His Ways are Higher than Ours
Praise the Lord! After two years of junior college, a gap year and three years of polytechnic, I've finally been accepted into NTU ADM. I cannot begin to explain to you in words the sense of joy and vindication that I feel in finally making it to university after all this time. The day I received the letter, I screamed and cried in joy, the whole neighbourhood probably heard me.
Getting here has not been easy at all, there were obstacles, doubters and difficulties. It is truly not by anything other than the grace of God that I have made it this far today, as much as I've put in a lot of effort to get here. It is not like I have always been sure and absolutely undoubtedly trusting that things will turn out OK, in fact my faith was truly tested and at many points on the way here I failed to keep the faith but in the end I think I've pulled through. By no means has the journey ended, it's only the beginning, in fact, I still have a longer journey.
However, I need to say that I am more convinced than ever before that DREAMS CAN COME TRUE no matter what your circumstance. And, most importantly that sometimes even though we do not understand why certain things whether good, bad or ugly happen and the path we have been set on seems to lead no where, but God is always there guiding our path. In the end only good can come of our circumstances for those who love Him because God has a plan for our lives that is better than any other plans in our hearts. Only in surrendering all that we are to God can we fully experience the amazing plan of God for our lives.
In fact, while waiting for the offer letter from NTU, I got impatient...because I was asked to be assessed by the school's medical doctor which went well. But, it took one week for me to get the letter and the day before I got the letter I thought that maybe I was not going to get a university offer after all. So, I just said God I surrender everything to you, never mind if I get an offer or not, just let your Will be done. And, amazingly the next day, I received the offer letter. And the most remarkable thing, the truth was that all week that I had been waiting for the offer, the letter was already written and on its way to me. I realised that because the letter was dated two days after I went to see the doctor at the school's medical centre. (It was a Friday that i saw the doctor, the letter was dated Monday and I received the offer letter the following Friday).
Now then, how the path to today came about and how it was like. Well, a recap...at the end of 2008 I had graduated from junior college and by February/March 2009 I was faced with less than stellar A Level results. I still went ahead to apply for university with first choice for NUS being industrial design and ADM for NTU. So why did I apply for product design? Well, during my JC years, I became very much exposed to more of the world. Believe it or not, I finally got my email, messenger, and blogger in 2007 and facebook in 2008...I also mixed with classmates more than I ever used to. I did some research on finding out what I have a passion for so that when the time came for university I would know what to apply for, because I have always actually had the view that if you find a job you enjoy that you never have to work a day in your life just that I used to always go with the flow in secondary school. So anyway, I discovered finally that product design is my passion. You see since young, I had been very interested in cool and futuristic cars and gadgets...and my favourite book when I was young and if you know me you know I absolutely hate reading... was The Kingfisher Encyclopedia of the Future and of course the other books I likde were about cars, architecture and maybe some travel. I just did not know what course/job would allow me to be involved in these stuff that I loved.
So, like in secondary school I never did art or physics because I was not as good at these subjects but would have proved helpful in doing product design now. I did stuff like lit and history, in fact I even liked music (i.e. singing) but did not consider it education. But having said that by choosing subjects I was good at gave me good O 'level results, though I did not enjoy the subjects. So, having done my research in JC, I thought to try align myself closes to what I like, I chose subjects like economics, geography and chemistry and maths. Yes, I was a lit and history student doing geography and chemistry...GENIUS! I even at first wanted to do art and physics despite not taking it in secondary school, but did not because I knew my parents might think I was crazy. (Although, I did well at geography at the beginning even getting a letter to do H3 Geography but ended with only C for H2 Geography). In the end, it only proved to get me poor A Level results, I discovered that moving away from what I was good at to what I enjoyed instead was not going to be that easy. Sometimes I wonder why what I enjoy is not the stuff I'm good at, I guess it has a little to do with the fact that I became accustomed to the subjects I chose in secondary school although I truly have never been good at maths and physics.
So when I applied for product design after JC hoping to get into university, in hindsight, it was absolutely ludicrous. For the portfolio submission to NTU ADM I submitted some random amateur photographs and some kid project ice cream stick box I made. Compared with what I know now is product design, that was absolutely rubbish. But, I did however, get an interview with NUS Arts and Social Science after appealing, after all, my true strength has always been English and GP. I started the interview very well and could tell the Dean may very likely give me a place. But when the Dean asked me about what attracted me to NUS and their social sciences, I frozed up and caved in...because in my heart I only truly had one course in mind, I should probably have been smarter in my answers but being me I was too honest. Turns out it may have been just as well, because it led me to where I am now doing a course I love. Also, that year 2009, a sort of gap year for me, I did lots of thinking, exploring Singapore and won the disability chess league and represented Singapore in the 5th ASEAN Para Games in KL. I had a choice to do a degree course in other subjects at private universities or maybe even some unpopular course at NUS or NTU, but I stuck to wanting to do product design, which proved to be a great decision.
