The Alchemist

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." This is what the old king said to Santiago and the quote that I remembered most from the book "The Alchemist", recommended to me by Melissa. The book is about a boy Santiago who dreamt of treasures hidden under the pyramids in Egpyt and travelled all the way there to fulfil his dream (his Personal Legend). Along the way, he met with many difficulties that almost made him give up. He also met a girl he loved and almost wanted to give up his dream and stay by her side. However, he overcame all odds in the end and managed to find the treasure.

The story tells us that if we have a dream, we must go all out to fulfil our dream despite the difficulties faced. We must also not be too bothered about what we will lose, including leaving our loved ones behind. If we were to give up our dreams because of that, we will regret it in years to come.

So how does this apply to me? I don't really know. I don't really have any dreams in the first place. Since young, I only aim to study hard so that I can earn enough to give my parents a good life, just like they did for me. Other than that, I only enjoyed playing soccer and running. I once had a dream which is to complete a marathon. But now, I've done that twice. So what's next? Anyway, that's more of a personal goal than a dream. Seriously, I don't know what I aim to achieve in life, and I know that Im not alone. Which of you reading this post can tell me what your dream is? Im curious to find out.

In the book, the boy met a crystal merchant. He's used to his life and doesn't ask for anything more out of it and doesn't like much changes. His dream was to visit the holy city of Mecca but when he was young, he wanted to earn some money first so he started a shop. But when the shop is doing well, he couldn't bear to put the shop in another person's charge and so he can't bear to go to Mecca. Another reason why he didn't go is because it's the dream of going to Mecca that kept him alive. He was afraid that if he were to go, he will no longer have anything to dream about.

Im just like the merchant, too used to my way of life. Eat, study, sleep, run, watch TV, play soccer, spend time with my family and my dog. Many people asked me why I didn't want to go overseas to do my Phd because my results are good enough to do so. Firstly, I just can't bear to leave my family behind and secondly, I don't like to adapting to life in another country, just like the merchant. At least the merchant has something to dream about, I don't know if I have any. In fact, Im so used to my life that I've never gotten into a relationship. I don't know how my life will change if I were to do so, thus explaining why Im always lacking in intiative when it comes to these matters. Even on the few occassions that I tried to take the initiative, I failed. So now Im just waiting for others to take the intiative on me. Haha. Yes, I know that's wishful thinking, but just let it be then....

Something damn funny happened during lunchtime today. We were at Cold Storage at Holland Village when a funeral procession (出殡) was ongoing just outside. Then there was this Caucasian kid who shouted to his mum: "Mummy look! There's a chinese travelling circus!" And his mother looked as if she thought it was a circus too. We almost laughed our asses off.