that cliched 2010 post : #1 SPM Results

yes, i know this is 21 days too late, but what the hell. there's always time to stare at the little details on the wall and reflect on everything you did on the past 365 days. so i present to you the 5 things that happened in 2010, in no particular order :

1. i received my SPM results.
nothing beats the sweaty, clammy feel of your hands when you stand in the school hall together with the group of people you grow up with, anxiously waiting for THAT piece of paper that has been given the too-heavy responsibility of deciding your future. and it doesn't really help that as you move silently closer to the front of the line, a variety of expressions and bursts of emotion happen all around you. there are people crying tears of joy, people immediately reaching for the comfort of their family, sobbing their eyes out. and some people just took theirs all too calmly, and exit the hall for a private moment with their feelings.

to say that i OVER-estimated the importance of SPM is an understatement. i put so much effort and so much hope in SPM that i failed to see that there is something AFTER SPM. i always thought that my life would turn out the way i want to - work hard, aim high, get rewarded - if i work hard enough.
i did receive the reward that i wanted, but of course, life isn't such a crowd-pleaser - only a handful manage to reach that dream of theirs and held on tight so that they don't lose grip on that shiny trophy. i managed to brush my fingers at the trophy, but i willed myself to let go, because up-close, the trophy didn't seem all nice and shiny as it seemed from afar.