Finally, 18 memorable years have come to what my liver is about to go through tomorrow. My 18th birthday. The momentum of fun during 2009 and 2010 in my last blog post didn’t slow down one bit during 2011 and 2012. 

“The Next Chapter” was a series of eight blog posts which was posted during a period of eight days, reflecting on the first 18 years of my life. Also, building up to the big 18th birthday tomorrow. This is the final of the eight posts.

Possibly the biggest two years of my life, and arguably the next stage of my “teenage development”, 2009 and 2010 were - by far - years to remember. A huge reality check at school and trip to the US both in 2009, and scored my first job and a trip to Vietnam in 2010 were just some of the highlights of these two memorable years. 

“The Next Chapter” is a series of eight blog posts which will be posted during a period of eight days, reflecting on the first 18 years of my life. Also, building up to the big 18th birthday (which is just around the corner) on the 12th of January.

After saying our final farewells, it was back to square one with 2007 marking the beginning of high school education. Yep, another six years of schooling was left ahead of me. 

“The Next Chapter” is a series of eight blog posts which will be posted during a period of eight days, reflecting on the first 18 years of my life. Also, building up to the big 18th birthday (which is just around the corner) on the 12th of January.

I’ve never thought that this day would actually come, and unfortunately, it has. After six years of primary schooling, six years of slaving away at home, six years spent with possibly the best group of friends I’ve ever had… It was time to part ways and say our final farewells.

“The Next Chapter” is a series of eight blog posts which will be posted during a period of eight days, reflecting on the first 18 years of my life. Also, building up to the big 18th birthday (which is just around the corner) on the 12th of January.

2005 and 2006 were possibly two of the most memorable years of my entire life so far. And those memories aren’t all good either.

Yet again, I was still slaving away at 8pm sharp, doing my homework, writing page-long essays, reading aloud to my parents, learning my times-tables, performing on the piano for half an hour, and attending Vietnamese school on Saturday mornings.

Swimming lessons continued and I improved pretty significantly since 2003, when I first started. I improved surprisingly well in karate lessons, I earned the award of being the best achiever in my grade in 2006 - basically I scored the highest amongst the whole of Victoria. Because I didn’t have any Vietnamese knowledge back then, I had to wait until I came home with the certificate for my parents to translate so that I could be proud of myself. Piano lessons, however, was pretty crap. We were still playing the same old boring song, which apparently, I wasn’t playing well enough.. So I just quit at the end of 2005. I clearly had better things to do with my time, and with my parents hard earned money.

2006 was a huge year for me.

I almost got suspended for putting water into a hand dryer at the school toilets. I have to admit, seeing water spit out of the hand driver was pretty funny at the time. But I did regret it in the end… after my parents and school principal found out.

I was also awarded the “Margaret Daniel’s Award”, which is awarded to the best student in the year level. Kind of like the Brownlow Medal Best & Fairest in the AFL, but instead, for little kids like us back then. I was presented in the yearly mass at school, and damn, I was proud of myself for weeks… And from what I remember, my parents, threw a party for me to celebrate. I was the happiest kid alive.

And finally, it was time to say goodbye to the friends that I’ve had so much time with for six years. It was hard. I mean, I did shed a tear or two at the final gathering of the year, but hey, life goes on!

The end of 2006 also marked the end of my Vietnamese schooling and karate lessons. My parents thought that I needed to focus on what’s ahead of me so they decided to get me out of Vietnamese school. I was glad, because I think I was failing the whole way through. The end of karate lessons was a welcome change as well. I eventually got sick of turning up every week, doing the same bloody crap, no matter how bad the weather was.

2006 was when reality started to slowly creep in on me. I learnt that no matter what, life must go on and we must learn to say goodbye.

Next in “The Next Chapter”: VI - Back to Square One (2007 - 2008)

Previous “The Next Chapter” posts:
IV - Old Habits Live On (2003 - 2004)
III - Almost Smooth Sailing (2001 - 2002)
II - A Whole New Beginning (1999 - 2000)
I - A Gift from God (1995 - 1998)

I think it was a pretty safe bet that I was a kid who always wanted everything. Every time I went to school, I’d hear stories from my friends about how fortunate they were, then I’d go home and complain to my parents why I wasn’t as fortunate as them. I guess I was an ignorant and little bitch back then.

“The Next Chapter” is a series of eight blog posts which will be posted during a period of eight days, reflecting on the first 18 years of my life. Also, building up to the big 18th birthday (which is just around the corner) on the 12th of January.

I remember the day when I got a brand new Playstation One from possibly the most caring relative I’ve ever had. I was over the moon. The first game I had played was “Spyro The Dragon”, and I played it for weeks on end. To the point where I was banned from playing during the school week.

“The Next Chapter” is a series of eight blog posts which will be posted during a period of eight days, reflecting on the first 18 years of my life. Also, building up to the big 18th birthday (which is just around the corner) on the 12th of January. 

