(I found this lying in my Documents folder, guessed I forgot all about it)

(I noticed that a lot of my posts starts with the words Me, I, My, etc. Guess I do have that self-centered part in me)

              My childhood memories were so mundane that I couldn’t recall much from it, I remember a few people but nothing significant happened between me and them. The whole experience of growing up is a very blurry image for me, and I have doubts whether some that I have are real or made up in the midst of wanting fond memories.


                I guess moving about almost every year during primary school didn’t help much with my social skills which I have to say is quite appalling for me. This post feels a bit déjà vu –ish. Anyway, I was a very selfish and self-centred boy back then, almost amounting to greedy. I showed no passion towards anything

                The rebel, the non-conformist, the oddball, I have adored such labels from a young age, who doesn’t want to be different from the rest? But the boarding school community cruelly stamped this nature of mine because I like to observe and from my observations, no one was comfortable with the individualist, the outstanding ones will be isolated and discriminated and this forced me to adapt with a heavy sacrifice; myself.

                My only outlet was in my pedestrian writings (English essays or scribbles) and the indie songs that I listen to. During my time in high school I love to write stories, they revolved around the fantasy genre and it was my tool to escape into a world in which I was the hero, or any world for that matter, as long as it was not reality. I would buy journals I thought to be elegant and expensive and write countless amounts of stories in them but never have I completed any of them for reasons unknown. Maybe it was because I never had a framework in my mind, no plots or such, maybe it was just bursts of emotions, whatever it is I tend not to rationalize my inability to complete a tale. I think of it as a bad habit.

                The indie music I listen to was something I was personally proud of, it’s like the feeling of knowing something cool when everyone else doesn’t and this taste of mine was personally shared with select friends. I take pride in this little knowledge I have of whom Aqram was my main source. It was sort of symbolic at that time, a subtler way of acknowledging myself that I am not one of the community, that I am different from the rest.

               There was also the fact that I am one of the few whose English was at the better end of the spectrum in school but any pride I had from that was ripped off from me when I came to INTEC where exceptional people beyond my capabilities exist. I didn’t bother much about that though, I always keep in mind that there’s no such thing as the best because there can only be better.

                Now being in the US, I can be myself again, be the boy I always wanted to be because now, everything is up to me, I’m not restricted by nonsensical rules or a narrow-minded society. If I don’t make it, there’s no one to blame but myself. Yeah!

I seem to be doing a lot of reflections of my life in my posts, oh well, there’s more to come then. Haha

                Epiphanies happen during the most unanticipated of times, in my case, toilet sessions. I was reminiscing the times I had as a student exchange in good ol’ Russia and how much it had fostered the change in my perception towards Russians and strangers overall. I dare say that those who went under the same program would want their friends a whole lot more to undergo such a wonderful experience.

                Looking back at how much of a life changing experience it was for me, I said to myself, “What if we do it nationwide instead of internationally?” This was certainly an ingenious idea and coupled with the process of relieving myself, I felt really good about it. This was certainly a very feasible notion in fostering harmony within a country that prides in a multicultural society. One might ask, “What exactly did you come up with?”

                Imagine, a bunch of students with different background staying for say, 3-6 months with a family with a totally different cultural background. Let me illustrate this in a simple manner, put a Malay student living in a majority Chinese area/parents, put a Chinese student living in an Indian majority area/parents, put any students with the Orang Asli or the Penans. Cultural adaptation, tolerance, and whatever same exact benefits you can reap from an international student exchange program!!!

                We have to remember that the program requires host families and this is where the impact becomes wider. Not only do we allow the teenagers to learn and gain a unique experience, the adults won’t be missing out too. That’s two birds with one stone!

                Let us reflect back on the National Service program also known as PLKN (Program Latihan Khidmat Negara) or NS. Now I’m not saying it’s a bad program, most of the people I’ve met said it was a good one as they get to meet new friends and all but that’s about it. The end result in instilling patriotism was not that prevalent, as such emotions would only arise from the sense of belonging and appreciation.

                From my experience during the student exchange program, I wanted to stay in Russia so much that I cried when I had to leave, and I think the majority of those who were in the student exchange program felt that way too in their respective countries. I would bet my savings that the local version of the program would generate better results!

                We could just model the program based on the Rotary Youth Exchange Program or the American Field Study programs, they’re proven to work, so why not? Why we can even ask assistance from Rotary Clubs around Malaysia. Of course we would need to evaluate certain factors in choosing potential host families to allow maximum benefits.

                Having said that, one important issue arise, in the international student exchange program, students are required to attend the local high school in their respective country. Now here’s the golden question, “Should this apply to the local version of the program?”. Personally, I have no idea, this question itself came up while I’m writing this.

(I’m pretty much stumped at this point, the idea doesn’t look so ingenious now)

(After an hour of thinking)          

                I have to admit, this is a difficult issue as the main reason why the International Student Exchange is such a wonderful program is the high school experience. The exchange of cultural differences while attending high school and the friends made was unique to the program that I find it hard to apply the same thing locally. There’s no point for the student to go back to high school now right?

(After two weeks of travelling and holiday-ing)

                What could be done is that the students still go to “school” but instead of your typical Malaysian high school, they could be sent to a centre where they will undergo whatever modules originally panned out.

                This might sound unprofessional but I’m too lazy to develop the intricacies and strategies to approach the program through this concept. I think I might have been redundant back there but anyways, here’s my take on NS.

                I can’t believe I have lived through another decade, it’s amazing how much I have learned and experienced within this span of ten years. I am grateful to God The Almighty for all those times I had and for the things to come. I celebrated the countdown to New Year at Times Square which I must say, it’s a unique experience of its own and one that I do not want to go through again, despite the fun I had.

                Surprisingly I was slightly disappointed with the celebration because there weren’t enough live performances to cater for the crowd that was battling through 9 hours of standing still; they at most had 6 live performances. I was irked because I expected better.

                Acoustics were abysmal, we couldn’t hear Daughtry’s vocals until he performed another round, and the sound system wasn’t loud enough to cater the millions of people packed there. They instead dished out a playlist of songs which can be done at any clubhouse or even in my own apartment, what made it worse was that, THEY REPEATED THE SONGS at least twice. The stage was not facing the majority of the crowd, I think they were focusing on the VIPs, which I find very inconsiderate. Performance-wise, it was a dismay for me.
                                                                        The line going into the human pen

                                                                             See how packed it is?

So here are the things you should know before celebrating New Year at Times Square: