Reality

Reality is multi-faceted. Just like a coin has two sides, we will arrive at different conclusions if we look at the same thing from different perspectives. These are all realities.

I used to hate the country where I was born and raised. As I grew up and started to understand how the world works, the reasons that made me loathe this country piled up – inequalities, injustice, and corruption.

If you have not experienced injustice personally, you may feel that these issues are not severe at all, and those fighting for them are dumb. I was told that the national system is not fair towards the citizens in the country; the relationships between the races in this country are complex. I never actually felt the differences and found that those in opposition who criticised the government were exaggerating until I furthered my studies at the matriculation college and the public university. While I always try to avoid attributing the reasons to the races when it comes to disputes that involve different ethnicities or people with different ideals, the reality always hit me hard. I still remember my disappointment towards the country when I found out that our country limited the applicants for the Commonwealth Scholarships to public servants only; the majority of public servants are often comprised of a particular ethnic origin only.

The grass is always greener on the other side. As I gradually felt helpless with the country's situation, my thoughts of moving overseas, be it studying or working abroad, grew stronger. Looking at the western countries, the younger me envied the equality and justice they uphold, their excellent education system, and how advanced the countries are. The hot weather all year round here also made me want to escape from this huge oven to the seasonal countries. Even though I start to appreciate the climate here, I still cannot understand why westerners would prefer to spend their winter, or even retire here; I will prefer to wrap myself with many layers of clothing and enjoy the biting cold wind rather than sweating every day and feeling breathless in the hot weather.

Of course, things are easier said than done. Studying or working overseas is not an easy goal to be achieved, especially for those who don’t have a strong financial background. I surrendered to the reality that I do not have the financial capabilities to move overseas, and settled down in a state where I find a haven in this chaotic country.

Changes in mentality are sometimes instantaneous. It was a usual Saturday when the washing machine finished its job and it was my turn to hang dry the clothes. The morning sun was scorching as it always be, but the cool breeze compensated for the heat. It suddenly came to my mind that I would surely miss the sun-dried clothes if I were living in the UK. I can only rely on the dryer to dry my clothes most of the time in a seasonal country. The clothes that cannot be dried using a dryer will surely annoy me as it may take days to be hung dry given the relatively cooler season in the UK. As I walked back into my house through my little garden, it hit me that to do gardening according to different seasons will definitely irritate the impatient me.

Not to mention, every country has its own political issues. While Malaysia had three prime ministers within a few years, the same occurred in the UK too. The frequency of strikes occurring in the UK is increasing. Even our neighbour, Singapore, is facing land scarcity problems which led to unreasonable housing prices. No country is perfect.

Understanding all these realities, I eventually found that living in Malaysia is not as bad as it seemed. We have plenty of land and natural resources with no natural disasters. The climate is stable, and gardening can be done year-round. Of course, inequalities and injustices still exist, but we, as citizens, should play our part to improve the situation. Instead of avoiding the problem and immigrating, I can do my best to make this reality closer to my dream. 

This is one of the writing exercises I did in an English writing session.