I was drain out of idea on what to write actually until my sister told me something about one of her friend whom I personally knew too.
Let's name him L.
L came from a medium income household whereby he's the eldest among 3 of his siblings. L is a top scorer in UPSR, PMR, SPM and A-Levels which ultimately got him a placeto do medical studies with Dianah under Manipal Medical College.
I first met L during a briefing session for all selected students prior to their departure to Mangalore. It was in 2014. He was alone eating the food from the buffet that Manipal provided while sitting under a tree next to us. I asked my mum to approach him, asking where is he from and how does he traveled to Melaka. We even asked him if he was funded by any government body. ' My dad pays for the fee', he replied.
'I took the midnite bus from Sungai Petani and reached here around 5am'
We asked why didn't his parents tag along? He didn't want his family to go through the hassle of having to drive him all the way there. I was impressed. So does my mum. We asked what he did at 5am while waiting for the briefing to start at 9.
'I took the cab here. Clean myself up in the toilet and slept on the chair'
Such a brave kid, I told myself. Very determine. L even told us that he has been working hard for this day and he's happy that he made it. We volunteered to send him to the bus station 3 hours before his departure as we had to go somewhere else. L doesn't talk much but he's pretty decent and independent for his age. He takes care of the household and a dog. His dad is always busy, he said and that his dad is the only sole bread winner of the house. Just like my dad.
Fast forward to last weekend.
Dianah texted me that L had left the college and he departed to Malaysia, 9.30am local time. I was surprised. L's dad was diagnosed with cancer but we're unsure which stage. The fact that his dad was ill and he had mild depression, was a big blow for him that he decided to just leave. L told Dianah that he could not take the stress that medical school had caused him. It was too much for him to handle.
When I first met L, he portray himself as a strong and determine individual. He don't look like someone who give up easily. But you know, human has its breaking point and perhaps that was what happened to him. Dianah said, all he cares throughout his tenant in college was reading books and study. I guess he values his hard work throughout the years and he values that his dad had to work hard to pay for his education.
After listening to this story, I told myself how grateful I was to have such a great moral support and that life be really hard at any point of time.
I felt pity towards L. I'd wish if I had a million dollars in cash, I would gave him some so that he can continue his studies without having to worry if his dad can afford to pay for his fee or not. But I admired his sacrifice. Perhaps he thinks, what's more important now is his dad.
This story also made me aware that I have to be grateful that God has bestowed good health to my father so that he can earn a living for the family. Because of this, me and Dianah has had good educational support.
Dear L,
I wish nothing but the best to you. Although out meeting is just a short one. It gave us enough time to remember your soft spoken voice. May God protect you and your family and may everything goes back as how it was during the happy times.
