Billy Hoo: today’s Thoughts, tomorrow’s Reminiscent of yesterday‘s Past

i vow,
For while i’m away i shall remember Thee,
And Thy Smile as i sit under the Autumn’s Tree. 
For I know Thou art with me as i count the Falling Leaves,
And all the Laurels and Vines Thee have grown with me. 
For some i deem We shall let it be,
And shall Time forgive and make it be.
For i shall pray for Thee alike Thee shall pray for me,
And Blessings shall He bestow upon me and Thee.
For if a tomorrow Thee shall need me,
Seek the lines above and below for my Love is first for Thee.

The pieces of words arranged above sum up my Time in UNITEN. Have it not been that fateful call on that particular Saturday morning which my Dad was hesitant to answer at first, I would not be in UNITEN and I would not be sitting by my table on this nostalgic night writing my thoughts here. And I must really say that, for the past two years or so (since I did not fly first year) there is not another place that I would want to be at other than UNITEN. Nay, I do not believe this attachment towards this second home called UNITEN applies on me only, but it also does apply to every single one of you my friends. Keep the memories here in UNITEN and reminisce them like you’re rewinding a tape while you’re in the US, my friends.

Yesterday’s pasts, when one look back at them, he or she shall laugh at the silly things he or she has done. One particular silly-ness that I often laughed at myself when I look back is when I addressed Mdm Faridah as “kak” at the registrar instead of “Mam”or “Puan” and yes I got my first lecture from her on the first day I registered at UNITEN. “Uh-oh”, I told my mum; I got screwed!

UNITEN is like no other. Never had I thought that I would grow so attached to it and most importantly the people in UNITEN. I must say that we students are blessed to have Granddad Pak Ariff , Our mothers Pn Faridah and Ms Gwen and our daddies Mr Chong and Mr Yu Jin  and they are the ones along with many others  that have made UNITEN or particularly IKAL  or CFGS now , a home to all of us. The time we spent together with them along with the memories we shared with them is priceless and more importantly their teachings and words of wisdom passed down to us, we shall never forgo them. Every bit of joy, every bit of laughter and perhaps every bit of anger too (cause sometime I believe we drive them mad), I must say is irreplaceable.  Nonetheless, like they say that there shall be a parting to every meeting ; we may be leaving but I am sure our heart and soul will always be with you guys  (Mr Chong , don’t cry cause I know you’ll have to say bye-bye to your Yang-Yang ,Bing-Bing and Wee-Wee ) .

Miss Gwen especially has been like a mom to me, or in fact she’s like a mum to everyone also, I believe. I for one love the conversations I always share with her on academics, our interest in Marx and especially some of my personal issues. She’s always been there for me and all of us in assisting our university applications and at most time, she helped us at the expense of her own personal time. Such efforts that were given light by the truest of all hearts and the purest of all motivation can only come from our one and only Miss Gwen.

Good times, Ma’am, shall come and pass,
When it clocks the 25^th we shall bid farewell.
Eve, there shall come a day we see and sit again,
N’ that will be the day we laugh and smile again.

Since our first days here in UNITEN many things happened and I must say, scandals, also a lot. Many of these involve our friends around us but there is one perhaps also involve our purpled haired sister and that cute computing mister.  I must say, from an economist point of view, there is a boom of emotions around us. Love is in the air; suddenly this person is with that person and suddenly that person is with this person. Everyone is with someone, and someone is with everyone (lol ).

Practically everyone is an interest to someone, or else, our sister K***** from section 3 would not be gossiping about everyone with any other everyone (Ps. She’s going to Washington, so Seattle, be careful). And yeah, there are even some rumors that tend to be true stories that caught my attention. These beautifully crafted match-made-from-heaven stories come in forms like a miracle moment in Broga Hill or of stars flying in the sky while playing a game of poker or by having french fries as lunch together or even when some guy offer to drive a girl to buy refrigerator. Still, these are the stories worth mentioning over and over again. You’ll never encounter such stories anywhere else.

