Roots

Sigh. Am I being a little cruel - not understanding enough, perhaps? - to feel angry at my little sis for feeling so dissatisfied about school and her life in Bentong? Here I am missing home and Bentong and Malaysia so much, wishing that if I thought about it hard enough I might somehow be teleported back home and leave all these exams, cares and anxieties behind. And there she is telling me "I rather be in London". "What am I to do during holidays in a small town like this?". "Maybe Bentong was a little better during your time". I cannot help but feel betrayed. I love Bentong, no matter how much I myself playfully diss it about being backward and ulu and un-happening. I'll never forget where I came from, even if I never live in Bentong ever again for whatever reason; never ever forget my roots as a smalltown girl/country bumpkin. I know that my sister might just be going through the growing-up pains, being the 14 year old girl that she is, and being flooded by the MTV culture left right front and behind. And I definitely don't deny that the pressure was perhaps to a lesser degree during my time as a schoolgirl. Maybe I'm just being overly sentimental. I don't know.

If you've never seen or heard me defend my hometown Bentong with the ferocity of a tabby cat protecting her kittens, try me right now. There could not be a better time.