AWOL: Absent Without Leave

After the convocation, stepping out the hall, I saw the clouds, like steam from thermal adorned the Lafayette’s blue sky, indicating the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring. Stored in my “recently added” iPOD playlist, Damien Rice’s “Elephant” has been gone through my ears repeatedly since last week, a month after Elise introduced me “Closer” – a witty, romantic and very dangerous British love story emphasizing a nagging nuance of ‘Strangers’.

“Perfectly suited you,” the blue-eyes and blondy girl told me.

The blandiloquent song and the halcyon day has made me reminisced back my old years at my hometown, Changlun.

I took off my shoes and replaced it with my flip-flops because that was the perfect day to wear it since 4 months of wearing boots. Hours before, while walking out of Purdue Memorial Union’s South Ballroom, after the receptions and convocation for 2007 University Honors Convocation, Jacob complained about wearing formal attire during a 73-degree-Fahrenheit (about 22 degree Celsius) day.

“I knew, I shouldn’t have worn this so-called ‘business’ attire today”.

“Hey, it’s just Spring. It’ll be worst than this next two or three weeks”, like been there longer than him, I replied while taking off my blazer.

I have gone through something worst than that temperature, when I used to walked back home during my high-school-hood. But luckily, Apit asked me taking lift on his bike. We used to go for Al-Bukhary and Darul Bakti tuitions together. Because I have no guts to ride the bike, my school shirts were finely decorated by the bike's 'minyak hitam' coming from the exzos at the back. If I wasn't at the field training for never ending sports events thruout the year, in Pn. Basharah's room - the school's counselor, practicing and memorizing speeches for upcoming debates or public speaking competitions, or hanging out with Fakhrul in 'notorious' computer labs, my parents or close friends would find me with Apit, doing daffy stuffs.

Other than Apit, my life in SMK Changlun has been filling up with tons of noteworthy moments by a group of decent educators. Having all of these hellacious educators, was not only as the mediums to convey all the materials in the syllabus, but they give me life, like fathers or mothers raising up their son, friends hanging out or chatting about teenage stuffs, and the adults talking about the reality of life. These are the people who are responsible bolstering me to shine my lights for all to see.

The serene Pn. Basharah
The adroit Sir Zubir
The loquacious Pn. Aidah
The gorgeous Teacher Sharon
The emollient Pn. Aishah
The genius Mr. Ooi
The esoteric Pn. Fauziah
The beatific Pn. Roziah

When, I am asked by my colleagues, what it takes to become who I am today, a nobody to somebody who has a huge responsibility towards people around him, my answer is always the same. It is my experiences, either the fine ones or the awful ones contributed by the above amazing people, made me stand where I am now.

Vincent Van Gough once said,
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together."

And here, Gogh's words precisely depict my journey. And today these people have brought me to the 2007 University Honors Convocation, and also everything is nothing without Him, the most gracious Giver to me.