It does not come from trees

This story is focused mainly to those who are still studying. This student came and told me her story which I felt rather sad.

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N came to me one evening. She told me she had to quit her studies. I asked her why. She told me that she is financially tight. At that time, she was in her second year of studies and had one more year to go. She does not have enough money to pay for her tuition fees. She needs about RM15,000 a year for her studies. Initially, her father and elder sister said they will see her through. Infact, when she told me her decision to quit, her father and elder sister didnt know about it. I advised her to seek study loans. She said it is pointless as they will still be in a big problem, as the loan needs to be repaid.

She told me her father was working as a lorry assistant and she saw how tired her father looks after each delivery. And every night, the mother had to put all those medication on her father's tired muscles. Her father always put up a brave front so that she will continue to study hard. She has not missed any classes. There was a time, when she was using 2 sweaters, she was sick but she refused to miss any classes. She said, all this is money and she said her money didnt come from the tree nor does it fall from heaven. (Those were her exact words)

Also, her elder sister wanted to buy a house for the family (the current house is rented), so her sister needed the money to pay for the instalments.

The moral of the story is "please be appreciative." There are other people who does not have this opportunity to further their studies.

A Problem

I have termed this as "A Problem" because the problem is a real problem and that until now, I am not sure what to title it. This story is about my observation of a student and how she relates to me about her life. (As I have always mentioned, all names have been altered and they are by no means to insult anyone just to remind everyone not to fall into this trap)

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D is about 19 years old now, just finished her diploma course. I met her while she was studying. Many a times, I wanted to know more about her, but she kept on delaying it. She said, I would not understand her. Finally one day, we sat down and we talked.......

D comes from a quite well to do family, both her parents are working. She has 3 older sisters and she is the youngest in the family. When she was young she was looked after by her god mother, who is the mother's sister. When she grew older, her mother brought her back home to the house. She noticed that the 3 older sisters didn't want to communicate much with her. Even her father only talked to her on "official grounds." D started to mix around and met W in a party. W showered D with a lot of attention. D liked this as she didn't have that at home. W on the other hand, took opportunity of this. To cut the story short, D has had 2 abortions already and D's parents are unaware of this situation. D told me, if the parents knew, they would "kill" her.

Anyway, D got tired of W as she always had to give in to W and W was starting to mentally abuse her by saying how useless she is. D met G at the college. G was slightly better than W. D thought G was her true love. Well, G was only good in getting rid of W for D. After a short while, G left D, saying that they were not compatible. 2 months later, G asked D for forgiveness and asked to be together again. I told D that she is asking for trouble. This time round, D was smarter but D also cherished the hope that G will take her again. What G wanted was, D's car. G used D's car to move around town. Infact, G used D's car to go out with another girl!

So finally, D and G broke up, this time for good (I hope). Anyway, about 2 days ago, D called me and said that she was in the hospital. I asked D whether her parents knew about it, she said no. I was thinking to myself, what has happened to this family, are they communicating? When do children and their parents talk to each other?