In 2010, I decided to take the diploma course in product design at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. At the beginning I thought that it was going to mean that i was like taking a longer route to university with no guarantee that I would move beyond a diploma. But while it obviously was not a degree, I was so happy, I felt everyday was going to be a dream doing product design that I love in poly. I had to believe that taking this educational detour was part of God's plan and actually I believe it was His plan because in hindsight it makes sense as I learnt all the skills I needed in poly to do product design as I move up to university level. Actually, my time in ACJC was more of like an eye-opening part of my life and also where I gained the most spiritually. (I got baptised after JC in my gap year in 2009). Then, the poly time was like a skills training process and also a time to train myself to be more sociable. I even for the first time tried CCAs I never joined before like Christian Fellowship and auditioning for the school's a capella group. I even took advantage of one of our communication class to speak on a topic without having written down anything All these things were vital to my growth as a person. During the time in poly, I did not realise how this was actually all part of the plan, but it was so obvious, I just let my fixation on my goal of university cloud my vision. I did well in poly in part due to my experience of the rigours of A Level...even getting into the Dean's list in year one in poly. So again another reason why the route made sense. I use to take for granted how books and posters were designed by graphic designer and also how the products we use everyday have been meticulously designed. But, doing design in poly opened my eyes to that so that now I have skills I never ever imagined I would learn like drawing, using photoshop and illustrator and using CAD software. I even took singing lessons and basic songwriting and production classes on the side during my time in poly.
So after this detour that I took, I've finally made it to university and it could not feel better. God's plan for me was indeed more amazing than I could have imagined. I know that it is not absolutely necessary that I get a degree but I believe that it would be such a waste of what God had given me. And, for me to get a degree and maybe a job next time in my condition is such a great testimony of God's grace in my life, I really wanted it so bad. I believe that everyone has a gift from God and we are to find our calling in life and do it as our job and contribute to the world, so everyone with the ability to do well in university should be given the chance. But for everyone regardless of their place in life, they can achieve their dreams and have a job that have a passion for and use it to contribute, even if there are not enough jobs for that to which I say then to create more of. As for the jobs that not enough will do, I believe the future lies in automation.
But back to the conclusion, things happen for a reason, the path we take may be longer and harder but God has a plan that is beyond what seems best or logical to us, so we may not understand it but God has a plan that is actually the best plan for our lives. Through this journey of getting to where I am today, I finally understand that while we do not understand the road we are taking and we think things should go a certain way, God's ways are higher than our thoughts and actions, so strive not to understand but trust in the Lord with all your heart because God will direct your paths to achieve His Will that is greater than anything we could have ever dreamed of. As I look ahead to university, I trust that the Lord will see me through the university and beyond to live an extraordinary life. So the journey continues...
How great is our God indeed!
Getting here has not been easy at all, there were obstacles, doubters and difficulties. It is truly not by anything other than the grace of God that I have made it this far today, as much as I've put in a lot of effort to get here. It is not like I have always been sure and absolutely undoubtedly trusting that things will turn out OK, in fact my faith was truly tested and at many points on the way here I failed to keep the faith but in the end I think I've pulled through. By no means has the journey ended, it's only the beginning, in fact, I still have a longer journey.
However, I need to say that I am more convinced than ever before that DREAMS CAN COME TRUE no matter what your circumstance. And, most importantly that sometimes even though we do not understand why certain things whether good, bad or ugly happen and the path we have been set on seems to lead no where, but God is always there guiding our path. In the end only good can come of our circumstances for those who love Him because God has a plan for our lives that is better than any other plans in our hearts. Only in surrendering all that we are to God can we fully experience the amazing plan of God for our lives.
In fact, while waiting for the offer letter from NTU, I got impatient...because I was asked to be assessed by the school's medical doctor which went well. But, it took one week for me to get the letter and the day before I got the letter I thought that maybe I was not going to get a university offer after all. So, I just said God I surrender everything to you, never mind if I get an offer or not, just let your Will be done. And, amazingly the next day, I received the offer letter. And the most remarkable thing, the truth was that all week that I had been waiting for the offer, the letter was already written and on its way to me. I realised that because the letter was dated two days after I went to see the doctor at the school's medical centre. (It was a Friday that i saw the doctor, the letter was dated Monday and I received the offer letter the following Friday).
Now then, how the path to today came about and how it was like. Well, a recap...at the end of 2008 I had graduated from junior college and by February/March 2009 I was faced with less than stellar A Level results. I still went ahead to apply for university with first choice for NUS being industrial design and ADM for NTU. So why did I apply for product design? Well, during my JC years, I became very much exposed to more of the world. Believe it or not, I finally got my email, messenger, and blogger in 2007 and facebook in 2008...I also mixed with classmates more than I ever used to. I did some research on finding out what I have a passion for so that when the time came for university I would know what to apply for, because I have always actually had the view that if you find a job you enjoy that you never have to work a day in your life just that I used to always go with the flow in secondary school. So anyway, I discovered finally that product design is my passion. You see since young, I had been very interested in cool and futuristic cars and gadgets...and my favourite book when I was young and if you know me you know I absolutely hate reading... was The Kingfisher Encyclopedia of the Future and of course the other books I likde were about cars, architecture and maybe some travel. I just did not know what course/job would allow me to be involved in these stuff that I loved.
