If I could escape.

It's funny how I entered college beginning of this year, thinking that everything was going to be simple and fun. I was looking forward for this year, somehow or rather. And it's so ironic how I thought that things were going to be different and my life would take a change.



I was so sure that all that stress ended with SPM and college life would be of rainbows and smiles.


Oh shut up. Don't laugh.


And on the first day, I realised that I didn't quite much like the people I met. I found eight out of ten people to be weird. Three of which were extreme dumb blonds. One of which was bragging about being the perfect scorer in high school and lamenting her straight A's. Another one was being very kind and nice and was smiling almost all the time, I knew she was a fraud at first sight. And a guy who acted like he was every guy's dream and every girl's fantasy. And I thought these people needed help.



I was the only one from Johor in my class and I got lots of awkward stares when I was to mention I was from JB.



"JB? Is that the place which is always flooded?"


"Whoa. Do you guys have like, malls and stuff like that there?"


"Oh look, I have a classmate from Kluang. Are you guys in the same school or something?"


I was almost glad to hear, "You're from Convent? I've got a friend there." Only to find out this particular friend was in Convent, Batu Pahat, which in case some of you might not know is a good 120 km away from JB.



Why haven't these people realised that Johor Bahru was a village about half a millennium ago? It's a city now. We have roads like you do for God's sake. We have shopping complexes and buildings. The whole city doesn't get flooded by the way and it does not happen that frequently too. Kluang and Batu Pahat are different districts for crying out loud. And no, we don't have chickens running around in front of our houses.


So much for boosting tourism in the country. Why waste millions and millions of dollars when even Malaysians don't remember what that state near Singapore is called?



And so back to the point, just imagine the culture shock it gave me. Of course there were intellectual people around too and so I did find my clique.



The stress of course built up and it got harder to breathe and I, miss-everything-is-going-to-be-great, felt like my face fell flat on the ground. Those who came to college grinning in the beginning, started to look like zombies.



I feel so stupid coming here with a perception and I regret being so superficial. I wonder if things would have worked out differently for me if not. Sigh.



This post was inspired by the college's new intake students. And how seemingly happy they are to be in college and how excited they are to wear lab coats and how they smile all day long like idiots.



Sigh. Little do they know.