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Saturday 24 August 2013

How I Ended Up In Penang with BRATs


"Everyone has a different story to tell"  
I can still hear the words of this phrase echo in my head like it was just yesterday. 

Honestly, I've never thought much of BRATs or anything from the Star at all. BRATs is basically a workshop for aspiring journalists if you have never heard of it before. So like any ignorant teenager, I was not interested in having anything to do with it, till lately when I started to study Mass Comm for real. I was already in my first year studying Mass Comm, and like what others would say, shit got serious. I started to realise I was going to be stuck in this field for a very long time whether I liked it or not. 

That was unless, of course, I manage to marry a Tan Sri/ Dato/ Datuk  thrice my age and spend the rest of my measly days frolicking around his mansion. 

I'd be in deeper shit by then.

Due to all of these small thoughts running through my mind endlessly, I got curiouser and curiouser. Few of my friends have been saying that this BRATs workshop was really awesome, and not only through their word of mouth did it show, but also through all the assignments I've seen them handle.

So I wrote an essay on why I'd like to join this workshop, submitted it up and decided to just let fate do its job while I move on with the rest of my life. I was surprised I got chosen few months later.
At that point of time, I was in a dilemma because this workshop was gonna be one day right after I got back from Manila. 

Plus, I am one of the few people who will never be able to sell this point about myself: Being able to function with little to no sleep at all. Cuz I just can't.

However after wrestling with both sides of my brain vigorously, I finally decided to go. And Thank God I did go.

My most memorable experience.
Putting my finger in Kevin's hole!
Kidding.

We had fun, played lots and lots of games, and had a few assignments to do. But the most meaningful of all, was the opportunity it gave all of us city, not to mention sometimes ungrateful, kids to explore our country Malaysia and get to know it local treasures. We even got to talk to people, whom we'd usually just walk past without a second thought, and realise that their life stories are actually priceless!

It was truly humbling to go out there and speak to people whose life has been a struggle and that everything they did was for the sole reason to support their family. Most of them even gave up their bigger ambitions and dreams just for the sake of being able to grant their siblings, sons and daughters a better life.

Sure it probably sounds cliche and cheesy here, but when you've truly experienced the real thing, you'd actually come to realization that these are in fact nothing more than the truth.

Aside from that, the 38 of us who went for this workshop became a family in the short span of 4 days and 3 nights. And I still miss my team, which we very smartly named it 'Char Kuey Teow'.
There were many reasons to name it that okay, it just felt so right at that moment. As if it was... The One. Lol.

Although we did not manage to take a team picture together with a plate of Char Kuey Teow, I'm pretty sure we'll be able to meet again soon and fulfil this tiny dream of ours.

Boy, it was a workshop none of us would ever forget ;)


 My roomies.

I didn't get to take much pictures with all of them but this was good enough!
You must be thinking I'm crazy since there are so many selfies here.



Friday's Star 2.



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