It’s been a really long time since I penned down my thoughts. More than two and a half years have gone by, and to say that “things have changed” is an understatement. I never would have dreamed of the life I have now – let alone live it. As I type this from the Al Maha Lounge at Hamad International Airport, I almost want to pinch myself. I’m going home to Kuala Lumpur for a week to visit family and celebrate my grandma’s 80th birthday. Yes, you read that right. I’m writing from Hamad International Airport, all the way in Doha, Qatar, where I now live. This November, it would be ONE WHOLE YEAR of leaving my life behind to start a new chapter in a foreign land.
Where do I even begin? I’ve travelled more in the last four years than I ever have in my entire life. Aviation wasn’t something I ever envisioned for myself, but here we are. My words plastered across billboards, screens and emails to people across the globe. From the wings of my nation’s carrier to the eyes of the world, jumping from Malaysia Airlines to Qatar Airways was not in the bingo cards for this simple life I thought I lived.
My life has been far from simple. Everything I’ve experienced never came easy. I’ve met the best and the worst of people – for the most part, I broke but somehow pieced myself back together again. Heck, Doha even got attacked twice in the span of four months – stories for another day. It’s been so surreal, sometimes I wonder if all of this is just a simulation. But I can’t take all the credit, can I? Because the truth is, God knew all of this before I even existed. He knew that I never could’ve dreamed up this extraordinary life.
I stopped writing not because I was uninspired. Despite all the excitement that came my way, I got tired. When what you love becomes your entire career, passion takes a backseat. Yet as I look back on my journey, every story I’ve lived through deserves to be told. It’s not for applause, but rather, it acts as a testament of God’s goodness. Where would I be if not for Him?
x
