Hi again!
It just feels wonderful when you have all the time in the world… Hahah..
After all the photos-spamming entry previously, I have an urge to try blogging about something different…
I have an urge to write… Haha!
Or rather… It was something I’ve been wanting to do previously…
It struck me during my exams period but my priority was to mug…
And so, this idea of a different blogging content had to be put on hold at that time…
I remembered in my very first blog entry, I wrote about hoping to keep this blog not just as an online diary to list down the happenings of my life, but also a medium to be able to share and motivate. And so this shall be a rather different entry. A more wordy one. A less retarded one. (And a super long one too… I’ve read it once through) Haha! It’ll be something more introspective too =)
Alright! In this entry, I want to share with you about this cliche yet meaningful phrase.
“EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON”
Sounds really familiar ain’t it. I believe everyone had heard of this phrase before in some point of their life. This phrase holds great significance to me. It is a phrase that steers me into thinking more positively during bad times and it really helps alot. And so, here I am sharing it with you.
I believe everyone do have their fair share of good times and bad times. That is what life is about. All the ups and downs like what we always call it. It is definitely all these different phases which we undergo that makes life an interesting and happening one. Imagine being faced with routines every single day, without happy moments to look forward to or reminisce on. Imagine life without having to know how crying out loud feels like. Imagine life with no emotions. I think I can just die. Or I would rather be a non-living thing awaiting others to manipulate.
Having bad times ain’t really a terrible thing though. Yes the feeling sucks and I totally agree. But immersing yourself in those bad times without doing anything will suck even more. It will be nice to give yourself a reason to feel better during such times. And that is to hold on to the belief that everything happens for a reason.
I was introduced by a friend, to read a commencement address by Steve Jobs. In case some may not know about this person, I shall briefly talk about him. Steve Jobs is the CEO of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios. The latter company is one of the most successful animation studio in the world, creating the world’s first animated film, Toy Story.
And so, Steve Jobs was actually asked to give an opening address to a group of graduating students in a university. He shared three stories from his life and of which, one had left a great impact on me.
Steve Jobs founded Apple when he was 20 and over a span of 10 years, his partner and him built Apple into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. As Apple grew, he actually hired another party to run the company with him. As time passes, they faced differences in their future visions and hence, Steve Jobs got fired when he turned 30, as the Board of Directors were not in his favour.
He felt lost and even thought of running away from the valley. But, his passion brought him back onto track. He said this, “I still loved what I did”. And hence, he started over.
For the next 5 years, he started 2 other companies, namely NeXT and Pixar. The unexpected thing that happened thereafter was, Apple bought NeXT and hence, Steve Jobs went back to Apple. The technology developed at NeXT then became the core interest of Apple.
All these would not have happen to him if he hadn’t got sacked from Apple. The bottomline of this story is that whatever seem to be the worst thing that can ever happen to you may turn out to be the best thing instead. So whenever you feel that you’re at your lowest point, continue to believe in yourself. Continue to believe that things will get better. Simply because everything happens for a reason.
Too far-fetched to talk about someone living at the other end of this planet? Aha. Let me share with you a little story from my own experience. Let’s rewind the timeline back to the time when I was still the gullible girl who got cheated into eating erasers. Haha! (Yes! I did. Cause a friend said it was some kind of sweet or something. okay! don’t laugh! It really looked like one.) Let’s talk about PSLE. Haha! I bet everyone reading this now would have already gone through this phase of their lives. What was your primary school days like? How does the PSLE period feels like to you??
I’ve mentioned before my parents were really strict when it comes to studies especially. I’m those typical go-home-straight-after-school girl with at least 5 assessment books for each subject displayed on my study desk. Not kidding. One reason was cause I ‘inherited’ my brother’s assessment books since he was only 1 year older. (Wow. really thanx lor!) Okay, and I couldn’t really remember where I got that kind of drive to study. But I really studied very hard for my PSLE. (This discipline sort of grew wings and flew away now.. haha…) So much so that my Mum told me, she was damn scared I might turned crazy or ‘gundoo’ or something. And I’ve set my mind on going to St Nicholas, my first choice of school.
I got back my results. I got a score of 248. And I was extremely upset about it because the cut off point for my dream school was 253 I think. Yup. I didn’t manage to get in. Well, I guess alot of you may say, 248 is damn good already what. Take it this way, for the amount of effort you’ve put in, I’m sure you will want to perform to a standard you think you are capable of or you think you deserve to achieve.
Okay the point is. It was one of my very first turning point when I realised how it feels like to be disappointed. I cried on my way home after I took my results. (haha… how silly…) Slowly, I accepted the fact that I was posted to Ahmad Ibrahim.
But, this cruel thing that happened to me when I was 12 actually turned out to be the best thing that could have ever happened to me in my life. 4 years in AI changed my life totally. Numerous opportunities were given to me. I was introduced to leadership since lower sec. I was given the privilege to lead the Netball team as a ‘C’ division captain and went on to hold Captainship in the team in Sec 3 and Sec 4.
This rare opportunity really made me grow. It wasn’t entirely about the post and status in the team. But it was about how taking up this responsibility actually made me learn and mature throughout the 4 years in school. It changed me. For the better.
In Secondary 3, I became part of the school’s student council cause of the leadership role I hold in my CCA. Mid of that very year, I felt really honoured to be able to take up the role as a Vice-President of the council executive committee. Once again, I was exposed to more events and opportunities that made me grew. There is infinite stuff to learn about leadership, and to be able to kick start this learning experience since secondary school is definitely the best thing that could have ever happened to me.
Similarly, the mainpoint I’m trying to deliver across here is (not about the roles I hold, but), all these things may never have happened to me if I wasn’t rejected of my choice of dream school. The opportunities, the challenges and most importantly, the learning experience. I may not be able to feel this sense of achievement if not for the tears on the way back home when I was 12.
There may be times in your life when you simply feel that all odds are against you. Family, friends, studies, relationships, work, or even passion. Try thinking about how these bad times actually brought in the positive side of things. How you actually got close to someone unknowingly during these turn of events. How you became a stronger person because you have got no choice but to deal with the problem. How success turn out to be so much sweeter due to the bitterness from every fall.
Hold on to the belief that ‘Everything Happens For A Reason’. You will never know, bad times may just be a passing storm. What awaits you at the end of the journey is a distinct rainbow in the skies above. =]
