Some struggles are very necessary

In 1988, I started my secondary school journey.

Having focused primarily on various contests (calligraphy, speech, composition) and extracurricular activities during my primary school years, I was unaware of the challenges that awaited me.

The transition to secondary school, where the majority of subjects were taught in Malay, proved to be much harder than I had anticipated. It wasn't long before I realised that I was falling far behind in my studies. I did very poorly on my first-term exam papers. Barely passing a few and failing the rest.

Concerned, my second sister, who was working in Kuala Lumpur, made a call to her good friend who teaches private tuition classes, arranging for me to start attending classes with Teacher PF.

During my first meeting with Teacher PF, I conveyed my feelings about my grades, expressing my disappointment and the struggle to cope with the failures.

Then, she asked me what I considered a pivotal question,

How badly do you wish to change this?

"Very badly," I replied. She followed up by asking, "Are you willing to work hard on it?"

I nodded in response, beginning what would become a journey of working hard on my languages.

The earlier exam revealed my limited vocabulary, making it difficult for me to recognise words. Over the next two years, I visited her place two evenings a week. Each time, she assigned me 50 to 100 words to memorise, and I was determined to overcome my gaps. During the group lessons, she worked on our comprehension, grammar and composition. She also insisted that we learn how to pronounce a word and understand the definitions by checking out the dictionaries.

As I progressed, Teacher PF provided me with a list of 100 to 200 words during each session for testing purposes. She did not force upon it. Instead, she always checked with me if I felt up to it. She also asked that I purchase copies of Utusan Melayu and The Star newspapers. For my homework, she would mark a few lengthy passages in each. Upon my return, she would test my comprehension by briefly narrating the text in Mandarin, while I transcribed the entire passage either in Malay or English. (I believe this has helped to build my ability to translate the languages required by my roles years later.)

Every night, with or without the tuition classes, I kept to a routine of reading through the list of words or passages and tested myself repeatedly to see if I remembered.

It's interesting how one thing impacted the other. By working on my language skills, I developed a keen interest in my academic performance, which led to my flourishing in subjects I never thought I would come to like.

Those were the years. I became laser-focused on my studies.

In school, the hard work I put in was fruiting results. Starting from the second term exam, I was able to understand the words, the questions, and thus the papers, and began doing well in my exams.

Teacher PF told me I was the most hard-working and determined student she ever taught, I hope she knows that she's also the kindest and most patient teacher I have ever come across. Her trust and faith have instilled in me a strong desire to excel. Her guidance and supportive approach also planted the seeds within me that one day, I too would like to nurture others in their journey.

The early setback as I entered my secondary school years was truly a gift. It has shown me the need to labour through what matters and be resilient about achieving what I set out to achieve.

From that time, I managed to form a habit to always put in my hours in learning. Being disciplined and consistent was helpful then, and it has been helpful in my journey as I advanced to college, university and professional space.

Looking back, I am grateful for this lesson,

Some struggles are indeed necessary, much like the transformative struggle of a butterfly breaking out of its chrysalis.

If you are currently experiencing a challenging situation or facing a bottleneck, trust that as you work on breaking through, you will gain powers ~ powers you never imagined you could have.

I hope this inspires you to see every struggle as a gift!