Gestures.

I was at the airport yesterday to send off an old classmate from my Bukit Indah days. This was the third time this year that I've gone there to see off a friend who would be furthering his or her studies in a foreign country. I'll be going for a fourth time tomorrow.

First of all, let me just say that I'm genuinely happy for all my friends who've been given the opportunity to study overseas, and I sincerely hope they do well. Both my parents studied overseas, as well as numerous other adults that I've had the pleasure of knowing. People always say that studying abroad is a good experience, and I've often imagined what it would be like to do so.

There's something about going to a place that's not your own, or even close to your own, on your own. Every time I've gone to send someone off, I've asked them the same question: "How do you feel?"

Most of the time they're nervous. And that's completely understandable. I think it's just due to fear of the unknown, since they always end up just fine eventually. Maybe if I were to go on to study abroad someday, I'd understand.

Anyway, a thought occurred to me after this most recent trip to the airport. Why do I keep making these trips? I've actually lost count of how many I've made exactly, let alone how many people I've sent off. The first few times were great, but then, after a time, the whole thing just starts to lose its novelty. "Oh, some more friends are going," I'd think. And I'd go to send them off. I mean, why do I even bother?

But then I remember: it's a different person every time. It might be the umpteenth time I go to see someone off, but for the person getting seen off, it's the first time that he or she is leaving the country to go live and study in another one. It's huge for these guys, especially since they won't be coming back for a long, long time. And I guess it means a lot to them if their friends were there to say goodbye. These trips aren't about me - it's about them.

I'm a fan of gestures, and I think sending people off before they embark on the biggest adventure of their lives (so far) is as good a gesture as any. If I happen to be free, have a means of transport, and if the timing is convenient, I don't see why I shouldn't go send off someone I consider to be a friend. At the very least, it's a sign of my appreciation of our relationship, as well as a showing of my support for this latest venture.

With regards to the girl in the picture above, her sending-off was a bit different from any of my previous ones. I've known her for ten years, but throughout those ten years, we've never really been that close, despite being classmates for most of that period. We were on speaking terms, but that's about it. Never really chatted much.

I found out about her flight from one of her status updates on Facebook. It was the night before, so you could say it was pretty last-minute. I commented on it to wish her luck, and then I realized that everyone else commenting was doing the same. Pretty normal, you'd think, but I just felt that at least one person should be asking her when the flight was. In other words, I figured that no one would be going to see her off. Well, no one from school anyway. This girl was the top student from our school - as far as I knew, not even the ones who'd left in Form 4 for SBPs managed to match her SPM results - and no one was going to see her off? Granted, maybe her friends weren't free, but come on.

I got another friend to come along, and the look on her face when she first saw us in that departure hall...well, it was priceless. That look alone made the whole trip worth it.

It was the same look I'd seen so many times over these past few years. And it was this look that now reminds me why I drove to the airport all those times in the first place, and why I will continue to do so while I still can.

Blood is Thicker than Water.

After a tough semester, it's a relief to finally be on sem break for two weeks. Time just seemed to fly by over the past two to three months or so with it being a short semester and all, and all of a sudden it was already study week, followed by the final exams. I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't do too well for those, judging by how indifferent I've been feeling about my grades this past semester.

But that's all done now, and I've found myself looking forward to next semester as always. The university's business faculty, or the School of Management and Business (SOMB), is planning for a study trip to India in January, and these next few months will be spent raising RM50 000 to fund it. As part of the working committee, and being assistant project director to boot, it looks like I'll be playing a huge part in that. Next semester looks to be an extremely busy one for me, and even more so as I'll be taking six subjects, but at least I'll have that trip to look forward to as my reward.

Semester break has been going smoothly so far. I've been playing football, catching up on sleep, and basically enjoying not having any work to do. Most importantly, though, I went to two weddings with my grandmother and met a bunch of relatives I never even knew I had.

Growing up, I've only really known my family to consist of my siblings, parents, parents' parents, parents' siblings, and parents' siblings' children - plus several others outside that circle. I barely knew anyone else, and wasn't really interested in meeting any of my more obscure relatives.

Things change as you get older, of course. You start to come out of your shell, start taking an interest in the things and the people around you, and start realizing what's really important.

I've never really been a fan of weddings, especially if I know I won't know anyone there and vice versa. These two weddings were no different - but my attitude towards them this time around was. I decided that, instead of just sitting around moping and generally not wanting to be there, I'd just enjoy the ride. See the sights, eat the food, bother to actually make a mental note of how I was related to anyone I met - that kind of thing.

It worked a treat. I found the two weddings to be quite enjoyable - more enjoyable than past weddings anyway. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

My grandmother had over a hundred first cousins and apparently knew all of them. The way she was chatting people up at the weddings and somehow being very up-to-date with the family goings-on was hugely impressive; even more so when you consider the fact that she doesn't use the internet or a smartphone. Kinda makes me wonder how much I'd care about maintaining familial relationships in the future, because right now I can't imagine myself driving for an hour through busy traffic just to visit some uncle or cousin. Which probably says something about the individual relationships I currently hold with my uncles and cousins.

Sometimes you get too immersed in your own life that you forget that you're not exactly the center of the universe. At times you just need to step back and look at the bigger picture, appreciating all the people in your life who, directly or indirectly, have helped you to make it as far as you have.

Fans of Disney movies may be familiar with this quote: "Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." I think that's pretty deep, as it shows the role of a person's family as his or her unwavering support.

My siblings seemed pretty happy when I told them that I wouldn't be going back to Nilai for a while. I guess I should make the most of my time at home.