Reflecting on the year in Aussie.

One year has passed. When I was in my plane back, at a point, it really felt like it was a whole big dream I’ve gone through. It all went by pretty quickly. And without much realisation, a year (or 11 months) has passed. These thoughts came by just before i read jie’s letter. She wrote a 6 page letter to “accompany” me in my returning flight from Melbourne. And I kinda read it at some weird time. My light was kinda on where everyone’s were like off. Ha.. The person beside me must be cursing or some sort. Hopefully not. I was like sorry-ing in my heart. =P Just have to read the letter at that time. Coz it was “time” to read it, and I really do want to read it.

As I were reading that letter, I was like wow, different people, but experiences and how we feel could be so similar at times. Really enjoyed the letter.. Some parts just brings plain laughters, some part put smiles on my face, some got me thinking, and some made me tear a lil.. Really enjoyed it.. Thank you jie ~

Okay, that was all happened on the plane, but its reflecting on Aussie too in a sense, still part of it.. So…. =P

Hrmmm 2009, didn’t go quite as I thought it will be when I decide to go there for exchange for a year.. Initial thoughts of how will it be like for me in Aussie: gonna learn to be more independent; gonna experience Aussie culture alot; gonna be quite a cook by the end of the year; gonna have alot angmo friends; will go uni, come back online or drama or series or chat. That’s about it.

One thing that I didn’t expect or seeing it coming, was to be going for church. And going to church was like the first things I did when I arrived in Melbourne. I am glad that God made himself known to me at that time, and am glad that I allowed him to do so.. Coming to know God, was the beginning of everything that took place in my life in 2009!

I started by attending the Church of Christ in Clayton (which is the suburb I was staying at in AUssie ’09). Was attending that church for about 2 months I think. People there were nice. Met quite a few of them in that period of 2 months. But then took a turn to attend Hope church instead, after some incidents and some reasons, mainly the system, or rather how things work in Hope.. Cutting the long story short, I attended Hope till the very last day of my stay in Aussie.

Have been attending the Commerce lifegroup, which mainly consist of fellow Commerce students in Monash Clayton, except for a few outliers which are not either from Commerce or Monash, but it’s all good.. =) The lifegroup is a connected piece.. And its a big piece of puzzle for me in this whole Aussie experience. It’s a place where I came to know more about God, it’s a place where I came to know a few close friends and buddies, it’s a place where most of the closest relationships I have are formed, it’s a place where I look forward to go to each week, it’s a place where I learn loads of things, it’s a place that will be in my memory always!

So, what have I really learnt in this whole period? I’ve learnt LOADS in this short period in Aussie.. But I guess I ain’t gonna write ALL of it.. just gonna write some of those which are relatively higher importance ones (or at least it is to me)..

First and foremost important lesson I’ve learnt is to love unconditionally.. This has been quite a challenged thing, then and it still is, now. To love unconditionally means to love the person no matter what that person has done, or however badly the person impacts your life, or however unlovely that person is, this of which includes your enemy, or someone you don’t like.. Really a lot more to be learnt and developed in this area..!

Another lesson I’ve learnt is that there are few types of people in this world.. Climbers, Campers, and Quitters… Quitters as its root word suggests, are people who quits, people who gives up, people who are weak, people who are part of the norm.. These people usually quits when something seems impossible, or seems hard to be achieved.. These are the people who usually goes NOwhere, who doesn’t grow… Next category is the campers (aka people who camps).. Campers are referred to people who are staying in their comfort zone, comfortable with their current position, comfortable at where they are, satisfied with their achievement and things they have done.. But they aren’t achievers, they might be the one who does things half way, and thinks its good enough.. and set their tent and camp at wherever they are.. As we can see, the world is revolving around us every second, every moment we are stagnant, means we are losing out!! So campers aren’t really at a comfy place as they thought they are.. When reality catches up with them much later on, they will notice it then, but it will be too late… We could camp occasionally, to rest, restore our energy, but ULTIMATELY we should all be climbers!

Climbers are people who climbs always.. To complete the mission, to have real achievement, to have real victory… Climbers may feel lonely during the journey, as the higher he/she climbs, the less people will be following, and to a certain point, may left him/her self only.. Not many people could have the strength to persevere to the very end, to the very peak.. Many tend to be campers or quitters… There will still be some, but not many, that you might meet on your journey as you climb.. And these people will be those who will give you encouragement, people who will give you support, and you will help each other to reach the peak, to taste the REAL satisfaction, REAL achievement, REAL VICTORY!! We shall meet at the peak! =)

Another thing I learnt about is relationship.. A person should be whole by him/her self, not made whole by being with someone else… Reflecting a lil back on myself, after I had a broke up, I felt really broken, really not much meaning to life without ‘her’.. I guess this is where I was made whole by with her, and so these things happened.. Me now thinks that a good relationship is where two separate individuals are already a whole being by theirselves.. And when both of these individuals come together into a relationship, they will make each other be even better… in a mathematic equation, it is written as 1 + 1 > 2. =) it’s logically wrong, but illogically right.. not easy to achieve… but i guess it will taste very good..

I guess this is all for now… been delayed long enough..

“to do well in life, do well in God” (Ng, 2009)

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