~of childhood fantasies~

Dearest ambitious young dreams,

I did something today

I pestered this man from the Malaysian book of records to put my name in it as the youngest poet to publish a book

My hopes and dreams were dashed by this puny 4-year old boy.

------

Well, i wasnt really serious about getting a place in the book of records anyway (i say to myself shamelessly). so i wrote a very curt and unserious email to anyone who kindly had a heart to listen to the lamentations of a 21 year old (god, now i feel old)

me =

To the person in charge,
>
> I had published a poetry book at the age of 13, comprising of poems
> since i was 4.I am now 21 years of age. I would like to ask is there
> any chance that i could get an entry in the malaysian book of records.
>
> Thank you


mr ricky yap =

Dear Cik Nadya,

Greetings from Malaysia Book of Records and thank you for your email.

In response to your email, please note that there is an existing record
for 'Youngest Author', whose age is 4-and-a-half-years old when he had
his first book published. As such, we are sorry to inform you that we
cannot consider your attempt for consideration of listing into the
publication.

However, we appreciate the effort and we wish you all the best success in
your future endeavours.

Thank you for your interest in the Malaysia Book of Records.

I was pleasantly surprised today as i had been waiting for my moment of fame...my heart was all giddy as i opened the email, in my head i was already imagining a whole street of fans waiting to get my autograph.

BUT As the Malay proverb goes, MALANG TIDAK BERBAU, my dreams were horridly dashed by this 4 year old boy. I was heartbroken, i blamed the mother of the boy to have written for him..(which i know is not true), WIthout skipping a beat, i persistently pursued my deepest ambition of landing a name in the Malaysian book of records as shamelessly as any shameless me would be!ahaa!

me=

> To Mr Ricky Yap,
>
> Thank you for the letter. I am aware of that record but if im not
> mistaken is it for short stories?will it be possible for one
> specifically in the field of poetry?sorry for any inconvenience. thank
> you for your help

I was greeted again by a very patient mr ricky yap who soothingly told me the following


mr ricky yap =

Dear Cik Nadya,

Greetings from Malaysia Book of Records and thank you for your email.

In response to your inquiry, please note that the existing record of
"Youngest Author" of 4-and-a-half years old was for writing short stories
and poems in one publication. As such, we are sorry we cannot accommodate
your request for another record related to poems.

Anyhow, don't let this be a deterrent from you in seeking future record
attempts. Please do let us know what you have in mind.

We wish you all the best success in your future endeavours.

Thank you for your interest in the Malaysia Book of Records.

Well,thank you mr ricky yap and the malaysian book of records for being very considerate of my awful letters. THey WERE extremely ridiculous ones especially from the terms of a writer but thankfully this man had a kind enough soul to have given me the opportunity to write to him twice. =)

I sigh as i read my ambition die with the last letter. DId you ever feel the same way? Were your ambitions of achieving things at a young age ever reached?

I loved being a child, you can do anything just a bit more than some other pesky children and you would receive oohs and aaahs from all adults in a jiffy. It was easier way back then wasnt it. I was once called a genius of some sorts for my young poetry skills, and obviously i loved the attention as a kid. But lets say i write now, will my oohs and aahs still be ooh ahh or would it just be oh ah..sigh, no wonder i was warned about the difficulties of being a grown up.

ROCK STAR!~~

Looking back,i had more ambitions and dreams that i have never yet realized even until now. As i age every year, i still have not made a mark in the world, what more in my own country. I had always wanted to sing in a band since i was a kid(but i have the most awful voice), if you read my diary when i was small, there were a few song i had written already. I knew the tune, it was very `90s mind you. But, then turned 14, and then....i found out that my voice sucks.. that i croaked instead of singing and thus, i stopped my dream of being a superstar

CHESS PLAYER~~

There was this one time when i was 9, i was first introduced to the genius game of chess. ....and i LOVED It.. i had no genius mathematical skills, and i wasnt one of those whizz kids who could guess the next 25 steps before you move, i was just someone who accidentally, amazingly could play chess really well. I felt it in my blood, i told my mom, when i grow up, i want to be a chess player like Gary KAsparov (the number one world champion chess player at that time). I played in chess games more and more often, still not mastering the mathematical skills but miraculously got through most championships rated top 10. and then....I GREW UP... when i grew up and had more opponents to deal with, i shied of playing. I felt so insignificant and insecure as there were more players far better than me. And so, i left the game, retired extremely young and until now has still not mastered the mathematical equations of a chess player.

ATHLETE~~

My Indian friend laughed at me when i was 10 years old during a pj class, she said, oh my god, you have never run in your life? she giggled at my very unathletic persona at that time. SHe had long legs, an extremely skinny body and could run really fast, on the list for future school athletes. I on the other hand had never tried running ever! Suddenly the whistle blew, in my track suit (sometimes pronounced trackshuut by malay kids) and with my heart churning because i knew i was going to loose bad, i ran...and i ran....and i ran....and i ran.......until the finishing line...i opened my eyes, and saw everyone was gaping at me, I WON THE RACE!!!woo hoo!! served you right!(i haughtily nodded at my indian friend who came in second). Since then, i was streamed into the athletic team, doing lots of sprints, long distance running, balapan and all those things. Mom said, it was not i who had an athlete in me, but it was my spirit of not wanting to loose. It has always been very important to me to WIN WIN WIN that shaped me into a sudden athlete.......and then....I GREW FAT..I was transferred from my then athlete-shaped school-me of Convent Kajang to Sarawak because my parents moved. I was forewarned by my mother to focus on only one athletic event such only sprinting or only long distance. I told mom, dont worry la mama, i can do both..hummphh....by the time i was form 3 in that school, and as i reached my womanhood era, i was greeted with cholesterol, carbohydrate and lipid. They loved me so much that they stayed in my body for years. Hence, another dream was dashed by adulthood and age.

Well well well, if it isnt 21 year old Nadya already. How I have grown (or stopped growing, mind you). At the age of 21, the only proud thing i could tell you i did was i had published a book which incidentally failed to be in the Malaysian book of records as the youngest poetry book published. I had more dreams, which i never reached, like helping out in poor countries, be someone who was published in a national magazine, climb mount everest or was simplyknown to my country in some way.

so now,21 years have passed and i missed my chance to earn any title as `THE YOUNGEST TO....`..but i can tell you this, i will not waste another 21 years sitting on my big bottom not doing anything. I will become someone one day, insyaAllah in a good way.Im going to make myself and my family proud...... just hopefully my title would not be `THE OLDEST TO...`

=) hope you had a blast reading this...and let us all think on our DREAMS and may they turn into a REALITY...cheers!!