So there I was, sitting at the porch,
reading the One Direction: Dare To Dream, Life As One Direction book that I
have just bought, I have finally decided to write this down. I have read
Harry’s and Zayn’s life stories and I felt like they are so real and true.
Recently, I reckon it’s some kind of a trend, there are loads of videos titled
‘Draw my Life’ on Youtube that I have come across and watched with interest and
getting to know the lives of some of my favourite Youtubers. Together with
this, I was thinking to myself, ‘oh well, guess I should just do a ‘write’ my
life,’ because I was very keen in this which I don’t really know why to be
honest. Even though I’m just 19 of age, I feel like there are still a lot to
write about and that putting everything down would be quite nice to be read
later again on in life.
June 8th, 1994, the day I was
born. Mum was in the hospital/ in labour for like 7 hours, she told me. I’m sure that was
terrifying but I’d joke and tell my mum that I wasn’t really keen on coming out
to see and live in this world which she’d laugh every time she hears that.
I was a healthy chubby baby and I’m the
eldest. My sister was born a year and 4 months later. I was close to my Dad the
most and am still close to him. I’m the daddy’s little girl. Dad would play
with me, get me milk to drink and take care of me during the weekends when I
came back from my Godmother’s home. Mum would be working and so I didn’t think
I got to spend much time with her. Dad would teach me the ABC using a huge
picture dictionary and math and letting me stand on the table to draw on the
whiteboard with marker pens. At night, we’d play Snake and Ladder board game on
the bed. Mum would be taking care and spending time with my sister since she
needed to be taken care of in a much greater extend because of her health
condition. My sister and I, I didn’t think we played much together until we got
a little bit older. My grandparents would come and visit us in Seremban from
Teluk Intan, Perak and they’d bring loads of goodies for us. Grandpa would take
me in his arms and walk me to some neighbour house to look at chickens and
which they said I didn’t enjoy much and keeping a miserable face. I think I
went on bus rides with Grandma as well, although I’m not too sure about how I
managed to do that. Grandpa actually taught me how to ride a bicycle when I got older as well.
I remember we moved twice, when I was a
little toddler. And I remember I started going to a kindergarten named
Tinkerbell at the age of 4 or 5. I absolutely hated it and I cried every
morning when my parents sent me there, as they kept reminding me. I wasn’t sure
why I cried or hated going to be honest. I think it’s because I’m a shy kid and
that I’m scared I won’t fit in and can’t make friends. But weirdly enough, when
I was there in the classroom, learning with the other kids, I felt alright. I
got on with the things well and it wasn’t that bad. I may have made some
friends, although I couldn’t remember who. After lessons, we’d then take a bus
and go to the nursery, me and my sister. And again, I didn’t particularly enjoy
it as well. Although I have no problem with the spicy food they offered, or the
games and the other kids. I remember clearly that I always have to clear off
the food from my sister’s plate because she couldn’t eat the spicy food and I think
I got scolded a little from doing so. One fine afternoon, I remember feeling so
warm all of a sudden and my dad was called to pick me up from the nursery
because they said I was having a fever. Turned out, I got infected with Chicken
Pox by another kid.
Soon after that I guess, my sister got
infected as well. Mum then decided to send my sister over to my grandparents
because she couldn’t really take care of her with her early health condition.
Grandma told me my parents didn’t allow me to go with my sister, but in the
end, I was firm enough and upon my insist they finally agreed to let me go. It
was fun, I think I could put it this way. Here, I made my first ever proper
friend. My only proper childhood friend. I didn’t know his English name but in
mandarin, his name can be translated into English as ‘Dragon’. He’s 2 years
older than me. I have actually written an essay about him for my English class
one time. He’d come over to my grandparents’ house and we’d play together. He
taught me and my sister a lot of things. I got to know he has started working when I went back to Teluk Intan 2 years ago. We grew up a lot and started to know a
lot of things that we didn’t know previously. We met a lot of other kids around
the neighbourhood too. We had nice food to eat and we’d watch TV and have
supper at night. Grandma taught me how to use the telephone as well. It’s like
a brand new world to us and we enjoyed ourselves very much.
A year later, my sister and I together
with my grandparents moved back to Seremban. I continued kindergarten at the
age of 6. I had changed quite a lot and I didn’t cry going to school anymore. I
actually liked it there. We’d dance, sing, paint, learn English and I had loads
of fun with my classmates. I loved my teachers as well. I had mandarin classes
for the first time and I met this girl and became friends with and we both went
to the same primary school. I performed a Malay dance routine on stage during
graduation and that was a terrifying but fun moment for me. I remember I
actually forgot to wear my long jeans on the actual day which my teacher had to
borrow someone guy’s jeans for me. I aced all my little tests and got a few
awards which my teachers praised that I’m one of the brightest kids in class.
