Moving Back to the North

I have decided to take up the new job, working as an engineer which is what I specialized during my four years in university.

A little bit about my previous job. I worked in a start-up consulting firm. I am not sure how to describe what I did because I am an engineering graduate and what I did during my one year in this firm is totally new to me. Well not exactly new because I did something similar during my internship with Accenture. So I joined them and I picked up new skills and knowledge about the IT industry. My boss and colleagues are nice people and I really enjoyed working there. However, deep down inside, I really want to get an engineering job because I want to experience how is it like to be an engineer, so I resigned and started a new life.

I packed everything that I think is essential from a 5m by 5m room and fit it into a car that is smaller than a mini cooper. This got me thinking, what I really need is so little. Just clothes, a laptop, a portable wardrobe, my skin care products, my precious shoes. 6 years of living in Kuala Lumpur and now I am moving back to my homestate in the north. My life is being summarized into a small little car.

The whole 6 hours drive, I kept thinking about how I used to obsess with decorating my room and buying this and that, from clothes and shoes to room decorations and scented candles to represent who I am as a person. Now I realized all those things cannot define who I am because nothing can really define who I am other than my character and personality.

The society try to tell us that men should invest in a good watch because it represents who we are and what status we have achieved in life. Car magazines try to tell us what car to drive to show the world that we have made it by owning a luxury car. There are articles in the internet about “10 things to have in a room to live a relaxing lifestyle”. What I am trying to say is we should make our own decision in our own life and not let others decide for us. Things that we buy must be realistic and have a good justification. That’s what engineering school have thought me. Make the right choice, consider all the trade-offs and have a justification for all the things that we do.

This journey back home is the longest drive that I have ever made. I think about a lot of things and one of it is what others thinks of me is secondary. When I made the decision to change to this job, friends have commented why did I make such an irrational decision when I already have a comfortable job where I can sit in air-condition office and live a lavish lifestyle working in the heart of Kuala Lumpur - KLCC. When I told my friend that I am leaving Kuala Lumpur, most of them would ask whether I will miss this interesting life. I told them I will, but I needed a change.

I am the one that clearly knows what I want to achieve in life. Every decision I made in this life is just another step for me to achieve my ultimate goal, which no one would know other than myself. There may be times where I am not sure about the benefits of taking that risk or people doubt me for making that decision that seems irrational to them, but I have always believe in what Steve Jobs have told the graduates of Stanford University on June 12, 2005. He said “ You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

So this is me believing in my guts, taking this leap of faith. Moving away from the lavish life in KL and start a new adventure in the North.

Who would have thought a long drive can be so inspirational for me.