At 17 I thought I wanted to be a teacher.
I totally forgot about that dream, only an old photo sitting under the coffee table at my sister’s home reminded me of it.
I found it during a get-together with all my siblings and families. Funny how these things work. You’re not looking for anything, and suddenly a piece of who you used to be is staring back at you from under a coffee table.
Later that day they told me that I will have a surprise visit by my very old friend.
What surprise?, I said. It’s Pok Ar, right? (Full name: Azhar Bin Koming). He was my childhood buddy. We couldn’t do anything alone, must be together.
You see, a good friend will always be in our mind even if we haven’t seen each other in 40 years.
I said to him, “I wish I still had more hair like yours”.
The he replied, “I wish I had more dark hair like yours” 🤓
That’s how it goes with old friends. No formalities, straight back into the banter like no time passed at all.
Then we started to mention old childhood names, retold our childhood stories and lastly he mentioned that our school had just turned 100.
Here is where I will bring you back to the teacher story above.
Our old friend from that school just retired as the school Principal - Kamaludin Bin Hj Abdul Latif. Actually I never knew that he became a teacher, let alone a School Principal.
I remember him as a low profile individual despite being celebrated as a great footballer but not that great in studies. So I thought how could such a down-to-earth quiet person, like 2X quieter than me, did not excel in studies, was able to hold such a commanding and high esteem position?
Then I remember, once there was a penalty shootout in a football challenge. Kamaludin and his favored players were in the line to take the shot. 4 persons took theirs and naturally he, as the most talented player was next on the line to seal it.
But to my surprise, he left it to me, “Pendi, engka ambik lah!”, despite me being a “kaki bangku” (cannot play ball).
Maybe he saw me stood there with great interest, and suddenly my position was closest to the ball, and he thought everyone deserve a chance to prove themselves, and he let me took the shot.
I didn’t score and our team lost, and Kamaludin just smiled at me.
I guess a great leader doesn’t have to be the loudest or smartest. They just need to be a great human.
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