Dreams do come true

Hi. To those yang tak kenal siapa saya, my name is Amirah. Orang panggil Mira, Mira Haz, Amirah, Hazwani(???) - arranged according to formality. I grew up in a family yang tak senang, tak susah. Medium la kiranya. When I was still in school, both of my parents work to support the family (tapi sekarang my mom is 100% suri rumah & I like it that way). My parents. They are not those kind of parents yang ada title, duit berkepuk, speaking kat rumah macam mat saleh, every year travel overseas. Nope. Masa budak budak dulu, travel overseas tu hanya lah angan angan je. Tak mampu or maybe takde rezeki lagi. Before I move on further, I just want to dedicate a few sentences to my parents. My parents are such amazing souls that Allah has lent me. Alhamdulillah, walaupun my parents tak dapat bagi kemewahan, but I am so thankful for the relationship I have with them. I like this quote "ada benda yang orang ada tapi kita tak ada, ada benda yang kita ada tapi orang tak ada". Some people maybe dapat kemewahan dari parents diorang, tapi takde relationship macam mine with my parents - nothing to hide from them, we're like bestfriends (well, if you have both, you better be really grateful, fam). So, thank you Ayah & Mama, for everything that I am today. To make my parents proud is always my aim, and I will work hard for it sampai bila bila. I can make a full blog post on just my parents alone & still won't cover all my feelings & gratitude towards them. I love you both always 💘

So as mentioned kat atas, saya tak pernah jejak kaki dekat negara lain. I know, some people akan cakap ni bukan benda penting pun etc, but I just want to share my experience, especially to those yang ada angan angan macam saya ni tapi tak mampu. Orang nak share ni baca je lah, kalau tak suka takyah baca tau duduk diam diam je 👺 Okay sambung balik. Dulu ada la berangan nak pergi negara itu ini. Then masa sekolah menengah, takde langsung plan nak sambung study oversea (selalu berangan je) sebab I really thought it's just a dream. I don't even have money. My family could never afford such thing. Plus, I came from sekolah harian, bukan la sekolah budak pandai ke apa & masa tu sekolah saya tak expose students on studying abroad (masa 2011 dulu la sekarang taktau pulak). Okay la after SPM my super bff (dia mesti geli kalau baca ni) told me MARA ada bukak offer to study abroad. Banyak jugak lah list of courses yang diorang offer but tah kenapa I chose Psychology under ADFP (American Degree Foundation Program) tapi dekat University of Queensland, Australia. I swear that was the best random decision I have ever made in my life - studying Psychology. By the way, masa apply MARA tu memang main apply je, tak berharap sangat. Tapi thanks doh bff (serious dia akan geli), you helped a lot in realizing this dream 😍 . Ok sambung..I got shortlisted for a group interview, masa tu buat bersungguh la. We had to debate, something like that. Confidence was the key guys, saya asyik angkat tangan, kasi pendapat yang entah betul ke tak. I kinda enjoyed it though. Balik tu mintak doa semoga dipermudahkan. & sementara tunggu result MARA, I went to Matrikulasi Gopeng & I don't know why I cannooooot go with it, & ALHAMDULILLAH tak sampai seminggu duduk sana, result MARA keluar.....I GOT ACCEPTED! Memang hari tu jugak I asked my parents to bring me home huhuhu. One step closer to my childhood dream.

Oooookay. After settle semua documents blablabla, I started my foundation & credit transfer program in INTEC for 2 years. I am thankful for this opportunity, because I met so many wonderful friends along the way. You guys are awesome, *winks! Oh by the way, MARA tak terus hantar pergi overseas ye, you have to struggle for another 2 years pulak, & MARA required you to score CGPA at least 3.5 only then they will send you abroad. I tell you, it was not easy buat ADFP program ni. Nak dapat A- you have to score 90% at least. It's a struggle but managable la. You see, if you really want something, you have to aim for it, make sure it's yours eventually! I am the type of person yang kalau nak satu benda tu, I will make sure I get it. & YES! My hard work pays off, and I achieved the target..That means I am at the closest step towards my dream💪  Tapi masa ni cita cita tu dah tukar. Dari nak travel overseas to making my parents & family proud. Maybe masa ni dah matang kot. I know they're really proud of me. To be the first in the family to study abroad. Ever since, I've promised myself to keep on making them proud *teary eyes*.