It is indeed that throughout our time in UNITEN, there are some bad times too.  Altercations among ourselves , bad results , breakups , university rejections , failure to fly first year , BAD SAT results  etc etc but these are often the part and parcel of growing up and these are the experiences that make us better and stronger in the future. Many of us in fact if not all of us have grown a lot since our first day here in UNITEN ; some to the extent of straightening their hair or even some to the extent of getting a curly perm to their hair but yeah some also remain the same strawberry-shortcake as they were when they first come in.

So, like I have mentioned, altercations, there were a few, and some of them, I’m responsible for. Owing to the ego perhaps, reluctance to communicate and misunderstanding, these altercations grew bigger creating voids between souls and friendships thus disintegrate. Rarely that when a friendship goes to the extent of not communicating more than one year due to a silly altercation , it manages to patch back.  Rarely also that such a chance comes by that amends can be make to fix such a friendship and thus to make up the lost time, but I was given the chance to do so, and I believe I have taken it! Yearning a chance to make amends is always more difficult than protecting what you have.

Just to capitalize on this opportunity presented to me via this writing, I would also like to apologize to those perhaps whom I have caused discomfort both directly and indirectly via my speeches and doings throughout my time in UNITEN and for those who may also have caused discomfort in me via their doings and speeches, I also forgive you. Only by admitting and by forgiving and by accepting and letting go, one’s soul can be freed from inner pain and suffering. Road to inner peace can thus be achieved via this way. Every soul seeks to be happy; I too seek to be happy and I would also seek for you, my friends to be happy.  Never have I loathed you and I do hope that you never loathe me likewise. Et serons-nous amis?

Perhaps, friendships are the ones we often took granted for and because of this, altercations arise; but I must also highlight that I do share some true ones with some of my friends here in UNITEN. One of these or perhaps the most important friendship I have in UNITEN comes in the form of a friendship with a friend by the name of some ground vegetable and yes, you guessed it , it’s Potato. To be honest, I would not have made it through my time in UNITEN especially with my emotional setbacks I experienced in UNITEN if it is not her who stood by my back helping and lending her aid most of the time. And I have yet to mention her enormous help that she put in, in the projects that I have conducted: The Carey Island Community Service Project and The World Peace Forum 2011. “Thank you, Pot! I really really owe my time in UNITEN to you“. Only you understand me, Potato.

Friends, among the crazy ones around me are like Badrishah , Iqbal and Colin ; they are the craziest and the best housemates I can ever get. Roommate Colin may sleep like he’s dead but he is the fastest on the field and court , plays badminton like he’s showing magic while Bad is always the best on the dance pad ( He likes Gundam like I do too ) and yeah, Bal will always be on Tagged getting numbers from chicks. I have to say though that we do not have the cleanest of all the apartments (but not the dirtiest too), I still have them as the best companions in my domestic life in UNITEN. Ever thought of something crazy? ; go to them and they will just pop some crazy idea out such as to go to Bagan Lalang in the middle of the night and thus off the car goes.  Not to forget my lovely classmates who are crazy themselves that they will always come out with the greatest ideas when it comes to lunch, dinner and travel. Do you remember the times when we spent in I-City , Sg Chua Sportscenter , Sekinchan , my hometown Klang and especially the times when we spent at Broga Hill , Pangkor , Cherating , Penang , Genting and  Sabah ? ; I for one remember all those lovely times and those were the greatest of times. So to speak, these are the memories I shall bring with me to UNC; you are all the best of friends.

But yeah there are too many friends for me to speak of in this writing ; Kaness my  half brother who would be there for me when I need him ; Melwyn and Daryl the ever inspiring juniors ; Jun Kit the badminton and DOTA pro ; Ilyas and Azri : Ratata and Snorlax ; Jung Kian the crazy presentation shooter and also one of the best clubber I’ve known , Kok Bin the womanizer ; there are just so many other friends I can talk about but I do not have the liberty of writing them in this writing.

Yes, it is time for me to finish this writing. And I would like to wish everyone all the best for the times ahead and thank you for making our times together in UNITEN the best time of our lives yet.

Et it’s time to bid good bye , farewell ! 

Billy Hoo Yi Rong | University of North Carolina(Class of 2015)