Flashback Friday
So while I haven’t made the time to do a ‘Draw My Life’ video, I found these old pictures while clearing out my computer! I think I scanned them for a magazine interview I did for i-Weekly or something quite awhile back, so I thought to share. Take it like a precursor to a ‘Draw My Life’ video. Don’t laugh k!! (Try hard not to, at least? LOL)
I don’t have a lot of baby photos. Apparently, I wasn’t a very cute kid, so my (much cuter!) older brother with the huge eyes got more photo love. It’s ok, it made me have to try harder to develop winning charm and personality since my face didn’t do it, hahaha!
I had a simple, but extremely happy upbringing. It was just four of us when I was born (my younger brother would only be born when I was a teenager), and my family is very close-knit unit, including the extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins. Both my folks worked full-time, but they were the kind to make the effort to take us out as often as they could. Growing up, I assumed that everyone else’s folks did this too, but I now realise just how much of an extra effort my parents made, especially given the limited time and money they had, and I am very grateful. Guess my love for the beach started with them; they’d take us to East Coast almost weekly. Sometimes we’d go to fly kites, sometimes to play ball, catching or just to run around like the crazy kids we were. There was always food – it was always a picnic with sandwiches, chips and biscuits. There would almost always be a home-cooked curry, and now and then we had barbecues with a small pit my dad would bring.
In case you’ve ever wondered, I hardly post pictures of those closest to me because I respect their preference not to. My loved ones are very private, so I try hard to find pictures that don’t include them. (It really limits my photo choices sometimes though!)
This was when I was in primary school. Yes, I was a KC girl. I have no idea why my uniform was such a different shade from everyone else’s though!
Sports, art, music – I wanted to do everything in school! Co-curricular activities (CCA), or extra-curricular activities (ECA), as they were known in the 90s, were only for those in primary three and above, but so when I was in primary one, my cousin and I managed to convince the school we ‘had’ to be allowed to be in the art club. I remember many a Saturday morning spent in school, learning to sketch, draw and paint. I don’t think any of my early works of art survived though, so none to show here.
I was so happy when I turned nine and was in primary three. All the CCAs for the picking! On top of the piano lessons I was having at home that I had bugged my folks to let me have, I begged mum for violin lessons when a violin CCA class opened. Sadly I broke my first violin en route to my first class – I was excitedly skipping and swinging my new instrument as I did; it slipped out of my hands, smashed into a wall and the chin rest broke off. That was a short career indeed. My folks were pretty mad with me and refused to buy me another one.
Mum had told me stories of how she wanted to be a Girl Guide when she was in school, but the family was so poor they couldn’t afford the extra money for her to buy the Guide uniform. I decided hence I wanted to try to be part of a uniformed group too. I joined the Brownies in school, not really knowing what it was they did. I found I really liked how they tried to help people and to make the world a better place. Some of the fantastical bits appealed to my geeky side as well – the groups were known as packs, and each one of us was part of a pack – we were either Fairies, Pixies, Gnomes, Elves, Goblins; cool stuff like that. I remember being sad I was a Gnome, when I really wanted to be a Fairy or Elf (they looked so much prettier in the pictures in the Brownie Handbook!). Still, I was pretty stoked to be part of this (what I thought was cool) group. I made the most of it and I enjoyed the activities and the outings. I was even made a Sixer, which is kind of the leader of a pack. This is me all geeky-happy trying on my brand-new, too-big and un-ironed uniform at home. Couldn’t even keep my eyes open lol.
We played netball once for Physical Education (PE), and I fell in love. I liked music, loved art and enjoyed being a Brownie, but it was in sports that I really felt I belonged. I joined netball as a CCA, and when I’d made it to the school team in primary four, soon found I had little time for other activities. =( My other interests took a little backseat, and I never made it to become a Guide.
Secondary school – now that was one wild ride. Will share more soon! Tell me what CCAs you joined in school, and share your memorable experiences with me too please!