There can never be SUCCESS without a “U”

I’ve been a bit under the weather lately; thinking about all the 101 things running in my mind, lack of sleep and not having much “me” time since forever. Despite being the positive person I am, I sometimes wonder if it’ll all be worth it in the end. Will I burn out?

The flame in my reignited after the Taylor’s World Class Scholarship (TWCS) 2018 Award Ceremony on the 27th September 2018. It is moments like these that motivate me; but what motivates me, even more, are the people supporting me throughout my journey.

No, I’m not going to write about my success story in this blog, but rather the people behind this success. I believe that success can never be achieved alone. With that, here it goes. This is dedicated to everyone who has journeyed with me.

∞

My family and I at Taylor’s World Class Scholarship (TWCS) 2018 Award Ceremony. This was the clearest picture we got as the lighting was pretty bad. 😦

To my family, thank you so much for being the strongest pillars of support for me. Mum and dad, thank you for bringing kor & I up to become the people we are today. Thank you for exposing us to sports at such a young age – it really built our mental strength. Thank you for guiding us and then pushing us out of our comfort zones even when we didn’t want to.

∞

Mum, thank you for always being there for me. You sacrificed your job just to see to kor and I when morning and afternoon session schooling hours kicked in. With that, you were able to send us up and down to school, for co-curricular activities, workshops, conferences, tuitions, training, competitions, and the list goes on and on.

My mum (middle) was a part of the forum, alongside another mother, two partner companies and the moderator.

Magnificent Mum

You always ensured that every meal was ready for us as you knew how active we were,

You hung the clothes by moonlight during my tennis competitions just to make sure that I’ll have enough outfits for the next few days,

You drove up and down to UiTM Shah Alam every day for more than a week during my MSSM tennis training back then in 2012,

You cleaned my wound every day when I had such a bad fall,

You stayed with me when I was hospitalized for pneumonia – ensuring me that everything will be alright even when I lost all hope to compete in MSSM again in 2015,

You supported me during my pageant journey, even when it wasn’t your thing,

You always brought me for interesting conferences and workshops even if I wasn’t interested, but you knew that I’ll gain from it,

You also attended some events which I like though you weren’t interested in;

You have done more than any job could ever ask for,

Considering that there’s so much more that’s not typed out.

I still can’t imagine what it would be like to have a driver sending me up and down for all these activities. Who will be there for me to share my day with? It’s nothing like having your own mum there for you. Although many people look down on housewives, I’d say that being a housewife is the toughest job yet. Without you being available for kor and me, I doubt we’ll be so exposed to various activities.

∞

To my dad, thank you for always wanting the best for the family. Thank you for starting me with tennis at such a young age despite how much I hated it. Thank you for slowly forging that love for tennis in me as I grew older.

Chilling around with dad! 😀

Dear Dad

You spent every weekend playing tennis with me early morning, sometimes even twice a day, despite the scorching hot sun.

Sometimes I wonder, aren’t you tired after a week of work? Don’t you want to sleep in?

Thank you for paying for all the tuition fees, ensuring that education doesn’t slip aside knowing that I’m always out of class.

Thank you for advising me on how to give hard talks to others when I need to,

Thank you for showing me what true sportsmanship is,

Thank you for always protecting,

Thank you for treating us after small successes – it really does mean a lot;

There are so many more things to add,

But most of all,

Thank you for being the best dad I could ever ask for.

∞

To my brother, James, thanks for being the best role model ever. It’s amazing how we get along so well, and I’m really amazed by how we hardly have any typical sibling fights. Thanks for being someone whom I can share everything with.

With my bro, a fellow TWCS 2015 scholar under CIMB. Well done on emceeing and chairing a forum for the event. So proud of you. 🙂

Best Brother

You’ve always been a high achiever since young,

Receiving academics awards every year;

You never looked down on me,

Even when I didn’t.

You were always the more outspoken one when we were younger,

Always so pumped up to take part in competitions;

It was you who inspired me,

To give a go – as the saying goes, #YOLO.

I was really touched when I saw how others look up to you,

When people came to me and told me how amazing you were;

This tells that you’ve not just impacted me,

But everyone else around you.

∞

To my teachers (this includes my lecturers too), thank you for being ever so patient – filling my curious mind with knowledge.

