Thinking about a snippet of my life to share with the community is actually tough work.
How do I write a short summary that my readers will leave an impression on me?
To paraphrase a quote from the former US President Abraham Lincoln which I find to be quite fitting,
A ten-minute speech takes me two weeks to prepare,a half-hour speech takes a week and if I can talk as long as I want, then it requires no preparation at all.
Here’s a little something about me.
I used to be a very quiet kid. So quiet that my parents thought I was special. You know, the special kind who have to communicate using hand signs.
Yet I turned out all fine.
When I was a teenager, I struggled to keep up with my education. My parents were busy working and left me under the care of my late grandmother.
I thought that my future looked pretty dim and quickly adopted a victim mentality. I shift the blame to everything around me, but not myself.
Naturally, I flunked my tests and failed my exams. I was forced to sit in for another year of study, recourse.
Teenage life was full of naive ambitions and frivolous consumption. I guzzled money like my parents own the Federal Reserves when they were out there working to put me in school. I tried to see if a life of crime is suitable for me when I stole a pair of slippers from my neighbour and was made to pay for my mistake. Good thing that didn’t work out.
It was a foolish lifestyle.
Looking back, I learnt at a pretty young age that the world rewards those who learnt from their mistake. For me, it was a blessing to be able to experience these situations.
I was 16, but life has taught me a very good lesson.
You want to be successful? Good. Now go do it and don’t blame your family, your friends your teachers. Control what you can, and let go of what you can’t. There will be a time when you look back and feel proud of your achievements.
Perhaps it was from my upbringing during my formative years; the stoic, ‘just do it’ attitude that my late grandmother had imparted, and caught up later on to my parents. Emotions are seen as a form of weakness and doesn’t seem to have any place in the household when my late father was around.
Tough love, the traditional Asian style.
And I am forever grateful to them for guiding me the way.