It was in July (ke June? ke August? someone help me pls serious lupa) 2014. Most of my batchmates made it with me. Our flight was due on raya week. It would be the first time I travel to another country...the first time I board on a flight...the first time I will be so so far away from my family, it's a mixed feelings. But I know my family & I were sad. Nangis teruk, takmau cerita😢. But we made it for sure.

And so, my journey begins! 

Australia was the first ever country I have visited and LIVED! I repeat, LIVED, lived for 2 years (tapi tolak hari yang balik Malaysia, maybe setahun lebih je kot)! Benda yang sebelum ni angan angan je tapi kali ni, memang betul jadi. Bukan takat travel, ni siap tinggal sana lagi. Most importantly, I have made my family proud! Syukur. Seronok sangat bila ingat balik masa tu. It's a really different experience. Thank you doh housemates paling terbaik (if you girls are reading this, you girls are so amaaazing💞), you girls played big part in making this experience so meaningful. Not to forget my batchmates AUSIA! Malaysian community dekat sana pun nice. Glad to have such a great connection over there. My life was great. Duit MARA kasi tu Alhamdulillah cukup & I feel happy to think that my parents no longer need to support me financially at this point. I even used the money to make a small business masa cuti sem dulu. I became independent. I am proud of myself. P/S: MARA bukan scholarship, it's convertible loan - we have to pay back, tapi tak ada interest, and berapa kena bayar tu ikut CGPA.

I loooooove my uni. UQ is sooooo coooooooool. Environment best, bila takde kelas, tidur atas padang rumput tepi tasik. Kalau malas pergi kelas, ada lecture recording (it's a disadvantage..I always do this..hehehe). Lecturer handsome (tapi still malas pergi kelas.. BUT I STILL STUDIED OK). Lari topic sikit but I still want to state here that I LOVE PSYCHOLOGY! Mmm ok next. Grading system dekat sini tak guna 4 pointer. They use band. Band paling tinggi band 7. There. I caught another dream. Cita cita kali ni nak cuba target band 7 utk few subjects. Masa tu rasa cam GILA KE. Tapi takpe, kita cuba. I didn't get one until my 3rd semester. Band 7 for 1 subject! Masa result keluar tu I was in Malaysia tengah cuti sem, my parents were so happy they gave me kisses. I was happiest daughter on Earth😸 The next semester I scored another 2 subjects. My CGPA went up every semester, my prinsip masa tu "slowly but surely". Betul lah, Allah bagi apa yang kita nak kalau kita ada doa & usaha. Yang penting, jangan give up!

July 2016. My graduation. Rasa macam mimpi. Rasa macam tengah tengok TV. But it's actually my life. Hahaha it sounds so vain, I am so sorry.  Few months before, I talked to my parents about this..whether they're coming for my graduation or not. Most of my friends' family are coming (I think all of them), so I really hope they will come too. It's my most special day. & Alhamdulillah things are getting much better financially with us family. After a long discussion.. ALL OF THEM ARE COMING! Can't express how happy I was at that time. Rasa terharu and thankful sangat. I spared some money to cover some of their expenses in Australia. I planned for the itinerary & booked the flight for them. This is the first time my family & I went to a different country together. A vacation. Such a great memory💖. The day of my graduation. My mom menangis (that's what I heard la) masa saya naik stage ambil scroll. You know you've made your parents proud when they cried (sebab happy ya) because of you. Words cannot express how proud I am as a daughter. This is all because of you both, Mama & Ayah. To my brothers, I hope I can be your role model (yang mana baik je lah, yang part malas and buruk buruk tu jangan ambil ok).

I didn't realize I wrote this long. I guess I'll end it here. I shared this bukan sebab nak berlagak & menunjuk. I am really sincere to share my experience & I want to prove that DREAMS DO COME TRUE. DON'T BE AFRAID TO DREAM! Work your way up & make your dreams come true 😊. Before I end the post, I want to apologize if I have hurt any feelings with my words. Thank you for reading!

Here's a picture of my graduation day to end the post!