The memory started to kick in from 2001, and from what I remember, both years were fairly routine. Monday right through to Friday pretty much consisted of school, homework, and sleep. I had Vietnamese lessons on Saturday mornings. And Saturday nights were “free nights” through an agreement with my Dad. As long as I did my homework, I could do whatever I liked on Saturday nights without having to listen to my parents scream at me. Sundays were of course, ‘homework day’, where I had to complete all my homework which was due the next day.

Surprisingly enough, I didn’t have a problem with this ‘routine’ when I was younger. I mean, if I had the exact same timetable now, I would crack. It was probably because I was forced to live with the routine when I was younger. As soon as I stepped out of line, I would cop a slap on the ass from my parents. And it wasn’t with the hands either, it was with a wooden stick. Now I remember that very clearly.

Also, every night (except Saturday nights, of course) at 8pm sharp, I would’ve had to read a story to my parents for an hour, done my homework, learnt the times-tables, and written a page-long diary entry to my parents about my day, for my parents to read. This went on for years. I think my parents finally got sick of me falling asleep in the middle of that hour of reading, or complained about writing a page-long essay every night, so they let me go at the end of 2006. Clearly, it was torture.

I think it was pretty obvious my parents were strict on me back then. I have a list of possibilities on why my parents were so strict on me. One of them include, of course, the need for me to perform well at school. Another possibility may be because they were under the influence of my uncle, who apparently “knew everything”, so my parents listened to him and basically followed every order. I’ve lost count of how many times I copped a slap on the ass, or the litres upon litres of tears that I’ve shed, but looking back, I think they were doing it for my own good.

There was a photo of me - that my sister sneakily took - crying my eyes out after copping a slap on the ass by my parents, but I can’t seem to find it for some reason. I might have ripped it up to shreds in frustration.

Next in “The Next Chapter”: IV - Old Habits Live On (2003 -2004)

Previous “The Next Chapter” posts:
II - A Whole New Beginning (1999 - 2000) 
I - A Gift from God (1995 - 1998)

The final moments of the second millennium and the beginning of the third were ones to remember. Some thought the world would end, these two years saw the beginning of my schooling life, and the start of a whole new chapter of my life.

“The Next Chapter” is a series of eight blog posts which will be posted during a period of eight days, reflecting on the first 18 years of my life. Also, building up to the big 18th birthday (which is just around the corner) on the 12th of January. 

Again, it’s fairly difficult to remember what exactly happened in my life during 1999 and 2000 without the help of family and friends. I mean, all I remember is my first day at kindergarten and primary school, in 1999 and 2000 respectively, and crying my eyes out after seeing my parents leaving me with complete strangers.

These two years also marked the beginning of my social life. Friends that I’ve met in 1999 are still my friends to this date, and it’s amazing to even think that I’ve known them for 13 years.

One of the other people I remember is my prep teacher, whose name is Ms. Vandelkolk. She was like a second mother to me, and treated me very well. I also remember crying because she wouldn’t be my teacher again in 2001.

Again, 1999 and 2000 were both years to remember, with the beginning of both my schooling and social lives, and the start of my in-dependency from my parents.

Next in “The Next Chapter”: III - Almost Smooth Sailing (2001 - 2002)

Previous “The Next Chapter” post:
I - A Gift from God (1995 - 1998)

“Oh, you were so adorable back then!”.. Something that I hear quite often from my immediate family and close relatives. Honestly, I didn’t even know if they were trying to make me feel more pleased with myself, or if they had no option but to say that. Probably the latter of the two.

“The Next Chapter” will be a series of eight blog posts which will be posted in the next eight days, starting from today, reflecting on the first 18 years of my life. Also, building up to the big 18th birthday (which is just around the corner) on the 12th of January. 

12 January 1995. The date I entered Planet Earth.. 2 months early. Something that my mother kept reminding me, even today, was the pain that she went through prior to my birth. And it wasn’t pleasant. Looking at a photo of myself only hours old (that I prefer not to upload), it instantly gives me several thoughts that are.. indescribable.

The first three years of my life are a hard one to remember. I mean, I’m sure no human on this planet knows what happened in the first few years of their lives. I have to get every single detail from my immediate and extended family. And perhaps the photo albums which are collecting dust in the cupboard in the living room might give me something to work towards. All of this leads to the introduction to this post. When relatives say to you, “You were adorable back then!”, or “I remember how cute you were when you were young”, do they actually mean it, or are they forced to say it in front of me, otherwise, I’ll burst into tears?

I guess all of the information that I’ve ever gotten from everybody that I’ve known were that I “was cute”, I knew how to write in English before everybody else in my age group, and I was ‘smarter’ than the rest of them as well. I’m not sure if that’s the case now, or if they were saying the truth from the beginning, but I guess I have no option but to believe my family..

Next in “The Next Chapter”: II - A Whole New Beginning (1999 - 2000)