No Expectations.
16th March 2013
Wouldn't we all love to migrate to a world where we didn't need to
meet demands after never-ending demands? This is a practical society in which we live in and have grown used to.
Generations after generations of people have it drilled into their
minds that practicality is key, above all else. If expectations were
to cease their domination over everybody for just a day, what would
you do? There's so much I can think off the top of my head already!
Travel.
I'm sure lots of people have had 'Travel The World' as their resolutions at some point in their lives. When I
was young, I always watched those TV dramas where couples grew old together, passed their family businesses to their grown-up children and embark on round-the-world tours. With shining eyes, I
wondered to myself how long it would have taken them to fly around the entire globe. The wanderlust bug frequently comes knocking on my door, and honestly, if time
and money weren't such pressing issues, I would book an air
ticket, and assume the persona of a crazy enthusiastic tourist in a completely foreign place for as long as I want to with no reservations. I will climb mountains even though I'm terribly unfit, just
because I want to see gorgeous views of entire cities and villages and just so I can feel like I am on top of the world. I will work in
lush green fields and rice paddies for free, just because I want to
smell fresh grass and flora, and interact with workers I
don't have any chance to see in concrete jungle Singapore. I want to
experience what it feels like to grow and eat your own
food, and to feel satisfaction no matter how tiring it will be. Thank God for all these farmers in the world, who work
under the scorching sun everyday to provide not only for themselves,
but for the rest of the world. I will jump off a waterfall, go para-sailing ride horses through vast fields and laugh at their manes swinging wildly in the evening breezes, just because I can. And then some day, I might
just settle down in a sleepy small village and take root there. Experiencing a completely different way of life is something not everyone can or wants to
throw themselves into, but why hold back until we grow old and are retired before we entitle ourselves to the beauty that the globe has to offer? The world is that big, and we are only this small. If it takes the span of a lifetime to find that genuine happiness that is described in novels, then bring it on, anytime.
Write.
Whenever I tell people my dream is to become a writer, more often
than not I receive weird responses from them. They either throw bewildered looks in my direction or they just go all silent. So many
people tell me that it is simply not feasible to be a writer in a result-oriented society.
'Writing won't bring you money. Don't
make it your main job, you can do it on the side as a hobby. Etc
etc'. I know where all these comments are coming from, because I know
that writing is hardly a profession that brings with it fame and riches. Writers/artists on TV are
always depicted as people who are constantly in need of money, cannot
put food on the table, are weird characters that spend their day
bumming around, or are depressed people. I love writing, and I know
that someday when I have the means to, I will spend everyday writing about anything and everything, I will publish as many books as I want to, and I'll buy those rainbow-colored pens and notepads I loved as a kid just so I can feel happy filling up page after page with the written word. And all these alone are more than enough to reflect the beauty that writing can
bring. No wonder writers are genuinely happy and love what they do completely, even if they aren't the
most materialistically rich people on the face of this earth.
Love.
More often than not, we are so busy trying to squeeze appointment
after appointment in our small planners and calendars, we crowd out the people who matter most; our friends and family. I
too, am absolutely guilty of that, and many a time, I have struck out
friends' names on the calendar just to make that bit of space for some
essay I'm rushing to submit. We don't think much of it,
but sometimes just one stand-up can mean a whole lot to someone else. If I
had all the time in the world, the first thing I would do is to write
down the names of everybody I know on a piece of paper and then make concrete plans to meet up with every single person on the list. We would sit in cozy cafes, sipping teas and
juices, eating super nice smelling and delicious cakes and cookies,
and talk about everything
under the sun, just because we have all the time in the world to
listen and laugh with each other. I would
bring my parents on excursions to the Zoo and Birdpark and Gardens by the Bay, just
so that we can act as tourists and not be worried about work and deadlines. We would take pictures of all
the animals, laugh at Kaikai and Jiajia because they're just too
adorable, and eat as much ice-cream as we want to make up for Singapore's humid temperature. I'll bring my brother on a shopping spree, and listen to him talk about school and his newest crush (haha) and
poke fun at him the whole day, just because that's what we always do,
and even though we irritate the hell out of each other, we still
enjoy each other's (annoying) company. I would play Maplestory with
my youngest brother, because I have nothing better to do, and for
once, we wouldn't be quarreling, but we would be fighting monsters
together. I would meet all of my dear friends, who have stood by me
and encouraged me when times were rocky. We would spam countless films with the Polaroid, and then I will make a collage with my lousy art skills and paste it on the wall, to remind myself to be
thankful for all the wonderful people in my life everyday. I would have
sleepovers at Mama's house, because she has always been asking me to
do so, but it never materializes because of a lack of time. I would bring her
on holiday because I made her a promise that I would do it someday. Then
we could admire the sunset together, stroll random streets together,
shop together and eat together, and there would be nothing else I'd rather do.
Sometimes, we find ourselves 'loving' our status and
commitments more than we love the people around us. Let us change
that, because ultimately, what matters more?
If there was completely nothing expected of me, I would jump at the
chance, do all the above, and so much more. What would you do?
#30daychallenge
Forgive me, because I wrote this past midnight and I know I may not be consistently coherent throughout this post. Thank you for reading! ^^
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