A whole new world

On my desk at home, there's a little Google Nest Hub device on Photo Frame mode which displays a selection of photos of my family members. From my bachelor days, till the time the kids were born, through major milestones in their lives. Amongst them is a picture of a scrawny little boy at a playground, grinning on a slide with his little sister in tow. If you tell me one day that little boy is going to be getting a scholarship and doing a degree in the United States, I may find it hard to believe. But just last week, I bawled my eyes out saying goodbye to him at the KLIA airport for exactly that.

I always knew Adam was good academically, ever since he was in primary school, earning top grades in class. During his UPSR exam however, he only got 5As out of 6 subject and understandably he was distraught. There goes his chance of getting into a good boarding school. But as fate would have it, he somehow got into a proper and good boarding school. One at the north of the state, some one hour drive from our Casa Riana home. Never been apart from the family, Adam surprisingly adapted to life in boarding school pretty quickly. The fact that he gets to go home every other week also helps. Linda and I also played our part, visiting him at school whenever we can or every time he called us.

Time flies and before you know it, Adam was sitting for his PT3 exam during form 3. Despite his best efforts, Adam did not manage to get his target of straight As (a solitary B I think). That itself was quite an achievement but knowing Adam, he will not settle for second best. Don't worry too much about it I said to him. You still have two years ahead to get good results in your SPM exams. Fast forward two years later, we did not know what his result was until his name was called on stage for getting straight As. We were all elated of course. We knew he would do well but had no idea he'll got all 10 As.

That result along with his prowess in the debate team and other extra curricular activities opened up an assortment of opportunities in term of scholarship offers. We encouraged Adam to apply to almost every scholarship available. He did all the hard work of writing the application essays, video essays and attending interviews after interviews tirelessly. In the end, for all his hard work, he was offered a JPA scholarship with a chance to further his studies in South Korea. We were sure glad for that golden opportunity but to our surprise, only a week later, Adam was offered another, even better scholarship by a statutory body of the government of Malaysia. Alhamdulillah.

Needless to say, we accepted the better offer and Adam was given the option to do his A-Levels at either Sunway College or Kolej Tuanku Jaafar. Thinking a boarding school near to home was the better option, we encouraged Adam to pick them and he did. Studying at KTJ, a private school is a whole new experience for Adam. The facilities and resources were on a different level from regular government school and we constantly reminded Adam to make good use of the opportunity provided. Before he could continue his degree at a university of choice in either the U.K or U.S, he still need to get at least 3 As from 4 A-Level subjects. Knowing A-Level exams, I'm fully aware they're definitely not a walk in the park.

Before you know it, two years flew by just like that. Adam really enjoyed his time at KTJ, judging by the activities, dinners and parties that he attended. I should know how fun it can be at a private school since I've been working at one for the last 11 years. Still, Adam has a really important exam that he's got to ace and after he's finished with that, we had a nervous two months to wait before he got his results. It's not that we don't believe in Adam but in the small chance that he does not get the required As, we'll have to pay back all the financial assistance that was given to Adam since starting upper sixth in full. Trust me, it's a lot.

Adam applied for a few universities in the U.K and in the U.S. His dream college was the one in New York, an ivy league school that I shall not name for now. We didn't put much hope about Adam getting into that school and maybe they were impressed by his admission essay but to everyone's surprised he received an unconditional offer into that very school for the fall admission date. We were ecstatic of course, especially so Adam because he actually got into his college of choice.

Adam already got one As for Physics but the rest of the result would not come out until 2 days prior to his departure. Regardless, we still need to prepare for his departure and spent thousands of our own money for the purpose. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family and friends for their emotional and financial support for Adam and us. They were simply so generous and kind. How could I ever repay them back.

T-2 days before departure. We just finished changing some ringgit for dollars at the PKNS mall. It was 1:00PM, the time two A-Level results were supposed to come out. We urged Adam to check them on his phone. Much to our relief, he bagged one A* and another A for his Computer Science and Maths papers. That's his sponsorship guaranteed. Alhamdulillah again.

We left for the Kuala Lumpur International airport Terminal 1 at 3:30AM that somber Wednesday morning with two luggage full of stuff. Asif came along, obviously. My mom was there, along with Linda's parent, my uncle and my cousin from Kota Damansara and also Linda's sister and her husband. We got to the airport to be greeted by about a dozen of Adam's friends from SM Sains Hulu Selangor and KTJ. They took a lot of effort to show up that morning, some drove straight from work and some event rented an Airbnb nearby for the purpose. Good friends like that are hard to find. I hope Adam will remember that and never lose contact.

After the baggages were dropped and check-ins were settled, Adam spent the last few minutes of his time here hanging out with his friends. I know I wished he would spend his time with us, his family instead but I don't want to intrude. His friends did made all that effort to be there that morning so they fully deserved it. When it's time to actually go, we exchanged long hugs and there were not a dry eye in sight. Linda and I especially bawled our eyes out while hugging and saying our goodbyes to Adam. Although he did not show it but Adam said he's scared of going to a whole new place all by himself. It is indeed his first time out of the country without his family. Previously I've been planning all our trips for the family and he just tags along.

After all the tears were shed, Adam walked pass immigration and into the boarding area without any untoward incident. We went our own ways and Linda and I back home. Maybe it was because a lot of people cried but I felt this pang of immense sadness, something I have not felt since my father died many years ago. Linda was even worse, anything she sees that reminds her of Adam made her cry spontaneously. You must understand that this is the first time we are apart from our very own children. And by 14,976 kilometers away too mind you.

Adam was very lucky to have some Malaysian seniors at the university putting him up to stay a few days before starting college. The newly wed couple even brought him around town for sight-seeing and even some shopping. Now that Adam had actually checked in to college, we still miss him and worry about him every single day. Yes, I know we can chat or Facetime him any time but we still worry for him for this next few months at least until he truly fully settle down.

I hope that Adam can quickly adapt to the changes and challenges that he will face in a foreign land far-far away. I know it won't be easy at first, especially without your family or friends to help but I'm confident you will raise to the challenge like you always do. I know that you are a strong, independent and driven young man who will not easily give up. I pray that your four years in New York will end up with that precious computer science degree and then you will be happily reunited with your family (and friends).

Final words. This is your time Adam. Time for new adventures, new experiences and new lessons in life. Make new friends, learn new things, travel far and wide if you can. Here's to a new chapter in your life. Here's to whole new world and new adventures. Remember that you will be in our thoughts and our prayers, always.