Where's the fire?

Assalamualaikum...

I remember, back in high school, my friends and i would talk about how we would be like when we got older. It didn't happen in one long conversation, but overtime, a little statement here and there. Here are examples of a few:

- we saw ex-seniors coming back to school, who dressed more 'grown up', i guess? But even though they were grown up, it seemed like they wore clothes that would fit 6 year olds. Clothes that were tight was one thing but over exposure was a whole other issue 0.0 and i recall most of my friends commenting and making remarks like these:

"Like OMG, what is she wearing? I would never wear a skirt that short when i get older!"

" *gasps* Is that ......(senior's name)..........? What the? I can see her cleavage!"

- when we would be low on pocket money, some of us would claim:

"I'll save when i get older so I'll be ready for any emergencies or when I'm out of cash"

"Having an ATM card is so cool. But I'll only spend on things that i really need, not like those people who spend like there's no tomorrow. I'd be more wary of where my money goes to."

- Kiwanis members and Interact members and some of my other friends would mention:

"When i have my own money, I'll donate some/more to charity."

"I'll volunteer more of my time when I'm older."

"I wana help the less fortunate any way i can!"

- when we heard stories of our ex-seniors getting too involved or complicated with their boyfriends, we would question:

"What happened to them man? Don't they have any self-respect anymore?"

"Where's their dignity? Just leave the dude if it gets this complicated."

"Why do they wanna get involved so early? what's the rush? and what's up with hooking up with bad boys? If u know he's a bad bay, why even get involved in that kinda mess?!"

- when we would see adults fighting or not on good terms due to politics/positioning, we would ask:

"What are they bickering about man? Can't they just talk things out calmly instead of back-biting and throwing accusations? They're adults, they should know this by now."

"Why do they have to involve politics in everything and make things so complicated?"

- when we saw things on the news or got to know how things worked, we would comment:

"If i were in their position, i would ........."

"That's ok, but it would be better if ........."

"How can people just do nothing about that? We should ........"

"I WANNA CHANGE THE WORLD!!" (hahaha, i think i said that)


Sounds familiar convent girls? hahaha.

Anyway, back then, our lives were relatively much simpler; just school work and activities, tuition, home, tv, cs. It was easy to critique our elders because as teenagers we began to wonder and learn about adulthood, the stigma's, taboos and 'acceptable behavior' that went a long with it. We as the outsider, just being introduced to the world, easily passed comments.

Little did we know, it's easier said than done.

It's so easy to get sidetracked in the 'grown up' world. We have work hours to log, we have errands to run, we get stuck in traffic, we have money issues and we have laundry to do. In furthering our education, we have scholarships to worry about, assignments to crank out, applications to be sorted and dealt with. We have more shoes. We mingle with other grown up's, make new acquaintances, new friends and new relationships are built. We try to live up to other people's expectations and we often over-think things.We think about marriage XD. We experience different surroundings and we try to fit in and conform and we lose track of time when we're engrossed in our work.We spend more on caffeine and the list goes on...

Now that we are older (Nooooooo, tidak! i badan kecik lagi, still boleh pass as budak sekolah, muahaha), have we done the things we said we were going to do? Or atleast put in some effort to do so? What happened to the "I'm gonna.." and  "I wanna.."? Have we compromised our principles because of peer pressure? Have we put our ideas into action? Or have we become the person we said we weren't going to be?


What happened to the hope and passion and fire within us? That feeling of wanting be somebody or help somebody. The determination to be better and to make a difference.

A reminder to myself before others, of course:

We are in our youth. THIS is the time to volunteer or help the less fortunate. THIS is the time to save money bit by bit for our future. THIS is the time to try our ideas (if it works out, Alhamdulillah. if it didn't go so well, try again. if it failed, at least you gave it a shot eyh). THIS is the time to invest in ourselves. THIS is the time to give back to our parents and make them proud. THIS is the time to make that change. THIS is the time to build our career (or in the process of getting there). THIS is the time capitalize on our strengths and work on our weaknesses. THIS is the time to learn from our mistakes and be better. THIS is the time to soak up as much knowledge as possible. THIS is the time to give it our all.

Don't be fooled by this world or get lost in it. Materialism, politics, money, fame, status. Hold on tight to our principles. Keep our eye on the prize and work towards them.

Keep that fire alive =)


Assalamualaikum...