Reply to Azro: My recent life in a nutshell.

 

Dear Azro,

First off I'd like to say thank you for your letter, I am especially touched that you were thoughtful enough to find stationary themed my namesake to write to me. I was very pleased to receive your letter on my table after a particularly long week of work.

Your handwriting is legible and frankly quite charming. Thank you for your high opinions of me being an "outgoing and optimistic person"

Here is my "straightforward and honest reply" to your letter:

From my understanding of your introduction of yourself and your family and friends in your letter, you seem like a cheerful, confident, down-to-earth person who knows what you want and how to go about it. You are smart, intelligent and have weighed several factors before going about anything.

Let me share with you my personal experience.

Before I begin, I will reiterate that this is my personal experiences and opinions only which are unique to myself and that other people may have different viewpoints to myself. 

As opposed to you, it was never about money for me. However, please do not take this as a personal attack. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion as to how to live their life. Money provides security and until today I do still feel slightly envious of friends who are able to go for holidays overseas because they worked hard to earn good money to spend on their travels.

I, on the other hand, took the road less traveled, as it has made all the difference.

I never considered being a lawyer actually. Similar to yourself, I have parents who "wanted the best for me" and also imposed restrictions on me as well. One of their restrictions was for me to study law instead of Mass Comm which I was interested in. I also rarely hung out with friends during my secondary school years due to their restrictions. Like you, I only came to understand my parents and their strict upbringing later on in my life and I still love them the same nevertheless.

After I completed my law degree, I was still reluctant to do my Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) so I rebelled against my parents and joined an NGO doing educational awareness against harmful pesticides. It is known as Pesticides Action Network Asia Pacific (PANAP). I realized that my dream to make visible contributions to society was limited in an NGO, so I resumed my CLP studies.

I went on to take up my pupillage at a law firm in Seremban and continued practising as a lawyer for about 4 years before I realized I wanted something different to a 9-5 job doing almost the same thing day in and day out.

I received an offer to work for the govt in the Attorney-General Chambers.

This was a hard decision to make as my parents were not pleased that I would be giving up my secure 9-5pm job, earning a decent salary, in a workplace close to home where I didn't need to worry about paying rental and other things I took for granted working so close to home.

In the end, I quit my job and join govt service.

I was doubting my decision every step of the way, and even today I still doubt whether I made the right decision when I decided to join govt service.

Being part of govt service means working very hard for quite meagre salary. It means I don't get to choose what I want to specialize in and where I want to work.

My first posting, I was posted to Johor Bahru to work as a Court Registrar. I focused on bankruptcy cases and was good in my work. However, I was not well versed in other areas of law like criminal law. Johor Bahru is also a little further from KL or Seremban so I needed to drive 3 hours or 4 hours to go home during certain weekends. Living on my own, I also had to pay my rental which was extremely high in Johor Bahru, and live on my own. No more eating home cooked food. My salary was barely enough to cover the rising cost of living in Johor Bahru. I couldn't really afford overseas travels unless it was Singapore because it was so near just across the border.

Recently, I was transferred to Pekan, Pahang to be a Magistrate which is where I received your letter. This is on the East Coast closer to Kuantan and Terengganu and further from KL or Seremban. My job as a Magistrate requires me to hear criminal and civil cases everyday and still find time to manage my Court and my staff. The responsibilities are heavy.

However, I find that the challenges that I am facing are not insurmountable. I am learning new things everyday, and I will leave you with 2 quotes:-

1) What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

2) With great power comes great responsibility.

I have the power to sentence criminals to prison, so my responsibility is heavy to ensure that the person gets a fair trial before I judge that he has indeed committed the offence and deserves a jail sentence.

All that workload and responsibility I'm given, though heavy and some days I wonder why I quit private law practice, I emerge from each challenge and obstacle being a stronger person than I was before.

From your letter, I gather that you are a strong person also who is not shy to face challenges. I believe that once you set your mind on something, you can do anything you want to do. Should you proceed to study medicine and venture into a business model later on in your life, I'm sure you will do so successfully. Look at how things can overlap, your medical knowledge and skills might allow you to open a pharmaceutical business or even a chain of clinics, earning you the big bucks you so desire.

Of course, don't limit yourself, you have a long way to go so dream big.

I wish you all the best in your life and your studies and I hope to hear from you again should you wish to write back, on anything you might like to discuss.

Warm wishes,

Melody