The Summer Break

This vacation is probably the final long one that I'll ever have. I would most likely be graduating next year and  I still have to idea what do I want to do. The only thing that I wish is to find a well-paying job so that I can pay off my study loans asap. 

During the study break before finals, I got bored and started writing a to-do list for my vacation. I penned down things like 'learn how to dive', 'learn how to surf''.

Along the way, things came, I got a part-time job and still giving tuition to several students. My timetable became loaded and 1.5 months of the vacation just flew passed. As much as I wanted to pursue things that I like, I had to earn money. I have barely a year to earn as much as I can before the loans haunt me and the interest kicks in. Studying have never been so stressful. It sucks to be not well-to-do in a developed country.  Yes, I know that the fact that I even have internet access, I should not be complaining but the twenty over thousand loan (or maybe even thirty after adding all those miscellaneous things) just kept surfacing in my mind. Assuming I managed to get a well-paying job that pays me 3k a month and that I can use one-third of it to pay off my loans every month, I would need 30 months to clear that 30k. It's just overwhelming. Of course, there are many out there who don't even have the means for basic education and I shouldn't be making noise about my situation. Shall talk about my job now.

My part-time job is pretty wonderful as I get to meet and speak to people from all walks of life. Just few days back, I visited neighbourhood without any expectation, just doing my job as per normal. I came across several flats that are old and run down. Some are 2 room flats. As I spoke to these residents, I peeked through the gates into their houses. Many of them were run down, dirty, messy. Just a mattress and maybe a table to dine on. No television and certainly no fancy gadgets like Wii or PS. I sympathized with them, yet at the same time, I felt so fortunate (and also shitty for whining about my first world problems). Many of them are not educated, some elderly can barely walk and I even saw handicapped children. Many of them were struggling to make ends meet and could barely have three meal. Some were telling me how difficult it was for them to look for a job because of the leg problem they have or that their vision is blur. It was saddening. I learnt to appreciate that I have clean house to live in, a nice bed and have access to three meals daily. And of course, having a job even though I am just a part-timer.