West Coast dreams

Something has been bothering me a lot recently and has taken up a lot of my limited thinking space: the aching feeling that I could/should be somewhere else instead of where I am now, driving down the same highway day after day. 

After some introspecting, as usual, I think that feeling is caused by the leaving of many others to new places, places I'd rather be in and places that I think that I "belong" in. 

As a young Malaysian, I am programmed to think by some of my peers and elders that in order to seek better opportunities, I should "get out" of Malaysia. The perception that the grass is greener on the other side is something that was instilled into my mind while growing up, and I am glad to say that I am starting to grow out of it. 

As much as it sounds like I'm promoting it, AIESEC has a lot to do with my mental growth. I believe that if we want to change the world, we should start in our own backyard. Why complain that your lawn is uglier than your neighbour's if you don't even bother to mow it?

When volunteering at the temple on weekends where I teach Tamil kids Mandarin literature (absurd, I know but my qualms about this system has no place on this blog), I feel the sense of urgency and importance of their education competency. The oldest of the kids is 10 years old, she can barely speak Malay let alone English, and I am supposed to make them recite da xue by memory. I am very worried for their future, but there is only so much I can do right now. 

One of the four blocks of PPR Kota Damansara

The Urban Mapper Project (THUMP), is the most recent project that I am working on along with my awesome team. A collaboration with #BetterCities and the Staff Association of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, THUMP is a cultural mapping project that will be done in Project Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) Kota Damansara in order to understand the issues affecting their lifestyles and this time, our target is children and their health. As much as I am nervous for the start of the project, I am also hoping that it will help eradicate my doubts about choosing to stay in Malaysia while strengthening the reasons why I chose to serve this cause.  

I don't know where this post is going, as my train of thought is only as long as my attention span (which isn't very long to begin with), but to answer my own negative feelings, I would say that this is nothing but a yearning for a change of scenery and perspective and I have much to be thankful for.