So, like in secondary school I never did art or physics because I was not as good at these subjects but would have proved helpful in doing product design now. I did stuff like lit and history, in fact I even liked music (i.e. singing) but did not consider it education. But having said that by choosing subjects I was good at gave me good O 'level results, though I did not enjoy the subjects. So, having done my research in JC, I thought to try align myself closes to what I like, I chose subjects like economics, geography and chemistry and maths. Yes, I was a lit and history student doing geography and chemistry...GENIUS! I even at first wanted to do art and physics despite not taking it in secondary school, but did not because I knew my parents might think I was crazy. (Although, I did well at geography at the beginning even getting a letter to do H3 Geography but ended with only C for H2 Geography). In the end, it only proved to get me poor A Level results, I discovered that moving away from what I was good at to what I enjoyed instead was not going to be that easy. Sometimes I wonder why what I enjoy is not the stuff I'm good at, I guess it has a little to do with the fact that I became accustomed to the subjects I chose in secondary school although I truly have never been good at maths and physics.
So when I applied for product design after JC hoping to get into university, in hindsight, it was absolutely ludicrous. For the portfolio submission to NTU ADM I submitted some random amateur photographs and some kid project ice cream stick box I made. Compared with what I know now is product design, that was absolutely rubbish. But, I did however, get an interview with NUS Arts and Social Science after appealing, after all, my true strength has always been English and GP. I started the interview very well and could tell the Dean may very likely give me a place. But when the Dean asked me about what attracted me to NUS and their social sciences, I frozed up and caved in...because in my heart I only truly had one course in mind, I should probably have been smarter in my answers but being me I was too honest. Turns out it may have been just as well, because it led me to where I am now doing a course I love. Also, that year 2009, a sort of gap year for me, I did lots of thinking, exploring Singapore and won the disability chess league and represented Singapore in the 5th ASEAN Para Games in KL. I had a choice to do a degree course in other subjects at private universities or maybe even some unpopular course at NUS or NTU, but I stuck to wanting to do product design, which proved to be a great decision.
In 2010, I decided to take the diploma course in product design at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. At the beginning I thought that it was going to mean that i was like taking a longer route to university with no guarantee that I would move beyond a diploma. But while it obviously was not a degree, I was so happy, I felt everyday was going to be a dream doing product design that I love in poly. I had to believe that taking this educational detour was part of God's plan and actually I believe it was His plan because in hindsight it makes sense as I learnt all the skills I needed in poly to do product design as I move up to university level. Actually, my time in ACJC was more of like an eye-opening part of my life and also where I gained the most spiritually. (I got baptised after JC in my gap year in 2009). Then, the poly time was like a skills training process and also a time to train myself to be more sociable. I even for the first time tried CCAs I never joined before like Christian Fellowship and auditioning for the school's a capella group. I even took advantage of one of our communication class to speak on a topic without having written down anything All these things were vital to my growth as a person. During the time in poly, I did not realise how this was actually all part of the plan, but it was so obvious, I just let my fixation on my goal of university cloud my vision. I did well in poly in part due to my experience of the rigours of A Level...even getting into the Dean's list in year one in poly. So again another reason why the route made sense. I use to take for granted how books and posters were designed by graphic designer and also how the products we use everyday have been meticulously designed. But, doing design in poly opened my eyes to that so that now I have skills I never ever imagined I would learn like drawing, using photoshop and illustrator and using CAD software. I even took singing lessons and basic songwriting and production classes on the side during my time in poly.
So after this detour that I took, I've finally made it to university and it could not feel better. God's plan for me was indeed more amazing than I could have imagined. I know that it is not absolutely necessary that I get a degree but I believe that it would be such a waste of what God had given me. And, for me to get a degree and maybe a job next time in my condition is such a great testimony of God's grace in my life, I really wanted it so bad. I believe that everyone has a gift from God and we are to find our calling in life and do it as our job and contribute to the world, so everyone with the ability to do well in university should be given the chance. But for everyone regardless of their place in life, they can achieve their dreams and have a job that have a passion for and use it to contribute, even if there are not enough jobs for that to which I say then to create more of. As for the jobs that not enough will do, I believe the future lies in automation.
But back to the conclusion, things happen for a reason, the path we take may be longer and harder but God has a plan that is beyond what seems best or logical to us, so we may not understand it but God has a plan that is actually the best plan for our lives. Through this journey of getting to where I am today, I finally understand that while we do not understand the road we are taking and we think things should go a certain way, God's ways are higher than our thoughts and actions, so strive not to understand but trust in the Lord with all your heart because God will direct your paths to achieve His Will that is greater than anything we could have ever dreamed of. As I look ahead to university, I trust that the Lord will see me through the university and beyond to live an extraordinary life. So the journey continues...
How great is our God indeed!
Comments