"It Always Seems Impossible Until It's Done" - Nelson Mandela
A
Master journey has not always been an easy path for me. I spent my
precious time for 2 years and a half to complete my Master study in
University of Malaya. The years passed with sleepless nights, tears
and laughter; indeed, those moments have led me to the tunnel of
light. Therefore, I would fervently say that this journey has taught
me several important values, if not all, to pursue success in life:
independence, risk taking, knowledge seeking.
Being
independent is vital for anyone regardless of what they are doing –
working or studying. As a Master student, I had to be extremely
independent in a
process of conducting research. Both success and failure are all at
our own risks. In other words, delaying your works means that you are
delaying your success. This powerful reminder has always rang a bell
on me whenever I tended to give up. There were many times when I was
lost in this journey. For instance, I was having hard time to analyze
my data using the adapted framework. I did not know where to begin;
everything seemed blurry to me. So I just headed up to library and
mulled over everything again and again. I then decided to show my
drafts to my friends who were in the same field as me (Pragmatics) to
seek their helps to comment on my drafts. Their constructive feedback
on my drafts had greatly impacted me to keep going. So, the value of
independence really shaped me to who I am now.
Apart
from being independent, the Master journey has also taught me to
become a risk taker. Beginning with a small step, all my big dreams
lie ahead; in fact, it is beyond my expectation. This is the most
appealing value I learned throughout my study life because I never
ever expected that we, ourselves, could do beyond what we could
imagine. It helped us to become more confident and well-prepared for
anything follows ahead. For instance, I took a big risk when I
decided to submit my final thesis for examination without having my
thesis fully checked by my supervisor due to time constraint. In
fact, I was still indulging myself in the library checking all the
references for the last 2 hours before the printing process. At that
time, what really moved me forward were two things: to waive off the
study fee for next semester and to graduate on October, 2016. Of
course, I was given a chance to extend the deadline, but I realized
that all the outcomes grow tomorrow could only be planted today. It
is definitely worth taking the risk.
To
top it off, learning is a lifetime process for everyone. Moreover,
seeking knowledge is an obligation for the whole of humanity in order
to build a knowledgeable society equipped with first-rate moral
values and practices. So, the main reason I took this thorny road is
to plant the seeds of wisdom in me. It may sound cliché yet nothing
can defeat the person's determination in seeking knowledge. Truly, as
a Master student, I had many chances to increase myself in knowledge
from different kinds of sources. For instance, I learned a great deal
of new knowledge every time I attended any talks held in my
university, participated in the international conference as a
presenter, and most of it all throughout the process of completing my
thesis per se. By attending these events, you have a golden
opportunity to have a sparkling conversation with experts and
exchange ideas with them. Therefore, seeking knowledge merits your
growth in becoming a better person inside out.
With
all of these great values gained from my Master journey, I highly
concur that a challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it.
Nothing is impossible in this world with the help from The Almighty
God. The only difference between a successful person and a failed
person is that, the former makes it happen while the latter does not.
Prepared by,
Nur Zahraa Hanafe
Lecturer, English Department
Vision College
