After twenty two years in Malaysia, I am about to leave for a long spell. Interestingly enough, Malaysia is about to turn 50. After 15 years of local education, I am off to a prestigious American university. For most of us, that would indicate individual talent and effort, but not for me. A little bit of individual effort, maybe, but, much more than anything else, it is luck and opportunity; luck and opportunity that came strolling down my way because this is Malaysia.
A lot of people get the same opportunities in their own countries. Nevertheless, there are so many others for whom basic education is a faraway dream; not through any fault of their own, but simply because they were born in the wrong place at the wrong time. Success can be attained through surviving severe hardship, but the roles of chance and luck can never be downplayed. Who we are is more a consequence of our environment than any individual talent. This is not to say that talent is unimportant. It is to remind us to always be aware and grateful for the opportunities we are given.
For much of my life, I have been trying to find my own feet. It is a long search for direction, learning and redefining values, and trying to make sense of everything; similar to what we are going through as a nation. We are young and still naïve, making up for what we lack in true humanitarian heritage with a willingness to grow. Finding one’s feet in an overwhelming world depends on a person’s capacity for introspection and openness to life’s lessons. For so long we have been looking for a unique sense of identity and purpose, for something more than just a patched-up, sanitized, put-together version of other people’s dreams. Our mistakes are plentiful, but they are the best ways of gaining maturity, IF we are willing to learn from them.
It is easy to imagine a certain kind of future or a certain kind of ideality and call it a Vision. As wonderful as that vision might be, it is still nothing more than someone else’s dream. It is what others regard as an ideal world. Its validity aside, we should instead try and find our own purpose, direction and vision. Not just as a nation, but as individuals, regardless of gender, race, age or class. Just as an individual discovers that true ambition is something that only experience, introspection and wisdom can reveal, so should we, as a society, realize that only by taking a deep look at ourselves and questioning every single value that we hold dear can we truly find a vision that is worth following; not one forged by the wonders of business and technology, but one formed by the benevolence of our sentience and our collective conscience.
My life is about trying to find my own feet and following them. The question now is can we help our nation find its feet.
A lot of people get the same opportunities in their own countries. Nevertheless, there are so many others for whom basic education is a faraway dream; not through any fault of their own, but simply because they were born in the wrong place at the wrong time. Success can be attained through surviving severe hardship, but the roles of chance and luck can never be downplayed. Who we are is more a consequence of our environment than any individual talent. This is not to say that talent is unimportant. It is to remind us to always be aware and grateful for the opportunities we are given.
For much of my life, I have been trying to find my own feet. It is a long search for direction, learning and redefining values, and trying to make sense of everything; similar to what we are going through as a nation. We are young and still naïve, making up for what we lack in true humanitarian heritage with a willingness to grow. Finding one’s feet in an overwhelming world depends on a person’s capacity for introspection and openness to life’s lessons. For so long we have been looking for a unique sense of identity and purpose, for something more than just a patched-up, sanitized, put-together version of other people’s dreams. Our mistakes are plentiful, but they are the best ways of gaining maturity, IF we are willing to learn from them.
It is easy to imagine a certain kind of future or a certain kind of ideality and call it a Vision. As wonderful as that vision might be, it is still nothing more than someone else’s dream. It is what others regard as an ideal world. Its validity aside, we should instead try and find our own purpose, direction and vision. Not just as a nation, but as individuals, regardless of gender, race, age or class. Just as an individual discovers that true ambition is something that only experience, introspection and wisdom can reveal, so should we, as a society, realize that only by taking a deep look at ourselves and questioning every single value that we hold dear can we truly find a vision that is worth following; not one forged by the wonders of business and technology, but one formed by the benevolence of our sentience and our collective conscience.
My life is about trying to find my own feet and following them. The question now is can we help our nation find its feet.
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2 comments:
Which Uni are you goin ? Majoring in Socio rite ?
yes..at the Uni of Illinois... :)
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