My Mom is A Liar

PART 1 

My mom is a liar.

In primary school, my mom told me that singing is easy, despite the fact that every time she sings she sounds like a chicken getting slaughtered. And unfortunately I inherited her genes. Nonetheless, she encouraged me to join the school singing competition, so I did. It was an eventful day. My singing was out of pitch, my beats were all over the place, and my voice sounded like a defective music box. I almost popped everyone's eardrum. My teacher commented, "How nice will it be if you can actually sing?"

In secondary school, my mom said that accounting is a piece of cake and asked me to take the subject for SPM, so I did. I flunked the first test, with a score of 24/60. I wanted to give up. I almost did.

My mom lied to me that law is one of the easiest courses in University and she successfully convinced me, but it turned out to be the opposite. She filled my brains with the idea that University life is full of fun, and I don't really have to study as long as I pass my subjects. My brain: party + outings everyday? OMG that would be so fun!

But as the adage goes, if it's too good to be true, then it possibly is.

PART 2 

Remember what I told you earlier about the singing competition? Even though I came in last, but my mom later said, "it's not about losing or winning, it's about enjoying yourself. You do not sing for others, you sing for yourself!" I felt my inner me nodding to her words in agreement. I do have the passion for singing, even though I sounded pretty terrible. (Note the past tense, I am better at singing now!) I regretted not joining choir in my secondary school years, but I made up for my loss during my university years. I joined KK9 choir for two consecutive years. The practice was demanding, and I always say I want to quit whenever I feel stressed out, but in the end I never do. I just love singing and my team mates too much. If there's a place that gives me the feeling of family, it is choir.

I was depressed and down when I failed my first accounting test. I didn't understand the mechanics of accounting for one whole year. In Form 5, I decided to go for tuition in two different places, and after doing lots of homework, everything finally clicked. I scored an A+ in my SPM. I went on to study accounting in Matriculation, and I scored well in my tests. I realized that it's just a matter of continuing or giving up. If I don't know the answer, I just have to search until I find it, and the rest will automatically follow.

Law is definitely one of the hardest courses in University. I used to think it'll be a breeze to score a 3.7, but hell no - I barely managed to survive with a slightly above 3 score. And life isn't as what my mom promised. In reality, the equation for university life is: study + lectures + tutorials + meals (sometimes skipped) and sleep (most of the times deprived) = rinse + repeat. That made me rethink about my life. I do not want a life where I only study and go for exams. So I try out different things as much as possible.

I joined ALSA, and successfully served my term as Finance & Marketing Officer although it was arguably my most dreaded task. I went to Hatyai for student exchange, I went backpacking to Taiwan with Amy and Effie, I met new friends along my journey and I put each one of them in my heart. I have my own gang of sisters in University who are independent yet united. A selfish reason for this is because if I marry someday I want to have jimui who will share my joy (hahaha) and of course, if they marry I will do the same for them! :)

Come to think of it, all the challenges in my life seem to have an intrinsic reason that is only revealed much later in my life. I can only say that if it wasn't for the lies my mom told me, my life wouldn't have been the same. So, thank you for that, mom. And Happy belated Mother's Day!

SIDE NOTE
And by the way, a while ago I accidentally found my mom's secondary school academic report card. It was filled with red markings. And yet she told me secondary school subjects are effortlessly easy!