Ambition... or lack of it?

Dear readers,

theokwek is back from his week-long sojourn in Malaysia! On the road he has not been slacking, and reports back for work with a short essay on his career choices. Written on the three-hour bus ride from DeRhu Beach Resort to Deerland.

Look out for a Malaysian Montage essay soon!

The Straight Times Editor

As musicians, we often speak of our passion for our music, and this passion, in the eyes of many, is inevitably equated with ambition. It doesn’t matter who we are talking to, whether fellow music lovers, teachers, parents, or birthday-party acquaintances, the conversation subconsciously gravitates to that fateful question: “So you want to be a musician?”

There are times when I’ve flipped the topic around and asked others, directly or indirectly, what they think I want to be. The answers are generic and unsurprising. There are those – even close friends – who having read my newspaper-styled blog, figure that I want to be a news reporter. There are those, who having inquired about my parents’ occupations, infer that I’m destined to walk the long hard road of their medical footsteps. There are even those, who from my varied interests, conclude (rightly) about my love for music and words, but think (wrongly) that I’ve a future in the Arts industry.

Fact is, I have no idea! Call it being unmotivated, wishy-washy, aimless, or whatever you may, but to me, the road ahead seems pretty open in all directions. With the opening of educational institutions, introduction of creative arts programmes and the initiation of academies studying everything under the sun, we have not only succeeded in giving ‘equal chances’ to students of every persuasion, but have also in the process made the dilemma even harder for those who have not yet decided.

Still, this decision is integral to the destiny of every mortal, and eventually, I’ll have to put my foot down and pick a craft. At present, the crossroads are unfathomable. Music as a job dictates that I will forever be a happy worker, but there is an equally strong pull of taking music s a relaxing pastime. The same goes for a literary pursuit, while the medical field, with its inspiring accounts, altruistic value and life-saving responsibilities, is equally appealing.

In the mean time, what’s there to do but to wait and pray? There is youth to be enjoyed, lessons to be taught and learnt, and knowledge to be gained. Before a person is fitted into a mould of any shape and size, he must first be developed into a mature, malleable and adaptable being, such that wherever the winds of fate blow him, he will learn to have his cake and eat it happily. And the other bridges will be crossed when we arrive at them, in due time.

Que Sera, Sera, Whatever will be, will be.