The year was 1976. It was one of my many meetings with her. She tall, slim, gorgeous and the most beautiful women I have seen before. As she speaks I would just look up in aw. Her mere presence sends chill down my throat. I know for sure, if given an opportunity that very moment I marry no one but her. But all that changed on that ill fated day.
It was the classic Monday blues. Everyone drags themselves either to work or school.. I got up the school bus and traveled approximately 60 km to my primary school in Johor Bahru town. At about 7am, I reached the school and enthusiastically waited for my beloved Ms. Quah, my class teacher. She is my favorite teacher and she really captivated me with her grace and calmness.
However, that day she finally gave up on me. She has been telling me many times to change my pencil and improve my hand writing. However, I couldn’t do that. My mother have a principle that I should use the same pencil the whole year. She dictates how sharp the nip of the pencil to be. Obviously, she ensures that the nip is just enough to write. Short and stocky, my pencil produced one of the most horrendous one could have seen. Ms.Quay gave up on me. She called me in front of the class. Asked me to turn back and pegged my exercise book on my back. On the exercise book she rode, Bad Handwriting and she splashed a BIG D on it.
Being a seven year child, I was totally devvasted and flabbergasted. I couldn’t care lest and ran out from the class together with the book pegged neatly up my collar. Tears running down my cheek. Wiping it I owed not to go back to class again. I waited for my school bus outside the school. The school bell rang. School was over. I anxiously waited for my friends. Sri Kumar told me, Ravi you are going to be a dead meat tomorrow. The teacher is going to kill you. He added insult to my injury. After reaching home, I kept quiet and did not tell my mother the incident. Anxiety was my close friend that night. Fear started to dominate me. Fear took over my life. Fear crippled my appetite to eat.
Tuesday morning appeared. I know I have to face the truth. I know that going to school is a nightmare to me. What am going to tell Ms.Quah? The teacher who I loved most became my nemesis.
Her class starts at 10 o’clock. She came, she taught and she left. Nothing happened. No questioned was raised regarding my running incident yesterday. It looks like miracle. On that day at the age of seven, I changed my prepective of my life. Live for today and do not worry of tomorrow. Fear is a four letter word. Do not use it. Live life without fear.
Used by permission from Ravinther Kunju Raman, a trainer for Ask Education & Training Sdn Bhd
