Somehow someway, it has been 3 years since leaving Tmn SEA. I hope it has been 3 good years for all of us, and sincere congratulations to Zi Qian, Zu Wen and those whom I have lost contact with for scoring such great results in national and international exams. I could philosophize on grades and school systems deciding our lives but that’s not what this entry is for. No, this entry is celebrating the upcoming fourth year of leaving Tmn SEA.
“Leave” has three general meanings in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.
The first is to depart from. We left secondary school with relief, small twitches of regret and, hopefully, joy, because five years of adolescence studying within pink buildings tend to change our colour sense into puppies instead of the labradors who would sniff out any awful clash of paint. We also had to move on because it was time to move on. Enough said.
Next, to let something remain. What we left behind was whatever effort we had put into the clubs and societies we joined, whatever scrawls on tables or walls of names and words, whatever chewing gum hardening into rock under places I don’t want to remember, whatever family or friend who had a job or remaining years of studying in Tmn SEA. Most of all, some of our teachers will remember us. And more than that, we will remember some of our teachers. A part of our young and often cynical self remains in those pink walls. When I had to collect my SPM cert in 2011, I felt like an old person climbing the stairs to the bilik guru. Like it or not, I remembered although it had been 3 years.
Finally, to let something be, eg in old English “Leave him be”. Means just letting that person sulk, no kacau-ing him. I still remember Bio lessons where our teacher taught from PowerPoint, which was no help for SPM preparation. I still remember having to line up every morning for assembly, and no tie meant you stood in the middle. How humiliating. I still remember chasing teachers for their signature during F5 to complete our CV/ resume. I still remember having to go for tuition because I wasn’t smart enough to learn in class. I still remember ESL class was a nice waste of time, particularly when a fierce henna haired guru constantly made jokes when she was supposed to teach. I still still still remember how I gradually didn’t care that my class position was often in the bottom three, never in the top ten. So much more that I don’t want to remember, but I do. And I don’t intend to leave Tmn SEA be, not with those memories. Certainly not after experiencing first hand how real education is like, that learning difficult subjects can actually be fun.
For us who are studying in Malaysia, and for us studying outside Malaysia, we should and must consider how we can *blatant advertising, prepare for it.......* change change change Malaysia in our ways of not leaving things be.
Merry Christmas and early Happy New Year to all of 5 Angsana. I would not be who I am if not for those two years with all you guys.
Thank you for those two years spent within the pink walls. :)
