hey guys, i'm back again with my unstoppable top 5 series lol i tried brainstorming on topics that i should cover or blog about but somehow i always end up with the top 5 series. i think because it's much easier for me to elaborate? but i'll try to vary my posts sooner or later.
people say that a picture is worth a thousand words. i went to my phone's gallery, scrolled up and down to look at the pictures i took. wow a picture does worth a thousand words. so, in this post i'd like to share the top 5 pictures that stir my emotion, recall my memories, and speak a thousand words to me.
from left: the cheerful one, the kind one, me and the one who walked away
wow. just looking at this picture brings back a lot of memories. some background on this photo. this picture was taken at malacca in 2014, around jun, if i'm not mistaken. it was our short getaway to malacca as Nancy (the cheerful one) is a malacca's local. the five of us (plus the eldest sis' of the cheerful one) went to ride the taming sari tower. taming sari tower is a revolving gyro tower in malacca city (you should plan to go and ride the tower if you're going to have vacation in malacca :) the taming sari tower will rise from the ground by revolving until it reaches the highest point of the tower and continue to revolve for like 7 minutes before descending back to the ground. it was late evening when we went for the right, so for 7 minutes at the top, we could see the whole city of malacca. with all the lights from buildings, cars and all, the view was breathtakingly beautiful. this picture speaks thousand words to me about the friendship of the four of us back then. i've told you guys about my broken friendship and that one friend who walked away. this picture was taken before the second cold war broke. we were still good friends in this picture and we had fun time at that moment. but time passes and people change. thankfully, the memories stay the same.
(mom, dad and me! this was taken during my graduation day :D )
i graduated from university on 22 of november 2014. it was a saturday. we took this picture as we waited for the announcement to enter the graduation hall. never in my life i thought that i would be able to graduate from a university. when i was a kid, i always thought that going to universities are only for the rich kids or the geniuses. but as i wore that graduation robe and that academic hat that morning, i realized that it was really happening. i was really graduating. it marked another important event in my life timeline. i couldn't possibly do so if it wasn't for these two people. these two people were the people who made it possible to me to further my studies to in a local university. i really hope that this graduation of mine had made them feel comforted inside and proud of me at the same time. my graduation couldn't repay all of their blood, sweats and tears but it was the least i could do for them. i promised myself that i will continue to make them proud in the future. maybe not with achievements or wealth, but with my faithfulness towards God. and as i look at my smiling face in the picture, i remember exactly what i was thinking to myself that time. all the tears and efforts for these past four years are finally paid off. well done. i'm so proud of you.
(me with my most precious fav people in the world!)
this photo was taken on 27 of november 2014, 5 days after my graduation. my whole family went to a famous seafood restaurant to celebrate three events. one, my graduation. two, my father's (he's the one in stripes) birthday and three, my youngest sister's birthday (she's the one in red dress). i think mom and dad have this unspoken tradition (i don't know how to word it lol) which started like few years ago. we always go out to eat (our parents will decide the day) whenever all the seven of us are gathered together (why does this sound like collecting the dragon balls? lol xD ) it's kind of hard for everyone in the family to gather together (especially me and my older sister because we're living away from our family for now). so, whenever the number is completed, our parents will take us out to eat nice food. maybe the five of us are all grown-ups now but in the eyes of our parents, we are the ever growing kids so they still need to feed us with good food lol. though nice food is enjoyable, the time spent with my family is much much more enjoyable and precious. i can't wait until the next time we'll go out to eat with the perfect number 7 again.
(a church brother talking to a terminally-ill church sister)
this picture was taken on 27 of march 2016. just looking at this picture breaks my heart. i took this picture as a few church members and i visited this terminally-ill sister. she suffered from final stage of cancer. she suffered from a breast cancer few years back, underwent a surgery to remove both of her breasts and eventually survived it. but early this year, the cancer cells were back for worst. they invaded her brain. the cancer pained her so much she couldn't anything properly. she even had seizures and diarrhea. i can't imagine the pain she needed to endure everyday. she went in and out the hospital nearly every week if not everyday. during all the painful times, her husband stayed by her side. and throughout the sufferings, though engulfed with sorrow, she and her husband never complained against God. instead, they prayed and sang praises to God. by witnessing their situation, i was so edified in my faith and reflected on myself. sometimes even with trivial pains, i was murmuring and asking 'why does this need happen to me?'. now, i'm trying to be calm in everything and accept the things that happen to me in my life for God has His own plans that are not understandable by humans. in the morning of 15th may 2016, this faithful sister was called back by God. no more pains, no more sufferings. just eternal rest with God.
(mom looking at late maternal grandma's grave)
on 7 of may 2015, while i was working, i received devastating news when my dad called me on my phone.
"Maternal grandma has passed away."
my brain processed the news so fast i burst into tears in no time. i knew she was unwell and was just discharged from hospital few weeks ago that time. but how do you properly handle heartbreaking news like this? i wasn't mentally prepared. do you know that kind of crying where you just sit there crying so hard without a sound because you're just so devastated inside? i cried just like that in a corner of my workplace. our family and relatives decided to bury her on the next day's afternoon, so without any more thought, i bought last minute airplane ticket to go back to my hometown to pay her my last respect. in the morning of 8th may, i flew back and reached my hometown just in time for her memorial service. the atmosphere was so gloomy as i entered late grandma's house. i went to see her in the coffin. she looked so calm. it was as if she was in a deep sleep. it might be because i cried so much on the previous day, i didn't even shed a tear when i saw her in that coffin. i was smiling at her instead. i'll miss you terribly but i'm happy that you're not in pain anymore. the memorial service ended and still i didn't cry. we proceeded to go to the cemetery for the burial. when she was still alive, late grandma had requested for her body to be buried beside her father's grave when she's gone. the family did as requested. the male relatives lowered the coffin onto the dug ground. the family and relatives took turns to pick a handful of the ground threw it on top of late grandma's coffin before the male relatives used shovels to cover the coffin with ground completely. mom was sitting on the ground and gazed longingly at late grandma's grave with tearful eyes. and i couldn't help myself but to take a picture of it to remind me that all living being must face death. no one can escape from it. someday, i might be the one staring at my mom's grave. or maybe she'll be staring at my grave. either way, death is a must and people will be left crying over the lost of their loved ones. one by one of the relatives started leaving the cemetery and i was the last one to move. finally, i choked and teared up as i stared at late grandma's grave and said, 'i'll see you again, grandma. bye for now.'
p/s: this post is kind of depressing lol i need a good cry and i need to write something less sad in the future lol
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