My name is Alia and I am currently studying Finance and Economics. I come from Malaysia, the country which is most recently infamous for setting the stage for the death of North Korea’s half-brother, Kim Jong Nam. Aside from the sensational tragedies that occurs in Malaysia which appears every now and then, I feel that Malaysia is truly a wonderful place. It cannot be denied that I have an inherent bias towards this opinion, but I must say, there has only been one person I know of who has ever said the country was dull, and that was due to the raining season. However, I am not blind to the faults that I see happen, as the country is marred by corruption, race politics and exploitation of resources. Thus, like any other idealistic millennials, I cry for change, but still lack proactivity working towards it. I am aware that this predicament of inactivity is a form of hypocrisy, but who knows, maybe within my undergraduate studies, I might get an impetus to start something substantial.

In the meantime, I have set my sight on exploring the Americas, for who knows when I will get to again once home. It’s a beautiful continent rich with nature, and not seizing the opportunity to explore would be criminal. However, the carbon footprint released every time I board a flight makes me bite my tongue, but that feeling fades as it is usually replaced by joy upon arrival. To have guilt turned around so fast, is almost nauseating and shameful to think of. It makes me sometimes wonder if I would win an election spearheading the cause of capriciousness. In honesty, I get appalled at people if they talk about the environment lightly, or have that it’s-not-my-problem attitude – but at the same time, I cannot justify my actions of travelling, buying cheap eggs made of polystyrene boxes, or not having the diligence to give up meat completely. There are just too many discrepancies in my principles versus my actions, which is really an ugly portrait to paint.  If I were a canvas, I would say that my childhood painted the background and now, I am seeing splotches of my main subject. Time will run its course to fill in all the other missing parts and I hope it would be something poignant.