Lessons from my parents

I OWE a debt of gratitude to the most important person in my life: my mother. She has always been by my side rain or shine.

When I was young, I developed a stutter which hindered my ability to complete my sentences naturally.

Happy Mothers Day: Shi Hao with his mother.

In greeting someone, I sounded like “I... am... Sh..i H..ao... Nice... to... mee..t yo..u...”

The constant stress of putting up with my impediment led me to withdraw from social situations. I was reluctant to talk to people, let alone hang out with them.

My mother had been supportive throughout my struggles.

She said to me: “Son, you are special. Your brain is processing things faster than your mouth and it’s a gift rather than a curse. Disregard what other people say and unleash your true potential!” That seemingly simple advice marked the beginning of my transformation, where I embraced who I was rather than who I was perceived to be.

In pushing myself out of my comfort zone, I took part in multilingual storytelling competitions, fashion shows and singing competitions.

What amazed me was that I won a couple of prizes in these competitions. On top of that, I was chosen to be my school’s volleyball team captain.

Over the years, I have made a bunch of good friends whom I never anticipated meeting.

Looking back on my life’s journey thus far, I can say for certain that one of the most important lessons I have learnt is to have resilience.

It is resilience that has helped me weather the pain of losing my father five years ago. Although time has passed, the reality of his death is still devastating to me. Not a single day goes by without me reminiscing about the good old times with him.

My father had always taught me to be stoic in the face of adversity. For instance, when I was in primary school, I was constantly mocked for my rotund appearance. Sometimes, I got so agitated about being treated so badly that I felt tempted to fight back. Instead, he was there to guide me towards adopting the right mindset, which was to ignore the inappropriate remarks and remain cheerful.

It took great courage and confidence for my younger self to heed his advice and I am grateful that I did.

To this day, I constantly remind myself to never lose hope no matter how overwhelming a situation may seem, because there is always a way out.

I praise God, my mother and late father, other family members, mentors and friends who have helped me in my transformation. And on this special day, I would like to wish my mother a very happy Mothers Day!

Shi Hao, 21, a student in Selangor, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team.