Thoughtful teachers

Thank you for always being supportive of me taking part in various activities, even if it involves me skipping classes (oops, hehe),

Thank you for being patient with me when I was unsure of something

just because I missed a class,

Thank you for being there by the tennis courts even when you were busy marking books,

Thank you for skipping recess for me just to explain to me add math,

Thank you for telling me that it’s fine to not like Physics, knowing that my bro was good at it,

Thank you for being someone who can pun around with lame chemistry puns at school,

Thank you for being like my mum in school,

Thank you for freeing an hour of your weekend just to give me a refresher in chemistry just before my exams,

Thank you for not only being my tuition teacher but also a comedian and motivational speaker to your students too,

Thank you for bringing your students out for lunch in between tuition breaks,

Thank you for believing in me even when you never knew me, and knowing that I’ve missed two and a half weeks of college,

Thank you for roping me in for opportunities that will make me grow,

Thank you, to all my teachers, for being so thoughtful.

Although each statement may sound as though it’s dedicated to one specific teacher, deep down inside me, I know that every teacher played a part in my success.

∞

To my friends, thank you for being so understanding, despite me not spending much time with y’all!

5 Jati & FICM fam! 🙂

Friends

Thank you for taking down the homework for me when I wasn’t in class,

Thank you for journeying through all the assignments, test and everything together,

Thank you for understanding why I can’t always hangout,

Thank you for the super quick reply when Google Translate failed and I needed Mandarin translation before I freeze, as I couldn’t understand the air-cond controller in China,

Thank you, for this friendship.

∞

Some of the many groups of amazing people whom I’ve met. 🙂

To the friends whom I’ve met in competitions, conferences, events, organizations, etc

It is nice to know that there’s a group of likeminded people,

With similar goals and interests;

It is nice to not only have someone pushing you to strive on, but someone striving on with you too;

It is nice to know that people like y’all exists,

Making my life rich with new experiences from different fields;

Be it from tennis, chess, case studies, performing arts, pageants, modeling, scholars and more,

I look forward to experiencing more with y’all in the years to come.

∞

Throwback to our last outing where 5/5 of the squad were there! :’)

To my girlfriends

Thank you for understanding that I couldn’t make it for your birthday as I had my TWCS final interview,

Thank you for understanding when I couldn’t go over to make gifts,

Thank you for being the ones whom I can just open up to,

Thank you for being that girl gang I’ve always wanted.

I’ve heard of girl gang dramas before, but I can tell that we won’t have any.

I’ve always wanted a sister, but I never had one,

But I’m happy to say that y’all are like sisters to me;

Looks like I’ve already found my bridesmaids for my wedding in the many years to come!

∞

Our morning walks were definitely the best getaways. 🙂

To my best friend

It’s funny how we became friends,

What more best friends?

I’ve to admit, this was the most unexpected friendship,

And I never expected that we’ll be this close till today.

We’ve been through so much together,

Through the ups and downs that each of us faces,

Despite having one conflict with each other – nothing has changed;

The only thing that has changed is that it brought us closer.

We’re so different in many ways,

I love durians, spicy food, vegetables – but you don’t;

But what matters most is that our values are strongly similar.

Thank you for being my go-to person for everything,

Someone whom I can just be myself with;

Thank you for calming me down before my interview,

And let me present to you my entire passion project via Face Time.

I wasn’t sure if you’d be interested to listen to it as I know you’re busy,

But thank you for being all ears and smiling the entire way.

Thank you for all the morning walks we had,

Thank you for nagging me to rest,

Thank you for always making sure I’m alright;

Thank you for being so real,

Thank you for being you,

Thank you for being someone whom I can call my best friend.

∞

To everyone whom I’ve met

Thank you for everything.

To my tennis coach, Uncle Toi, thank you for training me in tennis,

To the residents of SS20, thank you for being the biggest supporters, especially Aunty Eileen,

To my grandma’s caregiver, Ailyn, thank you for helping out so much when you were here with us,

To the tailor who did my kebayas, thank you for all your hard work and effort,

To my catwalk guru, thank you for training me to rock that catwalk,

To my model/pageant seniors, thank you for all your tips and advice,

To the ones who custom made my high heels thank you for ensuring that I get the best comfort,

To the beauticians who did my manicure, pedicure, makeup, and treading thank you for providing me with the pageant essentials,

To my hairstylists, thank you for beautifying my crowning glory,

To my dentist, thank you for giving me that winning smile,

To all my sponsors, thank you for believing in me.

To every single person whom I’ve met (or probably not met), thank you for your support.

Even if it’s just a good luck wish,

“How are you?”,

“make sure you rest”,

“drink more water”, etc,

You’ll never know how your small actions can impact a person.

∞

19 years living has really proved to me that success can never be achieved alone. But of course, you yourself must play your own part to make your success come true. Receiving this scholarship isn’t as easy as what others may think. Perhaps this would be something that I’ll write about in my blog later on.

I want everyone to know that no matter how good you think you are, just know that alone, it is not possible. Always appreciate and recognize the efforts of those around you.

∞

There can never be SUCCESS without a “U”. With that, thank you once again, to those who were my “U”.