Filed under: Past Memories
13th January 2008
I often enjoy confessing how atrocious my English used to be when I was young. The bottom line is I have never given up trying. This silent transformation has definitely made me a more polished speaker and writer in today’s context.
Granted, I may not sweep you off your feet through my speech and words. However, I am sufficiently satisfied as long as I could be understood. This has since allowed me to express myself better through personal stories in my life and who knows, it may spark a new inspiration or motivation to someone out there. Most importantly, translating my thoughts and feelings into words puts me into fresh perspectives about myself and my life.
I would like to attribute words as the the mirror in my life which seldom lies. Subconsciously, I tend to be brutally honest with myself. Maybe it is because of this lack in deception which makes everything so beautiful, something which I regarded as a form of art. Art is an imperfection punctuated with flaws. Ironically, it turns out to be picturesque.
Come to think about it, I have really come a long way…
It puts me off when I observed my nephew’s act of nonchalance in attempting a set of vocabulary paper (multiple choice). Almost a decade ago, I was similarly that confused school kid with no clue on the bank of bombastic words. Instead of trying my luck through the game of probability, I adopted the labourious approach. I spent hours rummaging through pages of Cambridge English dictionary in search of the correct definition to each word. Assuming there are 10 questions on each page with a total of 10 pages. It would overall form an intimidation consisting 400 words.
I could still vividly recall how badly I wanted to furnish my language in composition writing. Taking the advice of an English teacher, I diligently referred to a synonym table in a bid to diversify my choice of vocabularies used in an essay. It turned out to be a complete disaster! Below is a sample to assist in your figment of imagination.
The policeman constable chase after the girl… Thereafter, policeman constable questioned the thief…The policeman constable then praised Mary….
The worst part about being young and naive was when I really believed that I have done an excellent job. Besides being overly ecstatic to submit the masterpiece, I could not have been more eager to receive the graded assignment.
Now, you could imagine the crestfallen expression on my face emphasized with a tinge of sadness. This was exactly the feeling I have experienced umpteen times over a couple of years. It is the process of slipping and climbing consecutively and not allowing moments of weaknesses to overcome you at the same time.
Did I mention I was a very creative writer too? However, overflowing with too much creative juices was not to my advantage either during high school days. Frankly speaking, I could not remember the number of times I have been marked Out of Point for my essays. My highly creative stories include going on a date when a blackout occurred, meeting a fatal accident after buying a carton of orange juice…and many more.
Having an eager and excited personality did not assist me in writing as well. This is what happen when I started writing and end up losing the brake to stop.
David was very happy to receive his birthday present which he thought was the most amazing gift bought by his girlfriend who was a pretty and petite lady dressed in a stunning blouse and skirt at his memorable 18th birthday bash which was held in his new apartment, situated in Siglap Bank.
Phew! It definitely makes a full stop seemed so much more sacred now. The erroneous run on!
It is true. I think I was too ambitious for my own good then. My weak foundation in English obviously did not allow me to handle long and more sophisticated sentences. Attempts in furnishing one led to a painful torture to sight of the readers.
With assistance from a truly amazing English teacher, I have been coerced and convinced into starting humble and simple with my sentences. It worked! As I slowly progressed, I am beginning to find it a breeze and most importantly, a joy in writing!
I have never really fathom how these baby steps could bring me so far in life today. From morbid apprehension to sheer passion, it is indeed a positive transformation for me. Moral of the day: Never give up nor underestimate your true own capacity because your intrinsic value is definitely highly than what you believe in.
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