Age 7, and off I went to primary school,
called Sin Hua. We had yet moved house again and my sister had to switch to
another kindergarten which was closer to our new home. My sister and I were
closer to each other now and we played together with a little boy that lived
beside us. I didn’t like my time at my primary school. I was still a shy kid
and I just had a few friends. I was reserved and quiet and I was a nobody. I
didn’t know everyone and they didn’t know me. But one thing for sure, I was a
bright student and aced tests and exams. A year later, my sister enrolled.
Teachers got to know she has me as a sister and so they’d often call me to
classrooms and ask me why my sister didn’t do her homework and stuffs. I’d have
to explain to teachers. Around that time, I got misunderstood by a classmate
and got myself an enemy. Nearly the whole class hated me including the class
teacher. That classmate’s mother actually came to school and told the teacher
of all I ‘did’ which I didn’t really do. Weirdly enough, that enemy and I
became friends again when we got older and my grandma and her mother are
friends. I had since forgiven her of what she did and I often invited her to my
house to play and stay overnight. I had taught her how to ride a bicycle as
well but she didn’t have the courage to continue learning. But after a few
years, we weren’t in the same class anymore and we grew apart. We didn’t greet
each other or talk to each other or even see each other. Throughout the whole
primary school days, I had a few friends, and people often left me to find new
friends. I hated going to school and felt so bad about myself. I was really a
nobody. Teachers looked down on me when my grades got worse and worse for a few
subjects, except for English, which I always scored well, thanks to the
teaching for my Dad. I actually went to my first English tuition as well and
cancelled the arithmetic math lesson, which as my dad reckoned, was the reason
why I got worse in Math, but to be honest, I didn’t really like maths even
though I could manage it. In my English tuition lesson, I felt like myself. I
was really at home. I love English and I have a burning passion for it, I know.
I enjoyed everything even though at the beginning I was the worst student in
class. I loved my teachers and the teachers loved me. I got along well with my
friends and one of the girls actually ended up in the same secondary school as
me. After a few years of this English tuition lesson, I was being considered
brilliant in English and I was one of the top students in class. And as years
passed, I got better in bringing myself in school. One of my class teachers
actually suggested me to the prefect board to appoint me as a prefect because
of my outstanding grades that year. I passed the trial stages and my parents
were proud of me and for the first time ever, I was actually looking forward to
school and not being a nobody anymore. But I realised that my classmates got
jealous of me because of this. They shouldn’t be though, because in the end,
the prefect board teacher didn’t pick me to be one of the new prefects. So
everything went back to the way they were. The same old Tiffany with a plain
dull school life with no real friends.
By the time I was 11, my English tuition
centre closed down. I was pretty sad about it. Dad asked one of the teachers
there to be my private tutor and she’d come around to my house every Saturday
to give me English lesson which I absolutely love it. She encouraged me to read
story books and newspapers and that was when dad decided to buy me my first
ever story book. I love and respect this teacher of mine together with another
teacher whom I still see every Saturday in my dad’s English tuition centre
which opened when I was 12. I also sat for a public exam when I was 12 and I
scored 7 A(s) in that exam. My school teachers were shocked and all of a sudden
they were all being nice to me and my classmates started talking to me but some
others got so jealous and they even cried because of their exam results. I
think, I could say, I at least made one good friend in the 6 years I spent in
primary school and her name is Pei Yee. I actually got to see her again at my dad’s tuition centre but
I didn't have the courage enough to greet her and talk to her at first. I thought she
might have forgotten about me. But last weekend, I have managed to talk to her, thanks to Mum and it was so awesome ! I'm very glad that she's fine and alright.
It was at the age of 12, when I started
to admire singers who sing on radios and TV and had my first ever idol. It’s
also the time when I first started to notice about boys and liking 2 of them.
Nothing actually worked out between us although things got a bit fun. I started
to experience the feeling of having crushes and knowing that they might like
you back. At this time, I also discovered about radio stations and often jammed
to mandarin songs. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up at this
time. I just know I have this strength or talent or gift in me about the
English language. But I did start writing some short stories in a notebook in
English and mandarin.
At the age of 13, off I went to
secondary school, named Puteri. It was
an all-girls school which my dad and I have agreed to choose on. I had my
reasons for picking this school. One of it was to get away from my primary
school friends which I knew they’d all go to another secondary school close to
the primary school. I was desperate to start a brand new life again and was
genuinely afraid of my primary school classmates of being there. It was a wonderful experience to me. I got to
learn new things in a different environment and got a lot of wonderful friends.
I actually love it although it was obvious that there were ups and downs. On
the first year of secondary school itself, I got on bad terms with some of my
classmates and they turned a few of the others against me just because I told a
good friend of mine about them telling bad reproductive jokes and them saying
that I was too innocent to understand. This lasted for 3 months and it became
alright because one of them copied my answers in an exam and she thought that
made it all alright. I remember I was always being laughed at whenever I had to
speak in front of the whole class. But I got better at that as I became older
and ended my secondary school with a speech in front of the whole school. YES.
