Travelling on the KL-Seremban highway earlier today sparked a beautiful memory. It was the recollection of a transition in my life.
“How long ago was it that we’ve moved down from Penang”, I asked my dad casually. His reply was, “well, we moved down in ‘95”
About a decade ago, moving down to KL from Penang was both a scary and hopeful experience at the same time.
Penang was a small island town at that time. Development was crawling slowly like a snail and it was indeed laid back. Everything seemed as if it were connected in some way, just like all small towns, though Penang isn’t all that small today but compared to the magnitude of KL, Penang is still way smaller. Drivers tend to just make a U-turn whenever they wish, or when they’ve missed a turn. Well, it still happens today and Penang drivers have quite a reputation but what I mean is that Penang as that time was slow moving, easy going and not congested compared to KL.
From where I was, in Penang, I always had a picture in my mind that KL is the land of dreams, the America within Malaysia, where all the glamorous people are, where it is modern, where all the “good” things happen, where dreams can come true, where highways are like multi-storey buildings overlapping each other, where sky scrappers are a norm, everyone had a fulfilled life and there was no poverty. Well, that was a decade ago. I was naïve.
The scary part about the move was that we were moving to an unknown land. Though I’ve visited KL many times in my childhood, I never really remembered the trips. Changes always stir up a little hesitation and unwillingness to make that move, but it was something we had to do as my dad was offered a job here in KL. Leaving your whole life behind, your friends, your school, your teachers, your family, the beach and the security of knowing your hometown so familiarly wasn’t easy at all. I thought that Penang was all there is and there was no need to move. Things that can happen elsewhere may not happen in Penang but it didn’t quite matter. Again, that was a decade ago. I was naïve.
Then came the hopeful part. In my imagination, I thought that it’ll be great here with loads of video games to play, plenty of places to visit, all the modern things to see, heaps of things to do, and due to all this modernization, the toys was bound to be a billion times better. I thought there were great things to see, like those that you’d see in the movies. That was a decade ago. I was naïve.
As I look back now, I realised that the entire journey was nothing but amazing. God had brought me all the way here, this far for a reason. Things would have never been the same if I didn’t make that move. So many questions will spark. Would I ever have picked up the guitar? Would I ever sing? Would I ever have the chance to play all these amazing shows and meet such great people along the way? Would Broken Scar ever exist? Most importantly, would I ever have known Jesus the way I have now? The list will keep going on and on. I doubt I’d be the person I am today. Everything happens for a reason.
Though things seem difficult and tough at that specific place and time, it actually never is too difficult because when you finally look back one day, you will resolve to the same conclusion. It was all meant to be.
I also recall the times before I started driving, the times I actually passed my driving test, the times I got lost all over KL, the times where the entire Selangor seemed like a huge maze, and all those amazing drives and trips all over the place. It seemed difficult then, not knowing where I was going, getting lost all the time, never remembering the correct roads and routes to get to somewhere, it was scary and exciting at the same time but now, it seems like all those memories are behind me as I’ve gotten accustomed to how things work here in KL. There are many places I still don’t know how to get to because development is never ending, but it’s alright.
Today, I still go through the same fears whenever I’m faced with changes. However, this time I’m armed with God always with me, I still keep the boy inside alive and live these memories to remind myself that it is never too difficult and things can only be exciting and scary at the same time, but it is alright.
Ten years has passed. I still remain a Penang boy, proud of my roots and the journey I’ve embarked on.
heheh somehow.. I knew you were a penang boy!
^_^