Finally found myself, fighting for a chance

“You know, Ying Hui, I think you’re weird.”

Haha. I doubt anyone could have put it better. You’re right, Wen Dee, and I’m not at all resentful that you pointed it out. Quite the contrary, to be honest.

Because I don’t want to be like anyone else but me.

I mean, why would I want to be just another face in the crowd, trying to be someone I will never be and bending to other people’s rules? Why would I be satisfied simply being a college-manufactured musician with a one-sided knowledge when I could equip myself with so much more and face challenges from every angle? Why would I want to attempt fitting into a pair of glass slippers that is clearly not made for me?

Yes, so a certain person got Distinction for an examination and another got full marks for a paper, but so what? The person is probably strongest in that and it doesn’t mean he or she would shine in other subjects. You have strengths too, you just have to find and exercise them.

Granted, by taking Sociology, I have fallen out of your conventional idea of a musician; I’m no longer a stereotypical bearer of the musician label, so to speak. But I don’t give a damn. I love what I’m studying and I get to flex my muscles by running in a field I’m familiar with. And the best part? I finally saw past the petty tumults and learnt the art of detachment, understanding their attitudes rather than being unproductively annoyed with them.

I write my own rules; because women who are well behaved seldom make history.

Can you do the same?

I may be weird to you, but I’m special to me, and that is all that matters.