Teacher, I want to be like you

Cringe. That is the word to describe my feeling when I heard someone said “Teacher, I want to be like you” to me. I looked at her in (half) disbelief. “Kenapa Teacher tengok saya macam tu? [Translation: Why are you looking at me like that? ” I was speechless. To be honest, I do not want anyone to be like me. I know that perhaps this student perceives me as a role model. I am not a good role model. I am completely aware of this.

Being a teenager can be challenging, especially you are in a transition period between childhood and adulthood. I was a teenager in late 90s. So you can guess I am not young anymore. In a few years, I will be 50. The big five zero.

In my twenties and thirties, I had experienced more downs than ups. But, I had no regret. It is difficult to accept failures than successes. I am a human being. I have feelings but I learn from my mentors especially those who taught me psychology courses (you know who you are), that understanding oneself does not makes life easier. Learning psychology does not mean that I understand myself better than other people. It is far from that. But there are theories that I can refer to and reflect on when “things” happen. So, it is up to me to make sense of things that happen in myself. Nothing else matters.

Last tuition for SPM takers. 17 February 2023 (Friday)

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hadijahjaffri

I am who I am and what I am cannot be defined by what I have/posses or have done. Therefore, I am me.