My parents

As i walk along the road to school, it was shiny, everything looks the same as i left it on Friday, the only difference is how the sun looks at them. The shadows are long and purple.

This is it, the path to art and design, and i'm walking on it. I thought of my parents somehow, they used to say, 'It's alright even if you ended up as a factory worker or a hawker, different kinds of man power is needed in this society.' They love me dearly i know, and i believe they love me more than any other parents would love their child. The knowledge they gave me, rides inside me until now, this is how i feel they are different. I even feel weird when i still look through these eyes of mine like everyone else, but feel and touch this world in a distinctive way, in my parent's way.

My parents are not highly educated, they barely made it through primary school, however, the way they look at life is so complete and i can tell they are still learning. Sometimes they just have to stop and reconsider their decisions, to think and learn from a situation they have never imagined. I think this is something not everyone is capable of, most of the times people just stick onto what they believe in and never try to accept anything else. People tend to condemn things or situations, make things impossible or create sharp edges. To my parents, anything is possible and they are just capable to make every edges soft.

Now that i'm 400km away from them, their presence in my heart are clearer than ever and i would want to keep and protect them no matter where i go.

meeting Tew Nai Tong

We were assigned to have an interview with any local artist, and like any college students would, we looked for the one nearest to us. We thought it's going to be scary, nervous we were, wondering outside the house of the artist, dare not ring the bell. And here goes Sin Joe, my classmate, heading straight with no fear. Well, actually, its just like having tea with an artist, he was very friendly and was like our teacher.

Washed by time, his hair was greyish white, fair and loose skin with heavy eye pockets, looks great when smilling. There was one thing he said that keep on ringing in my mind. The time he chose to become an artist was not perfect, artists were poor and unsuccessful, but he still choose to be an artist. He thinks that he gets to live this life no matter he is poor or rich, he still get this one life, one and only life, and he loves drawing enough to give up any other materialistic reasons. This is something i dare not think about sometimes, i was thinking this way, but i never get to the bottom.

Well, besides this, we had a lot of talk and photo sessions that were very interesting. He said we should stick on to something that we love to do and work hard on it, he really mean stick to only ONE thing. The process to finding ur right path is difficult, we have to work hard for about 8 years, and get our butt into exhibitions and throwing exhibitions, be active. Since i moved on to this place, to the art school, i never really did completely let go of my original path, the path i was expected to move on to. I occasionally turn back to imagine, what would i have become if i didn't change, am i going the right way after all? I was not brave enough to live for art, i hope to change, to gather my courage.