I was chatting with Caesar, my senior, on MSN (yes, again...) when he suddenly told me he had to write this MinDef essay for Brunei Times. I was immediately awed - it is my dream to see my work on a newspaper, a considerably huge headline with the words 'by Jolene Wong' or some pseudonym underneath. Life have thrown him oranges, and demand he make jam out of them.
At that time, he confessed that he had no idea how to write it at all. His life story and how he came to be who he is today. The essay is supposed to be inspirational. Life is a huge topic - there are just too much to write about, and halfway through it he thought he had written a sob story instead, to the extent it made him want to cry. Not a good sign. I tried to cheer him up and on, because if he overcome the dilemma, he can really write a very inspirational story. I know because his level of essay writing is way above mine. I know I sound conceited but I consider myself an excellent essay writer.
However, just hours later he produced an essay, and moi is proud to present it to you! P.S. I titled the essay. It seemed to be his sixth version. And if you think the title for this blog post seemed familiar, it is. It is the opening sentences in Rihanna's song, Unfaithful.
Story of My Life by Caesar Chin
My life journey as far as I can remember has always been a rough, choppy sea; there were many turning points full of setbacks, difficulties andā¦tears. Iām the second child in my family after my sister with two younger brothers and therefore luxury is a word not found in our dictionary. My family of six had to cramp into the two rooms in our rented house till I was in primary six. I remember I had to drag the goats we rear out to the grazing field almost everyday before and after school (sometimes it was the goats which dragged me!) and water the vegetables and fruits every now and then.
When I was in primary school, I was never inspired to study hard, mainly because I never managed to be the top 3 in my class which my father highly expected me to. Yes, I often do badly back then and my father will discipline me with the famous ārotanā treatment. However, as I look back, my first turning point would be when I joined the Brunei National Junior Table Tennis Squad in primary 4 which allowed me to represent Brunei in many overseas competitions held in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Laos and Indonesia. The training was intensive but the notion of hard work began to creep into my mind. Eventually I managed to get 4A 1B in my PCE exam. Nevertheless it was not enough for me to enter Maktab Sains, which my father had hoped.
Life became much harder after PCE. I was transferred to a government secondary school and my family had to move into my late uncleās old deserted house which we renovated ourselves. Thus till now we have no proper water and electrical supply. Yet this was the most important of my life experiences so far as it made me strong-minded. I was third in class when I had my first assessment in Form 1 and that motivated me to work diligently. However, the deep desire to be āNumber 1ā burns deeper and I vowed to change the current predicament of my family. The lack of electricity did not hold me back from striving for my goals even if I had to study by candle light for public exams.
As I entered A-Level I began to play and study hard; I became known as the most competitive student in school and also the person who keenly participated in almost all the CCA available in school. I also have a big passion for music and I have taken up violin since my L6 and now Iām going to venture the saxophone when Iām overseas. True enough, the efforts were worth the time and the fruits collected were abundant.
I believe everything happens for a reasonā¦and the reason is who I am here today. From a happy-go-lucky person to a strong-minded and proactive individual, I realised the prestigious MINDEF scholarship is the best path for me as it gives me many opportunities to expand my potentials beyond my horizon. To be the first student sent to France also makes me feel really honored. I hope when I graduate I can shape Brunei into a stronger, dynamic and prosperous nation that we can all boast about! To my Government of Brunei, my family and friends, I thank you all because without everyone, I wouldnāt be where I am standing today.
"If we have hope, we will have light and the light will guide us to be a better person everyday than we were yesterday. So never give up hope!"
To read the article in luxury Brunei Times format, click here.
Sheepishly, I would like to say that I had written my own version as well. I never pass up on writing as far as essay writing (not academically) is concerned. Mine is injected with too much colourful details, but that's just me being conceited. Into the fifth paragraph I was just starting to talk about my rascal-ness of my primary school years. It is so long compared to his, I think I best not post it up this time.
Maybe next time after I refined it a bit. * wink *
