Reunion

An eagle flew down and caught a sheep with it’s majestic claws and flew away.
A crow was watching with amazement.

“What a brave bird with great strength! I think I can also do what the eagle just did”, thought the crow.

Therefore, it flew to a group of sheep. He tried to grab a sheep but failed. The cries of the sheep attracted the shepherd. The shepherd caught him instead.

He was placed in a cage. He was sad because he could not fly freely like his peers now. The crow regretted doing something which was beyond his ability.
The crow did not realize that he was much smaller and weaker than the eagle.

Moral of the story…..“Do something which is within your means.”

Another story...
I attended a reunion date of sort with my former schoolmates recently. We have lost touch with each other for almost 20 years. We went separate ways to pursue our dreams and career after SPM in 1988. Yup….20 years already. Time flies.

Though it was great to be able to meet my “Lau Peng Yew” but I felt a lil embarrass and small….as I noticed many of my friends hold important and high positions in their respective jobs. There are two doctor, several engineers, bankers, managers, lecturers…..and I’m just an ordinary school teacher. Some were based in overseas like UK, Australia, China and Kuala Lumpur. And me…still remained in a small township called Butterworth. The furthest over~the~sea that I go is “Pulau Pinang”. What a contrast..!

My friends are mostly graduates with MBAs or at least a degree. Meanwhile I’m still struggling with my FIRST degree at the ripe ol age of 36. Perhaps, I was suffering from low self esteem..huh.!

Low self esteem…was I ?

Back to the Crow story. Years ago, I was unable to further my studies due to the many constrains..(financial, opportunity, commitment…etc). Therefore, it’s not too late for me to do it now even though I’m at such advance age. As a mature student, probably I have the advantages over my peers, whereby I’m able to apply theories with my experiences.
Therefore… it’s still correct for me to say ……..“Do something which is within your means.” . I don’t wanna be like the poor crow.

We emerged from the same school…the similar level then. Right after our SPM, we ventured out to further our studies with some to Form 6, Pre U, Colleges,….and handful started working. But now you see the vast differences…most of them turned out to be successful and prominent figures. Some are more successful than the others.
Career wise…I can say that all are successful including yours truly la. No bad what holding a noble job like teaching. (self proclaimed…..pacifying myself a lil bit la.)

Some are happily married, while others were once upon a time happily married. A few choose to remain solo. Some with kids in tow, some still childless, some decided not to have any (to avoid responsibilities and headache). No comment on this. Everyone has their rights to decide what is good for them.

During the meeting, all of us were happy to be able to get in touch after such a long break. 20 years…macam macam can happened !

You could see the happiness in us when we embraced each other. The surprised looks…the wah……oh……woooo…..just like the sweet 17 we were once like..!
We still looked the same except the extra pounds we gained over the years due to childbirth and age. And also the extra lines on our forehead as we matured. Other than that…..we’re still the young energetic 17 year old.

All of us parted with a vow that night. We promised to keep in touch with each other. Gatherings like this would definitely be an annual affair.