The road most taken

I stand back in retrospect
I fear I shall be among them
Among those who took a road so many chose
The road to mediocrity

Is it education that killed all the prospect we all once had? Is it just the doings of mother nature? Is out the failure of our parents? Is it OUR own fault for accepting complacency? Its a nightmare, but its true, down to the very core.

We call it normal, for under the normal distribution, there will be upper limits, lower limits and the middle public. we think its ok and living under the mid part of the curve is acceptable to many. We think its ok because already so many people are there. My parents, your parents, his parents, her parents, uncles, aunties, grannys and so on.

I was bred in a school for kings, literally. I was lucky because I was among the very last of batches of products produced in this factory before it got overhauled. I don't like the new products just based on the stories I hear about them. Ive never met them though. But I guess I fell for the trap many has fallen for, disliking changes when it occurs. But I hold my hand up high for I am an advocate of change when there is need. Change that is spurred on by the right causes, not self greed, not envy, not by dictatorship.

I went into freshman year, having being skimmed off the top of the whole country's educational ranks, with 125 more lads. Each and every one of us were brimming with potential, we were the rarest of gems, but crude gems. We needed cutting, washing, polishing, grinding, baking, any process you can name, in order to become the elite.

As witnessed, we were moulded into holistic individuals. What I liked about this factory is that you get to choose your battlefield. If you think you got what it takes, sign up and your in. Its the early recognition of one's potential that makes this factory incredible. From there, you go through the ranks, if you're good enough, you'll be up there. If not, try again.

But I believe this trying-again process is the one that kills potential. When you fail and fail, you lower your expectations, you call it practicality. You put in less effort since its a smaller target, and you achieve that target. You start to feel complacent. You're happy in your comfort zone. And you kill the potential you once had. To be fair, we all started at the same starting line. However, the spread of achievers ranged from halfway to the finishing line. Some even stumbled at the starting line and never took off. Its amazing how life is. But in a way, those who stumbled at the start took another race, a race they knew they were capable of finishing from this experience. And hey presto, they're up there in the ranks.

This complacent attitude is also present in many ways. As a kid, we dream of the perfect partner. we watch too much movies to be aware of reality. We want the handsome, the rich, the intelligent, the famous, whatever doctrine they put out in moveis. As we grow up, we find that theres no perfect person. So we drop one or two criterias in search of 'the one'. Aha! one day we bump into them one way or another, we got our wishes. It didn't last long, and there goes 'the one'. As we try to gather ourselves and pull our act together, along comes polly. You'ld have to drop a few more criterias for polly to fit in. But hey, you and polly went throught the same process, lost the best-matched-with-criterias ones and you both need a hug. you get together, share a hug, share stories, lend an ear and you're together. unknowingly, you're already soo down the list of people you would've dreamt of. But thats how life is. if the story was to go on, you'll be looking at passerbys or strangers from clubs. thats how things deteriorate.

Anyway, now that you've made it top ranked out of the factory, you're into the market. Not the real full market but a test market. Remember, you're still the best and still carry the potential you had at the start. you've been cut into shape of the best gemstone ever but still not yet polished. So you go into the market, searching for a velvet boxed lined with gold to place yourself in. Again, you say its hard because everyone here is a cut gemstone and everyone is looking for a box. you saw the box you were looking for, but your effort was inadequate for you to reach it before others do. You lost the race, but remember, its only a test market. the real thing still lies ahead. its a battle you lost but not the war. but being complacent, you pick urself up, brush off dust and say 'who needs a gold-lined velvet honours box when the majority will have the plastic pass bag'. You know you have it in you, what it takes to get there. But to taste other 'pleasures' in life, you drop your target. Without you knowing it, you dropped yourself into mediocrity.

I would rather you work your socks off, bend over backwards, go through hell and back again and end up getting a plastic pass bag rather than come up with crap excuses and settle for that. I believe the former is more honourable as they can hold their heads up high and say 'i did my best'.

Last year during my appraisal, I set a few targets with my appraiser. Looking at it, it was one hell of a target. even my appraiser was telling me that what i had was already above par. But no thank you, I came here to be somebody, at least I came here to do my best, and with that we drew up a few targets to be met. This year, I walked into the appraisal looking infinitely, as i knew i achieved my target. this year too, I set myself new targets for me to accomplish in the coming year. I will not let myself fall into mediocrity without giving my best shot. Quoting my eldest sister, 'I'm on a mission, please step out of my way'. My addition, 'come with me and lets work our asses off, if not, godspeed!'




haha! laugh out and free the tension!