It was a conversation I had with Joey a few days ago.
Out of the blue, Joey asked me which University I went to, and I went on to tell her that I studied at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and that I graduated with a Bachelor in Business Administration. I also shared with her how living in the Hall was like. I was staying at Sheares Hall during the first year of my Uni life, and that was the most fun part of my Uni life, getting to know many people from all faculties in NUS, studying really late into the night and having suppers every single night. We did so many crazy and fun things that I don’t think I will ever forget that experience. So, I told Joey that if she gets into NUS next time, she should really stay in the Hall for the experience of it. It would be one of the best memories of her Uni life. After hearing me share, Joey got really excited and told me that she has decided that she would be going to NUS (bless her!), and so I asked her what she would like to study. Gave her some examples of the different faculties in NUS such as Medicine, Computer Science, Arts…. and this was how our conversation went:
“I want to go to Computer Science!!!! I love to play computer games!!!”
“Errr but babe, computer science is not about playing computer games. It’s about doing programming and learning all about computers and how they work.”
“Oh….. then I don’t want. Oh I know! I want to go Arts!! You know how much I love drawing, right?” and she raised her two eyebrows at me with a big grin.
“Err…. but this Arts is not about drawing.” I was feeling very amused by now.
“Huh… then what can I study???! Everything (is) so boring!”
“Let’s not worry about that now, babe. University is still a long way away!”
We ended the conversation with some silly laughter and no conclusion, with Joey realizing that University might not be as fun as she thought it would be, but it got me smiling every time I recall this conversation I had with her. Kids grow up really fast, and no matter how much we hope to keep them at this stage when they are still all innocent and stress-free, life’s pressures are catching up on them every minute as we speak. But that’s what life is all about – Meeting challenges and overcoming them, growing stronger in the process of it. It’s a joy to watch my kids grow up and experience life, just as how I did. =)