You read it right. THE WHOLE SCHOOL. I wasn’t a nobody in secondary school,
which was a relief. I speak quite well in English and so I often speak up and
not as quiet and reserved as before. I got a lot of awesome friends which I
still keep in touch till today. I have also made a bond of sisterhood with 2 of
my closest friends, Joycelyn and Khai Xin. I scored quite well in exams and I
remember getting first place in class in my year 2 of secondary school. I
wasn’t a popular kid, but I’m sure I’m way cooler than the primary school me.
The best achievements came at the last 2 years of secondary school. I got more
confident and more myself. I got elected
for the board of class committee for decorations. I got into a private English
club which I love and became one of the board committee. I got elected as the vice president of the
biggest club in the school. I got chosen to be in the board of alumni committee
which I applied. I submitted 2 of my essays to 2 of the biggest essay-writing
competitions but alas, I didn’t get to win. Dad actually went to the school and
one of his teachers gave a speech about the importance of English language and
I still felt surreal till now as to how everything got to the way they were. I
love my friends whom I’ll keep for the rest of my life and I love my teachers
dearly. Although there were ups and downs, everything actually turned out
alright in the end and I cherished every moment of it deeply. By the end of the
5th year of secondary school, I sat for another public exam and I
got 8 A(s) and 2 B+ (s) , which I got A+ for my English, and my other favourite
subject, History and also an unexpected A- for my Mandarin ! I was jumping and
hugging my mum the day I went to school and took the result. I cried while
talking to dad over the phone. Even though I didn’t get straight A(s), but it
didn’t matter. I’m content and I’m grateful and blessed.
At the age of 13 to 17, I changed from
listening to mandarin songs to English songs fully. I speak English most of the
time with my non-chinese classmates and watched English movies and read English
books. This was the time when I was deeply obsessed with the Harry Potter books
after dad bought 6 of the Harry Potter books home from the book fair. I have
also started to get online on computer games and emails and after that,
Facebook. There was a time when I was totally obsessed with a online game
called Runescape. I had fun in that gaming website with international online
friends. Later, I discovered this chat room where we could chat with
international people, called IMVU. I got to know 2 amazing guys, Jamie from
Scotland and Ken from India, which we still occasionally chat till today. I
learnt so much from them and extend my horizons to the international level. It
is definitely one of the highlights moments of my life. On another note, I
graduated from my dad’s tuition centre, which I sat for my final exam in KL.
Along all these years, I have met a few guys I fancied but nothing happened as
always and they certainly didn’t like me back. Oh well. I continued to write original stories, fan
fictions and poems but they were all left unfinished but one thing is certain
now, I have this dream of becoming a writer just like my idol, J.K Rowling. The
latest story I’m working on right now is called The Kingdom of Roses.
Last year was quite an eventful year, to
be honest, and the things that happened were the biggest events to date in my
life. I passed my driving test, which I could now drive my sister to her bakery
academy recently. I learnt swimming as well which made my skin quite dark. I
chatted with a guy at the international chat room again and liked him. ‘He’
apparently liked me back but then things happened and it never worked out
between us. Some time around this, I ran, stepped on a carpet and fell down,
hitting my face against the wall because I heard grandpa’s car honks outside
while I was sleeping earlier. My knee was bleeding internally and I couldn’t
walk properly and it was so painful. I had to go to the dentist to heal my
teeth and fix the shapes of them. It was so painful as well. I ate porridge for
2 to 3 weeks and I lost quite a lot of weight. I became thinner and people said
I got prettier. With all the pain and suffering, I was unfortunately starting
my A-level course in college, named INTI. I got myself my first ever college
friend, Melissa, who is so nice and awesome. She actually came to me and
introduced herself and we are friends from then on. My dad actually thought we
were school mates. And then I got a few awesome friends as well, including my
first ever roommate, Kim. She’s just the best. I don’t mix around with a lot of
other classmates though, just keeping to a small group of friends that are true
and real towards me. I learnt a lot of new things and experiences from my
friends and in a brand new college environment. I continue to study hard and
scored well for my tests and exams, which I do hope I do for my AS level exam.
It can’t be denied that there are ups and downs too, but I’m tackling them one
by one and hope that everything will be alright. I believe that after all that sufferings I
should be wise enough to solve problems now, well hopefully. I certainly feel
that I’m getting more mature and wiser although I’m still rather socially
awkward if not shy. And after studying
law in A-level, I felt like becoming a lawyer, but I don’t think so anymore. I
think I’ll stick to writing and being a writer. I have many people giving me
advices not to become a lawyer and I quite agreed to them, especially one Malay
lady that I have met on the train. After getting the AS exam result, I’ll have
to start applying for UK universities like Dad said and am planning to get into
the University of Nottingham and there, I’d start a brand new life again.
~The story continues~
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