values and beliefs: a cat in gloves catches no mice
i come from a country where meritocracy is nowhere as beloved as it is in Singapore, or even upheld in the slightest. inner workings of the government plagued with corrupt officials, bribery and sleaze contouring the roads that end in swamps. its truly no surprise that i see education as the golden ticket out of poverty and should be a right for all.
we learnt about the effect of colonialism on African tribes in literature, with education being a main theme. it is described to be revitalizing, and there certainly must be a reason why every volunteer who goes overseas to villages have to build flimsy schools, packed with children parched for education.
my parents grew up with an impossibly little amount of money in the illegal slums of Kuala Lumpur filled with tin mines stripped by colonizers, peppered with the routine death of children that played just a couple of inches too close to it. my aunts gave up their university education to work so that my dad and uncle could go further than they were able to, and so when my dad left home at 18 for university and work, he never told them how he saw the cross border commute like a game he used to play, evil octopuses with tentacles dripping in malicious toxins extending out at him. my mother was the only female in her university physics course, too afraid to ask for the funds to pursue the law course she wanted and doomed to go into an industry she hates.
by some combination of luck and hard work, they graduated during the year of economic downturn for engineering and still somehow got a job, saving up enough to be able to make the choice to bring me to Singapore. they saw Singapore’s system of meritocracy as filled with hope and opportunities that they never got the chance to have, and so i became a citizen of both countries.
my favourite quote is as mentioned in the title — a cat in gloves catches no mice. i believe that we are (and should be) rewarded for our efforts when we do what is needed for success (however it is defined in our own eyes) (wow you capitalist freak). i am probably the biggest fan of meritocracy ever, (more than anyone i know, that’s for sure.) and i dream of becoming a politician or policy maker, because i see the holes in the system that has benefited me but has let others fall through unnoticed. i want to give back to the country that i may not have been born in but has given me essentially everything i have (omg stop it sounds so cringe but i cant help it okay).
my parents ask me about my aspirations and path after secondary school occasionally, never condemning, always curious and supportive, as long as it is something i want. my parents value education, but only as a tool for us to get where we want to, to let it give us what they never got. i value education, because i see where it can take me where they never allowed themselves to dream of. i believe that we ourselves need to take charge, (in this case, of our own education) and put in effort to do what is needed, valiant attempts to attain our dreams. and so this cat wears no gloves.
