May 30, 2007
A very fruitful day I had together with my darling. We went to the movies again! And this time, we watched Pirates of the Carribean. Really a good show I must say. Unfortunately, my darling didn't catch the previous sequel, which was a great show. Well, she doesn't know much of the entire adventure. However, we enjoyed ourselves today, even though we can't view the stars 'coz it was bright.. and the clouds were all over the sky. Argh...
What was your ambition when you were a kid? Put it simply: As a kid back then, what have you thought about becoming when you grow up?
Many of us have childhood ambitions that gradually fade away with the currents of our own history. Some of us have realistic ambitions of becoming a pilot, a doctor, a sailor, a policeman... while some of us have unrealistic ambitions of becoming superman, spiderman or some tom dick or harry...
The truth and this very sad truth lies with the fact that very and extremely few of us live to see our childhood ambitions come to pass. Was it because we grew older? Not really. Was it because we grew more realistic in our mentality? Not quite. Was it because we gave up? Perhaps. Or was it because of the people around us? Certainly.. I guess this might be the sole reason.
We can escape from ourselves into a world of fantasy. We can escape our jobs into a world of unemployment. We can escape our duty and become an irresponsible person altogether. But we can never escape from people.. and everywhere we go, we meet people of different agendas, motives, color, sizes and you name it. People around us are the ones that we cannot escape from, and we could never do that because we are solely interdependent on one another for aid and resources. No man's an island.
When I was a child, I have MANY dreams. Once, during my first grade, I dreamed of becoming a pilot. And when my english teacher, Mrs. Jenny Leong (I could still rememeber her name!), asked the class about our own ambition, I raised my hands with excitement. I told her I wanted to be a pilot. She was shocked.. as though I couldn't make it to become one, she told me this, "A pilot?! Then you must study harder!" Well, how doesn't this sound? Pretty biased isn't it? As if I couldn't make it. As a child, I do not know the meaning of perseverence, only obedience. And if I was told that the path I chose to become was wrong, then I would agree to it and change my ambition, which was what I did. I did not feel discouraged at all, just that I lost my direction as a child.
There was another time I wanted to be an artist. I drew lots of "Street Fighter" cartoon characters and they all look so great. And even my cousins and friends were amazed when they saw my sketches back then. I love drawing, I love painting and most of all.. I LOVE ART LESSONS. My teachers even complained to my parents about me drawing in class and having so much passion to draw and paint. So shallow were their mindset, I did not know they were suffering from a disease called "stinking thinking". They all urged me to go into the science stream, which THEY thought has a better prospect and a brighter future. The teachers showered me with remedials and punished me whenever I did not bring my study materials due to my absent-mindedness. My parents, threw me into tuition classes after tuition classes and cooped me up at home all day just so that I could study. So study study study... and this has always been my life as a kid.
Is going to the science stream so bloody important? I wasn't a science student. Not until now, when I'm a major in Psychology. Although it's social science, but hey, we're dealing with mental illness here. So the problem with most people is that they tend to perceive things in a very shallow light. The reason why I stopped drawing and painting altogether, was because my parents and teachers thought that by being an artist, I could go nowhere. Well, look at the esplanade today. Isn't this building the work of the arts? Isn't this building a place for artists to groom themselves and sharpen their skills, maxmizing their potentials by making full use of what they have? THEIR TALENTS!!! If we don't see the prospect of a course offered in any instituition here in Singapore, then perhaps we could all think twice.
Today, my darling mentioned a very important point that I should take note. It doesn't mean that being in ITE or Shartec is deemed useless, or redundant by the society... just like how the mainstream society views them. I think this is shallow and totally "elitist" in my opinion. Well, I had a taste of both sides of the world.
When I was with squidy, things were different then. She was from Victoria Junior College and currently, an undergraduate of the Singapore Management University (SMU). As you can see, this 4-As ex-girlfriend does have a bright future in front of her. But when I was with her, what seemed to be the difference, was that her mentality is different than those of the lower academic streams. That includes the way she talks; walks; and even behaves. This is really disgusting but it's a real fact. Elites! We could all label them as stuck up, arrogant, egomaniacs... or whatever... On the other hand, when I took a look at Sean, Elaine, my darling, my friends who were not from prestigous schools like my ex-gf, I felt different. I felt as though as there were peace and humility going on within them. I felt like hanging out with them often, because they are easy to get along and not very pushy or bossy. Very nice bunch of people indeed.
Well, the reason for she leaving me was not the issue here but it wasn't a reason at all. In fact, it showed me how uncommitted she was to me and what a failure she is as a lover. Well, all I can say is that one needs to have EQs and PQs as well as IQs at the same time. Not just one of them, mind you.
The whole point of my argument is not that we should segregate ourselves from the elites or, if you are one of them, isolate yourselves of the non-elites. My point of argument lies in the way we should perceive people who are deemed unfavourable or less valuable by the mainstream society. It is the facade that either the government or any institution had made that seemed so real to the public, and this, is the veil that covers their sheepish eyes, as many fail to look into the bulk of the ice-berg. Thus, we should adopt a mindset that not only discerns well but to distinguish the difference between genuinity and superficiality.
Again, I shall say, that not all who began strong will be the ultimate victor, and not all who began weak will phase out and fade away with history. The last shall be the first, and the first, last. Hence, there should never be any discrimination over academic performances or streams, but there OUGHT TO BE a vision inside EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US. All we need to do, is to follow our hearts and let our passion lead us into success. How do we know that we are passionate for something? There are a few signs...
When I am passionate about being a counselling psychologist (Romance area): -
#1 I felt the fire burning within me each day I wake up and whenever I go for my psychology lectures.
#2 I pay attention to my lecturer even though she's not very interesting.
#3 I ask questions after questions about psychology.
#4 I read books on psychology topics.
#5 I apply what I study or learned in my everyday life and interaction with people who are close to me.
#6 I keep improving myself and my grades so that I could do well in this subject.
#7 I start becoming a listening ear to my friends and darling.
#8 I became interested in taking up volunteery jobs that has to do with counselling couples.
Those are few signs that you are interested in doing something. And this shows that you are free to move into the area of interest and start building foundation in order to succeed with this fire and desire to become the best "whatever-you-wanna-be".
And yes, it's all hard work. Let's be realistic. Passion + Hardwork + Attitude = Success
But before I conclude, the way we perceive others reflects upon the way we would perceive ourselves. If we ever despise anybody who's labelled as 'lesser' in the society, then whenever we are not doing well, we would tend to despise ourselves too. When can elites learn? Should they learn the hard way? Or the shameful way of losing to the crowd? Perhaps, if we were not individuals in any individual's shoes, we would never know what anyone of us are thinking or feeling. It is good to know.
Knowledge is the beginning of wisdom, but ignorance only leads to destruction.I believe, we can make the society a more pleasant one to live in, if we change our superficial mindset.
