Have you guys read the poem entitled The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost? If not, click here to read it and here for the analysis of the poem.

I first read the poem in 2009 as it was in our English's subject's syllabus. It caught my attention at my first glance. It was a deep poem to me; and to think that I always chose the most unexpected decision in my life, I guess, I have been walking on the road not taken for quite a while.

One of the best example was when I decided to quit being an MRSM student and began to study in a normal school. MRSM (Maktab Rendah Sains MARA or MARA Junior Science College (MJSC)) is an elite boarding school, placing mostly top scorers in national examinations. After spending 4 years in boarding school, I have the wildest thought of schooling in a normal high school and I was like, why not?

My parents were against of my decision, of course, as they thought it was not the best choice for me. I was stubborn; I rebel just to show that I decided what's best for me which... turned out to be wrong. I thought I could be better in terms of education, because of tuitions that I could go but no, it's not. I thought I could overcome the challenges I will face if I stay at home but no, I failed big time. I scored straight As for previous national examinations; UPSR and PMR, but I only managed to get 5As and 4Cs for SPM.

Everyone had a high expectation on me, and I spoiled the fun. Now, not even one of them expect I will get high scores like I used to. At first I was like, it was my fault because I was being completely lazy in my SPM days. But to think of it in another point of view, if I was still in MRSM, my friends might encourage me to join them studying, which actually will help me to study rather than being a lazy student with big dream.

That was one of the disadvantages choosing the road less taken by people.

After SPM ends, came the day where we, school leavers, had to fill a form with 8 desired courses for university. I still remember that on that period of time, I was into engineering, which explained that I chose mostly engineering-related courses. My first choice was TESL (Teaching English as Second Language) because I believe my English was impressive back then. Second choice was mechanical engineering, third choice was electrical engineering and fourth choice was computer science. The other four were filled with electrical engineering courses offered by different universities.

I was called for TESL's interview - but my application for it was turned down. It was something that I expected as I lack of self confidence. A teacher needs to be confident, especially when it comes to speaking in front of others, right? I was feeling sad, no joke, because I was too confident that I will be picked to be one of the TESL students. Finally getting a grip on reality, I let go my dream to be an English teacher (or lecturer) and focused on my UPU application.

Since 6 of 8 of my desired courses were engineering, I became over-confident that I will be accepted for it. The result day came out, and, it seemed like the world of engineering hates me. I was picked to study Computer Science, the course which I expect the least to get accepted, to be very honest. I felt reluctant, I thought of giving up, too.

I talked to my dad at how I want to be an engineer; following his footsteps, and I talked to my mother if I can ask to be in any engineering-related course. I was hoping that they will let me choose what I want but no, they encouraged me to follow the flow and try to be a student of Computer Science. If I still couldn't love Computer Science in one semester, they will ask for a transfer for me. 

And so, with a reluctant heart, I went to UiTM Arau, went through a hectic orientation week, and started to learn the basic of computer science. Surprisingly, I like it so much. My love for programming was too much, that I ditch my favourite Science subject, Physics, for it. Days passed by, and on this one day, I laid on my bed, wondering what will happen if I was an electrical engineering student. Will I still love Physics or will I continue learning it half-heartedly?

As much as I love Physics, I rarely get an A for it. As much as I despise to be known as a Computer Science before, I managed to score A for programming subjects for 2 semesters. (I got a B- for last semester) I don't know if this can be considered as the road less taken by people, or if this is considered as destined by Allah but all I know is, I finally know where my life is heading to. I get a picture of my future, I know which course I want to take for degree, I know what I want to be later on.

I know that it felt like a gamble; since we got picked randomly based on our results. Sometimes, we were offered by the least expected course, the one that we felt like we barely can pass with flying colours. But not all the course picked by the government (was it them who put us in which course? I don't really know) suit us, though.

Life is all about gamble. If you know how to handle the flow, then you win.

Wow, such a long post from a person who couldn't write well. I hope you enjoy this long writing of mine without any pictures to entertain the poor heart of yours. Cheers and good luck!