Sometimes doors close so new ones can open.  When our doors close, we often think about missed chances, regrets and wasted opportunities. We assume it’s the “end of the world”. Rarely do we have the patience to wait for new doors to open because we can only see what’s negative at the moment, due to our brains’ negativity bias (a psychology term that refers to the brain’s greater sensitivity to unpleasant news) .

That was me in 2014. I spent two years in Junior College, slogged through A-levels, only to be rejected by all Universities because my results weren’t up to par. I didn’t know what to do. My friends were all getting accepted one by one, and I was disappointed that I could not follow them on that same journey together. I felt that I wasn’t good enough.

So I took a gap year to find myself and to rethink my choices. I knew I could either attend a private University or to take an unconventional route back to a Polytechnic for a diploma instead. I weighed the pros and cons of both choices and chose the latter.

It’s weird I know. I have people asking me why and telling me that my JC days were wasted. Well, all I replied was, “I have found great friends if it weren’t for JC, so it wasn’t a waste per se.” And that’s that.

Now, I’ve just finished my first year in Poly and it was amazing (minus the stress and exhaustion from the millions of assignments).

My classmates are the weirdest, funniest, smartest, and the kindest kids ever. It’s so much fun with them. They’re the people whom I can be stupid with, yet also serious with. They’ve been such little bundles of joy and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. They just make me really happy. It is the first time that I can say that I truly love going to school. Monday blues are no more and I look forward to starting every week with them. I am really blessed to be gifted with a class that I can now call my “family”.

You see, there will always be something bigger awaiting you, even if all hope is lost at the moment. I quote from Marilyn Monroe, “I believe everything happens for a reason. People change so you can learn to let them go. Things go wrong so that you can appreciate them when they are right. Sometimes good things fall apart so that better things can fall together.”
To whoever is struggling with life out there, keep on striving on. Count your blessings and understand that more doors will open for you in time to come. Just be patient, you’ll see.