Graduation!

I enrolled into Limkokwing University in February 2006. SPM ended just two months earlier and my friends were still enjoying their break going to trips and all that. Boy, was I eager or what?

Back in high school I was already thinking of what I want to do after finishing the exams. That was the time when I was busy with the College Magazine more than studying and tinkering with Photoshop and InDesign sorta made me want to go into publishing, or graphics design, or design, or something like that. I don't even understood the difference between graphic design and multimedia design at that time, but I want to do something design-ish nonetheless.

I was young back then. Young and foolish. I thought that my designs were top-notch already. Oh little did I know...

So anyway, it was Abah who suggested that I venture into Broadcasting. It was on one hot afternoon in Kubang Kerian which I somehow remember for whatever reason. I never really thought about broadcasting to be honest, and I wasn't too keen on working with things that moves. The seduction of the still life is more alluring then. I didn't know much about it anyways but somehow I later on thought that the idea was quite interesting. Maybe because Mak bought me that magazine on what is Mass Communications.

And so there I was, under the hot Cyberjaya sun registering and going to orientations where I made new friends like Dzul and his red Kancil with Radiohead's Creep on loop. I wasn't even sure where Cyberjaya is back then and figuring how to get from the to PJ took me quite a while. I've only heard about Puchong before and before I knew it, I was a citizen there. I spent 5 years living with Malay boys and suddenly I have a Maldivian, a Pakistani, a Batswana and a Malaccan as my housemate. Then of course came the girls. Never mind my exotic housemates, it's the girls that I find the hardest to adapt to.

Like, uh huh.

I took the bus to class back then. The yellow school bus. Yeah. I've never took a yellow school bus to school before. Mak loves me too much. Hehe. It was a very strange time for me, very strange. Hanging out with people older than me who respects me and treat me as equals, accepting the fact that there are more things in life that I knew nothing of, like the difference between a piston engine and a rotary engine, why Satrias are much more awesome than Myvis. Much much more awesome.

Sumpah.

In class I learnt new and interesting things about stuffs that I actually want to know about, like marketing, why the prices are always RM1.99, design and advertising, how to communicate with people better, what is platonic love and whether it is possible between opposite sexes, watching sexually explicit uncut movies with my classmates and our lecturer and discussing about it afterwards, academically. All in all, life is good.

Yeah, of course there were those hiccups along the way, those fights between friends, that depressing Ramadan all alone, that scary time when I was afraid to be in my own house, being broke, being deep in debt, being broke and deep in debt, being alone, depressed during Ramadan, broke and deep in debt. But all in all, they taught me a lot of things about growing up.

Throughout my 4 years, I've lived in three places I've never imagined I would. I was ignorant about Puchong, I was critical about Cyberjaya, I was cynical about Sri Kembangan. Forgive me because I was still deeply in love with Kuala Kangsar. Yet as time moves on, I accepted these places for what they are and learnt to appreciate their ups and downs.

It's a big cliché but I'll miss all these people I've met along the way. Many passed me by but those few that I got stuck together with, these people are special. I don't want to name any, you all know who you are. You guys saw me amidst the maddening crowd, this simple kid in an oversized body, dreaming of crazy things and ever failing to achieve any, and decided to know him more. Thank you very much.

If there is one thing my university is good at is marketing. Yes, I despise it as many others do but in certain ways, it encouraged me to be better. There's a high mark up there and I have to reach it. I've always have this love affair with everything I'm involved with. Limkokwing can't possibly be an exception even if it pay me not to.

What's next for me? Work for certain. There is that ever growing sense of guilt inside about living on someone else's toil, eventhough he's my father and there's that swelling bag of things I know that I could either use or lose.

So yeah, thank you to Mak and Abah for the education you've provided me all they way since 1994, MARA for funding my education, lecturers for sharing their knowledge, friends who stood alongside for  the ride and everyone else and all their friends and family. We are all a part of this one way or another.

This is starting to sound like a bad Academy Awards speech so I'll end it here.