Flashback

Well, where do I begin? Frankly speaking, I'm not good at introduction. I really am. Mine is very mundane. I still remember 2 years before. It was my sophomore year at MRSM Jasin. Miss Zack asked me to introduce myself infront of the class. I was standing there like a 6 years old student waiting to buy an ice cream. Waiting for my name to be called. When it was my turn ...

"My name is Ahmad Rashaad."

"Ahmad huh? Ahmad what?"

"Ahmad Rashaad. R-A-S-H-A-A-D."

"You don't have a nick name do you?"

"Hurm, just Rashaad."

"Okey, Rasha-ad."

Back then life at MRSM pretty sucks ... at first. Not even one week at the college, I went home already with a group friend of mine. Aiman, Asif, Adlan Wafi and Megat to name a few.

Friends asked me why.

"Bukan tak tahan lah. Balik rumah sebab nak amek anugerah SPM." Confidently I spoke.

"Eheh. Ye lah tu."

Over time, I've settled down there. Making new friends, it's a priority in order to build a strong network. We were bombarded with a lot of activities almost every day. From kuliah to extra class on the weekends. From menganyam ketupat to pelancaran roket. You know those days, the student council really energetic and diligent. I was the EMC and activities like the Grapevine magazine, Unbottle the bottle, Starbucks Debate and English movies were carried out with the help of the committee led by Ain Ul Mardhiah (maybe we should have done english movies with english subtitle instead of malay, that should have forced the students to learn english! haha ... with the poor quality sound system, who would expect to read the subtitle eh?)

I still remember those days. We were reluctant to go to the Surau especially for Suboh prayer. (as if the Surau is hundred miles away) Instead we 'sodorm' which means solat dalam dorm. Imagine we slept late at night and we were expected to be awaken at 6am! Even the seniors didn't know what 'sodorm' mean. They thought it was sodomy! My god. We were even called by our seniors for an explanation and the word was banned at college. I guess I could say that was where it all started.

Months passed and my stability floundered. Life is a roller coaster over there. Sometimes all the turns and twists made me sick but I managed to cope with it. We constantly faced with new obstacles and tasks. It was their confidence that I admired. The way they carried themselves, and the qualities that they possessed. We're all rounders that's why we are here. The teachers are brilliant and they guide us with full support and never let us down. Our hard work has finally paid off.We gained a tremendous success for SPM 2006 for being the best school in Malaysia!

p/s: Maybe I shouldn't have confessed to Mr Kherman Shah that I forged Chief Warden's signature for pulang bermalam. That way, it would be an interesting story to tell my son that I might as well got expelled from college or the least was gantung persekolahan.

or maybe I should have joined my friends for gaining access to the swimming pool without authorisation late at night and hope that I would get caught by the Pak Guard. :)