FIGHTING AND KEEP FIGHTING! (Part 1)

It's been a week since SPM passed. And I am really sure that each and everyone of you are enjoying yourself much, as you were fighting and struggling upon seeing yourselves to succeed in the future. As for me, the end of SPM marked the last and final chapter in my story as an Alam Shah boy. 5 years flew so fast and I even didn't noticed that I am now no longer a schoolboy. What do you expect to feel to be in a place for half a decade? Started to become a boy that always cry; not wanting to be away from his parents until now become a noble man that could stand by his own feet on the ground. Memories, what is more valuable than them?

Nothing is more vital than prayers at this time

I still remember the moment when I was in Form 1. I couldn't halt myself from letting the tears out of my eyes. Pearls keep flowing out from my eyeballs though I tried so hard to calm myself down. At that time, I met a nice senior, Abang Meor Ahmad Qabil (he's now furthering his studies in Newcastle-upon-Tyne if I was not mistaken.) By the time all the seniors in the school was ignoring me, saying that there's no point of talking to a cry baby, he lowered his seniority ego and met me one-by-one. And then he asked, "Kenapa nangis2 ni? Budak lelaki malulah nangis. Kamu dah besar mana boleh nangis dah". At that time, I tried to gasp some air, like wanting to put a stop to my tears. Then, I told him, "Ada orang terbalikkan katil saya. Pastu dia cilok kad outing saya". With a smile on his face he then replied, " Alah, biasalah orang tak puas hati tu. Kalau kamu rasa ini beban, bayangkan hidup kat luar nanti. Hidup ni memang banyak dugaan. Jangan pernah takut dengan orang. Kat Alam Shah ni, jadi junior kena kuat. Ingat, kita hidup dalam suasana survival of the fittest. Kalau kamu keluar, kamu dah lepaskan genggaman emas yang paling bermakna dalam hidup kamu. Emas tu memanglah berat, tapi nilai emas tu? Tiada apa yang boleh mengatasinya." And that advice was permanently attached to my brain's memory until now. Form 1 was surely a challenging year in terms of mental and physical. Life was quite hard in that year. The most important part? We gained our batch name, FIGHTERS, from FIGHTERS 0509. Shah Muzhafar Amir was our hero on that (it's a long story be told actually)

Cooking practical back in the year 2010

Stephen King once quoted, “A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar.” The scars I've made through my journey in Alam Shah was really vital in shaping my current personality. Moving on to my year as a sophomore. I can't lie that I was so scared to face it as I heard stories from people saying that the  Form 2 year would be the "killer" year, (as if they couldn't stand the pressure living in such surroundings). Technically, life as Form 2 is the biggest contributor in moulding my overall personality in the years later. It revolved me to turn to a gentleman, instead of being a childish boy. 2010 wasn't just a revolution era for me and myself, it was the era where the might and pride of Alam Shah was put back to its original position. Ustaz Nordin and Tn. Haji Mohamad Kamaluddin played their biggest in rebuilding the Alam Shah that once was feared by other competitors. PPM title, The Wind Orchestra Title, represented Malaysia in WRO and got 2nd place, represented Malaysia in the WSDC and a lot more not mentioned. The glorious days of Alam Shah continued as BUSAS was elected to be the best organisation in the school. As a part of BUSAS, I must say that I was really proud at that time. Yes, life at that year was all about pressure, tense and nobody could escape from the school that we referred it as 'hell'. Fortunately, nobody threw off the towel in that year. Just that we lost Mirza Zaki (now in SASER), Ikhmal Ariff (now in BASIS), Afif "Bombay" (if I am not mistaken, he's now in Sains Syed Putra) and Syed Ikram, whom quitted at the end of 2009 (mostly because of family problems). In that year also, I trained myself to become a speaker, turning myself from a shy boy who heavily opened out his mouth, to a debater that could elaborate much things in life. Thanks to Farhan Khairol Anuar and Hazim Norahmadi, I have implemented things I learnt in the next couple of years in Alam Shah. Right now, I am still wondering if only I had focused more during training in those days. I might grew up and become better that they had been.

Life in F3 was nothing without having your buddies

2011, the 2nd biggest year as a SASSIAN. No one could ever imagine that they now have all grown up and getting prepared to become a senior. As the 1115 entered the school, I felt like I was already 5 years in the school (like big-headed ya know?).  Seeing all these changes made me more matured. Bigger responsibilities came into my life. I was elected to become Lujnah Musolla Secretary, where people around me said that I was too young for that such position in BUSAS. I believe there was something planned by Hazim Nazar, the BUSAS General Secretary at that year. The role was big but I think that I had done a good job. Form 3 was the year where the bond between our batch was tested. 3 days before PMR, after the whole year agreeing to not cheat in the PMR exam, a few boys from our batch got themselves caught in the hall, practicing the cheating moves (or commonly known as "anchor"). We were under fire as Teacher Farah (our batch advisor) threatened our future PMR results. Yes, we were absolutely scared, frightened, curious yet confused at that time. Later that night, we gathered at the surau and Afieq Azwa (the batch leader) let all his anger and fury out to the batchmates who involved. Truthfully, I never seen Azwa turned out to be like what he had been at that time. Well that moment didn't stopped us to take the exams peacefully the next 3 days. Though the results announced in the end of the year was not really satisfying, our strong bond couldn't be broken through. Together, we trailed ourselves with a big heart to face the most exciting yet adventurous year of Form 4!

Representing the school for Students' Exchange Program in Saudi Arabia

3rd of January 2012, the first assembly for the year was held in Dewan Putra Perdana. The whole school was quite disappointed with our results but then, the Principal first speech was quite a solid backup for us. He mentioned that though the results were below the school's expectations, but he was very proud to hear that our batch was the one and only batch to be clean from any sense of cheating in the exam. The teachers gave us a round applause upon hearing it. I was very pleased and gained some motivation to go through the possible circumstances that me and my batchmates will pass through. Life as a senior was totally different. I started to know about inter-school rivalries, true friendship, and the one that each teenager would start thinking about, love. I don't know why but I am quite sure that I was influenced by the environment where my friends were busy looking out for a lover. And like my friends, I began to work on my body shape to look great in front of the girls (err, actually I was very worried and concerned on my health condition). I made a lot of new friends in that year (from other school). I turned out myself from an anti-social to a guy that knows how to make conversations better. I made myself brave to talk in front, without shivering like always. There, I commenced myself to focus on my ambition, to become a lawyer.  (To be continued)