reset Restart

Throughout most of my life, I’ve never really put myself out to be a prominent person. I’m not the exciting, life-of-the-party sort of guy. An only child, I didn't have much reason to be noisy about annoying siblings and such. Being alone, you learn to appreciate silence, and tend to stay quiet and observe more instead of jumping into things, although I guess that also depends on the kind of person you are.

Even now, living in Malacca I’ve been taken on another journey to make something new out of my life; and being on my own is a default that’s a lot like a video game re-spawn. My friends list (the real one, not the social media contact list) was reset to zero when I first came to Malacca. I did have a contact from KL that would get me connected to a church, but that was it.

Living on my own, driving on my own, eating on my own, watching movies on my own, it sounds like one sad story full circle. That’s what you’d say I guess, and it’s true somewhat. There’s no question I could do with a little more company, but I haven’t found myself depressed about the lack of it. However, life is hardly about keeping to oneself and that's what forces you to discover new things, new people.



I didn't know what to expect when I first stepped into an office completely new to me, but thankfully people have been welcoming and helpful, which has helped me a lot. Still, sometimes the people you meet at work aren't always the same people you'll hang out with on a Friday night. I'm getting along fine with people at work, but it doesn't go beyond the workplace.

Going to a new church, I didn't know what to expect either. Just like a kid who moves to new school, I knew how the place would probably be like, but not the people. I hoped to meet good people that I would feel comfortable with, that would complement my personal values.

A timeless principle that applies to every person is that who you are will be determined by the people you choose to be with, no matter who you are. That's why for me, choosing friends is a big deal, or at least how close I choose to be with them. I don't decide who my friends are based on the criteria of nice-type Christian people. I've got friends of different races, belief systems and the like. I'm not socially prejudiced. That said, I don't hang with drug pushers for the sake of accepting diversity.

After some weeks I started to know some people from church a little better, and its been great that way. Having been in Malacca for less than three months, I'd say it's been a fine start. As I get to know people and as they get to know me, bit by bit I think that there's something good in store for me here. Do I know what it is? Only God knows at this point.

A lot of people from big cities that work in smaller places like Malacca tend to go back every weekend, because there's something good and familiar back home. Like I've told some new Malaccan friends that if I had worked in KL, everything would have been nicely laid out for me. I'd be able to be with my family, able to grow in a church that I love going to, where the entertainment scene is better and I'd even be better off financially. Who cares about rent and utility bills when you're living with your family?

Nonetheless, here I am, working at a place called Sungai Udang that I had no knowledge of in my twenty over years of living on earth. On Fridays, some people in the office ask me, "Going back to KL for the weekend?"

"No, I'll be here. In fact, I don't really plan to go back."

I'll go back once a while to visit my parents, its my duty as a son, but the reason doesn't extend beyond that.There's a simple reason why I've chosen to stay in Malacca although I've been more than teased with the delights of a bigger city, the biggest in the country in fact. Its simply because, I know I'm here for a reason (even if I don't know what it is yet), and I want to stick to finding out what it is without running back to familiarity every other week.

Life brought me here, so that's where I want to be. I want to take it as it is, without running, without hiding. Here's to a new journey of discovery, living life for what it's meant to be.