I dreamed a dream (Talk Show)

I dreamed a dream

Talk Show by: Ma Seint

Emcee: Ko Whiskey

Date: 2^nd January 28, 2013

15 years ago, I came to this address 23A, Zeyar Thiri Street which is as important as 10, Downing Street in London. Anyone would like to guess why I chose to be here?

(Audience responded – to improve your spoken English; to practice English, etc.)

That sounds like a good answer to Sayagyi, but the truth was “I broke up with my (then) boyfriend”

(Laughter)

I had so much time to kill, that was why I decided to attend the tuition. And later on, I knew I made the right decision because Sayagyi said “After three months …..”

(Audience responded “everything will be OK”)

But I must share the truth with you. I attended this tuition for three and a half years. But I was not OK. Please don’t be fooled by Sayagyi.

(Laughter) 

Fifteen years ago, I was there sitting on one of these chairs. I usually sat at the rows behind. As per the rule, we had to sit alternate (one male student, one female student) and find out the name and student registration number of the person next to me. When a new male student sat next to me, I would straight away share the required info and I could take a rest. 

After a few months, I remembered that I had a dream. In fact, at that time, it was not really a dream. It was just a task I wanted to attempt for my future. I applied for further study at the National University of Singapore, I received an offer for a Master’s degree. I was not offered for scholarship so I could not afford to go there. So I wrote to the school “Dear Sir/Madam, I regret….. then I would like to defer ….” And the next term, I still could not attend and the school cancelled the offer. Second application was also successful, but deferred and cancelled again. My family had already supported for the Bachelor Degree, so I decided not to burden my family anymore. The third offer came, and I thought that might be the last chance. Yet, I still could not find ways to get the financial support. I shared my concerns with friends and my ex-boss family. In 2001, with Sayagyi’s contact, I was working for a company called “Thukha Construction”. When U Thuka and Daw Mar Lar Aye heard about that, they offered me a loan with no burden to my family. They landed me a thousand US Dollars and said “return ONLY if you can”.  My two friends from this tuition, Ni Ni Than, notoriously known as IR, Kay Khaing Aye, and another friend Htwe Htwe Aung also landed me 300 US Dollars each. So, I flew to Singapore. 

I worked part-time to support the school fees. It took me two years to complete M.Sc. (Chemical Engineering) course. The first two years were hard time, but I will never regret for that. I have been working in Singapore until now. When I was settled with the job, I expanded my horizon. I continued to learn and improve myself. 

Now fifteen years after the journey that started here, and after chasing some sort of vague dream, and some hard work, I think I became a better person. Better in a sense, I had additional education and work experience. I could earn enough to support my family. And most importantly, I gained knowledge to share and a heart that cares about others. It all started with a vague dream while sitting right here. I strongly encourage all of you to dream, and dream big. Thank you.