I get full marks and A's for my English assignments. I speak English with an American accent. My writing style is eloquent and subdued. And all these things happen due to the fact that I am Caucasian. Mystery solved.
Or is it?
The truth is, I'm only part Caucasian. The other parts are Bugis, Arab, Irish, and God knows what else. I'm good at neither Bugis Language nor Arab Language nor Irish, French or whatever else I am descended from. Nobody seems to find that the least bit odd.
I'm not a Malay but I got A's for my Bahasa Melayu work. And even if you argue that in school its Bahasa Malaysia, not Bahasa Melayu, I wasn't even a Malaysian yet when I got an A1 for it for SPM. I speak perfect Malay in both Sabahan and Semenanjung slangs. But nobody questions that.
Why am I only good at English Language because I am (part) Caucasian?
People fail to acknowledge that I am good at English Language because I worked for it. I read so much I'm almost blind, goddammit. For once, I wish to be congratulated for my effort. Not dismissed as another lucky bastard with an American mother.
Not only is my effort ignored, my siblings are made out as idiots. They don't perform as well as I do in English Language. Amelia even got a B for her English in UPSR. People see her as the stupid daughter -- she's got the American mother but no A in English and no American accent.
I have plenty of Malaysian friends who have great English -- some even better than mine; the amazing Teacher Nina, Anwar Majeed, Greg Hansen, Siti Masturah, Nazyrul -- all without Caucasian parents. And Nazyrul even has an American accent. How can that be, you ask? Because they worked for it. Why are they the smart ones? Why am I not included?
My point is: Yes, my mother is American. Yes, I happen to have an American accent. But I never would have been able to speak English as freely as I do, or write the way I do, if I haven't put in as much work as I have. Or if I haven't read as many books as I have (I mean, really, my glasses are as thick as a biology textbook). Or if I haven't spent as much time doing writing exercises, rereading and cringing at my work.
The moral of the story: The English Language is not a miracle of birth. Just like everything else in this world, it comes with hard work.
Rant over.
Aimless Wanderer
3 years ago
9 comments:
Anwar Majeed - used to know him as a friend "who-cursed-a-lot" years back :) but now he's changed, only words of wisdom came out from his mouth (most of the time lah! :0)
Yeah, I just realized that! He actually had the EQ to say I'm nice, recently (instead of things that starts with a 'B').lol.
Hm...Maybe Anwar isn't the only one who has changed
Amanda!!!..update me on Mr. Anwar PP..what happened to him?
wanna hear me rants in perfect Trengganu's Enguhlizsh?
Yep, hard work liao. No genetic involved.
@skidezourus:
He got H1N1 and currently under quarantine, but he's fine as far as fine goes.
@Sir Pk Deng:
yes, please. I expect it'll be interesting.
true, they come with hard work - everything nice.
well mine's american too. very thick and sexy, hehe. got people asking nani you penah pegi states ke - my answer: TV. and books.
i started reading english when i was merely 3. so yeah, tho i still think my vocab is gila kecik, ppl selalu kagum and it pisses me off because i tak boleh nk rasa proud since i dont think i deserve the admiration - teruk betul nani nih.
omg is teacher nina in your post me? if she is i'm gila flattered you called me one of your friends!!
@Max:
lol. we got 2 much in common, like sarcasm n a love for merepek story books. We're like, Percy and Thalia.
I could see where they are coming though. Ah~ law of the nature. Let's see this from science point of view. The offspring will inherit some of the parent's trait - fact, as proved by Mendel's Law.
But then again, you would have to question, how much of your parent's characteristics is passed down to you? If, by chance, your gene is dominantly from your mother, then surely the genetic factor played its part too. And even if that's the case, then to next question, you would have to question too how much of it actually played its part in your success.
I consider myself to be quite good at math. My elder brother too. My dad majored in Math during his study years. I excel more at abstract math than the others, my dad's studies focuses mainly on statistical math. Now, that can't be all coincidence, don't you think?
But my eldest brother, my younger brother too, both sucks at math. Okay, now you have to consider the mating factor too. Not all sperms are 100% equal, totally the same.
Genetical factor played its part - science fact. How much hard work played its part in people's success - no one knows.
My point is, I totally understand your frustration, but unless you can prove that your success is down to your hard work, just bear with it. Mulut orang tak boleh ditutup. Who cares. Just credit yourself. We can't satisfy every one right? :)
@eD
I'll just pretend I understood your explanation about biological inheritance. lol.
Your dad is a math whiz, you're a math whiz -- genetic advantage? Hm, but your brothers aren't. The question is, which factor is influencing the outcome: genes or hard work?
True, you could see your success as a result of your dad's math genes passing unto you, but not your brothers. But I see things differently.
Said the late Thomas Edison, 'Success is 1 percent genius, 99 percent sweat'. And I totally agree. Maybe the 'genius' part, or the 'good genes' part is what separates the good from the great. But you can't even dream of being good without the hard work, regardless of whether you possess the genes or not.
So it's up to you whether you call yourself a genius or what not. I consider myself a 'genius of hard work'. (Yes, I know, I stole the line of Maito Guy)
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