging from the human spirit, we can overcome.
Leave a Reply