By Fatin Yahprung
Life could be interjected. You have to do the job that you don’t even want to do; just to make it through the day, challenging what you are unfamiliar with, aside from your dream, through a myriad of reasons.
It’s okay if it takes time before you find out what your dream is, yet it is also the sign for you to go out of your comfort zone in pursuit of your goal.
Fatin Yahprang, a third-year Thai student is trying to chase her dream to find out what she is really special for the thing that she would love to be.
One night she was in bed at 3 am. thinking of what she was saying to her mum when she was young.
“When I grow up mom, I will be a good journalist who shares the knowledge and stories with many people and inspire them,” a twelve-year old girl said to her mom with eyes sparkling with an ambition that she hoped will come true.
A girl who loves art, drawing and writing, Fatin obviously has a vision. With her small body yet unmatchable compared with her big aspiration, and a friendly heart that bounces to receive support from her friend and family.
Fatin was born in England. A few months later, for some reasons, she was brought back to Thailand where she was then raised there, and that is when her father started to have a lot of expectations on her.
Even though she is second of the five siblings, Fatin is the child that her father has the most expectation. Is it because she was born in England? The answer is ‘yes’. It is the reason that her father had told her all the time.
She started her primary and secondary schooling in English. She began to have more passion for English subjects, whether it was speaking, writing, or listening. She found that the writing of any kind like sharing of experience, story or knowledge, was really fun. This had helped her to get to know herself better. That was when she started talking about her dream to her mom.
However, her intention was disrupted. Her family faced financial problems, that made her to do something else. Circumstances had forced Fatin to move to the government school where she experienced new people and a new life. Her passion for English subjects and writing has somewhat dwindled.
In making her point clearer, Fatin said that the schools under the control of the Thai government tend to focus more on science and mathematics than the English language. More than that, the main language in Thailand is Thai which people use in most conversations. This is one of the obstacles she faced in trying to improve her English because she did not have much opportunity to practise the language.
At the age of 18, Fatin went to study mathematics as her major in a college because her father wanted her to be an accountant. So, most of her subjects were maths-based.
Fatin started to feel overwhelmed as she was burdened with everything on her shoulder while the stuff was not the thing that she love to do. Her thought kept repeating until a question came to her mind, “Is this what I am really meant to be, or is it just because of the situation that brings me here, and should I start chasing my own dream?”
Fatin’s memory suddenly popped up in her mind. The scene was when she was once young, standing with her dad, travelling with him, carrying a small notebook in her hand that her dad gave her. “Write whatever you find it in a notebook, it will help you one day,” said her dad.
She remembers how creative she was once when she was young, how much she liked to read and write. Sadly, everything had been faded.
Back through the day before she sat for the exam to gain entrance to the university, with her thinking every night of how she really had a dream and wanted that to come true. She used to have a passion for writing which was at the bottom of her mind all the time.
The biggest thing that changed her life was at the age of 19 when every teenager had to choose what they wanted to do in pursuing university education and in defining the future.
She was standing in front of the office of the university’s counsellor filled with anxiety and hesitation. However, that could not be the reason that could stop her from chasing her dream. Finally, she made up her own mind to become a journalist one day when she chose to come to Malaysia to continue her undergraduate studies in IIUM.
Undeniably, studying in Malaysia was not easy for her as she has stopped learning and practicing the English language many years ago. Now, it is a real challenge for her. “It’s like you have to start from zero again,” she said.
She started to practise English again on her own although it was very hard to catch up with what she had lost.
Fatin had a chance to practise her own writing as a journalist and to further understand her level of writing when she took journalism genre which paved the way for her to improve her skills in feature writing this semester.
Through her practice and understanding feature writing, she said that to be a good writer, she must trust her guts, as well as to express herself from the bottom of her heart. She must do it through both awareness and knowledge. Eventually, she believes that she will succeed.
However, she said that one of her biggest challenge is her grammar which makes her confused most of the time. But she promised to herself she will continue to practise her reading and writing and to show her commitment to journalism subjects.
Most books that she had read are non-fiction which had benefited her in terms of the variety of knowledge. These are “Things fall apart” by Chinua Achebe and “Self-awareness: the highest driver of success and satisfaction” by Travis Bradberry. Other than that she follows news on Thai websites, Thai Rath and Daily News.
“You can wish and set an intention, but you need to take action to make your dream happened, not only thinking about it, but to make it come true by regularly practicing it.
And you must believe in yourself. It is sometimes tempting to be cold-hearted in chasing your ambition, but the strength of your intention and hard work will pave the way to achieve what she has set herself to be,” Fatin said in wrapping up the interview.
Fatin is confident that one day she will be able to succeed, and she would always encourage everyone to keep up with their dream to make it happen. ***
(This article is written as part of individual assignment series for Feature Writing class)