of oldies and and the gap

soon SPM ends and this marks the starting of the ending of school life for a whole new set of kids. this will most probably be the last time many of them will wear their uniform either with heads held up high or with sheer glee that soon they can discard it off. to those who worked hard all these times, and to those who did not, may the force be with you. do well and make everyone proud.

i still remember my SPM experience. i was a science stream student, and during my time, i was the second last batch that did the science and mathematics in malay language, so we had an extra subject called est, which stands for english for science and maths. so we had 10 subjects to study for. not enough with that, because my dear dear sister took  principles of accountings as an extra subject, i was forced by my  parents to take it up too. so the total count is 11.  those were the days. being a fifth former + prefect, with tuition only for my extra subject and another weekend classes that was more of a motivation, rather than a tuition class, i somehow pulled myself miraculously to achieve a very good grade. but the the process of it, well thats another story.

a story which i see my cousin brother go through again, for he is in the hot seat now. stress and pressure from parents. a whole mountain of it. form 5, a kid will be 17 years old, in the brink of young adulthood, with the hormones raging, and mind wondering, and a period where curiosity kills more than a cat, considering one has nine lives, thats something. personally, that was the time i found my self, who i am truly, what made me, well me and i came to realize the what i can do to make an impact on the society.

on a wondering note, the phrase let them do their mistakes is a bit under appreciated. generally no one likes making a mistake unless you are psychotic lunatic with a a twisted childhood, chances are anyone will avoid making one. why this notion? life should have bends and bumps and choices between the path less trodden rather than a straight long road. it gets boring. this raises another million dollar question, which mistakes are acceptable and which isn't? as weird as it sounds, some mistakes are actually builds character  and some deeds which are deemed as appropriate and all the sugar and spice well just destroys a persons character.

so parents, instead of just pushing your kids to be another miniature you character wise, give them space to well have sense of identity, but guide when they slide a tad too far from reality. after all a cut diamond is far more worth then a raw one. so let them have their bruises and downfall, but at the same time don't think whatever they do will lead to a downfall just because it was not the way it was done in your times.

kids nowadays have more at stake then those who grew up in the rocking seventies. peer pressure is way more evident now and hell yeah it starts more early then you could say boo. so give them what they deserve, a sense of respect, a sense of pride, a sense of trust, a sense of responsibility, but be there to knock some common sense when they get carried away. now how to draw the line to start knocking sense? that my parents, is your call to find out. bon voyage!