Hello.
I remember dedicating one of my entries to this person.
It was for his birthday last year.
Ironically, this year, I almost forgot to wish him a happy birthday, which I did on the next day at midnight.
I felt a whole lot of guilt for not remembering his birthday, though, throughout the whole day I felt like something was amiss, that something was just not right.
No wonder.
Here, once again, I would like to dedicate this entry to a person I really look up to, admire and respect.
Abbas Ridzuan
As long as I've known him, he has never ceased to amaze me with every bit of himself that he puts out there to achieve whatever it is he sets out to achieve.
He is the very opposite of what I am and how I live my life.
He doesn't play by the rules, he makes them.
He has this FTW attitude that I don't think I'll ever have.
Even if I did have that kind of attitude, I wouldn't even reach his level.
He never lets anything go to his head and whenever he feels pressured, he doesn't go emotional on everything.
Instead, he'd keep calm and think of the rational solutions to whatever it was he was facing.
But what makes me look up to him the most is his drive, passion and motivation to break through all obstacles to realize his dreams.
Abbas is a very intelligent person, always excelling in school; academics and co-curriculum-wise.
He is an avid gamer and is one of my initial influences to start being a gamer, myself.
His natural genius and bold character are his strong suits and his knack for adventure is, as I've said, unchallenged.
Despite the long hours he spends gaming and surfing the internet, he devotes his remaining time for his studies, for which he never abandons.
He got a perfect score for his SPM, with 10As total (including A+ and A-).
He was the type of student people expect to become an engineer, architect or somebody along the lines, since he took Engineering Science for his SPM.
But he shocked literally the whole world when he set his sights on something far from people's expectations.
He was going to study Game Arts Development at Lim Kok Wing University.
A normal, typical student would apply for UPU, Matriculation and any scholarship out there for courses such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering or Accounting.
This particular student didn't even apply for Matriculation.
He even dropped Chemistry for his SPM (went into the History books, I tell you that).
Abbas was determined to grab a hold of his dreams and charge on to achieve it.
As a friend, I was 1000% (impossibility intended) supportive of him.
The moment I got to know he had received a scholarship from The Star to pursue his studies in Game Arts Development, I just might have been the happiest guy alive.
He's already finished his Foundation in Design and is now continuing his Degree program at LUCT.
He says that there are times when things get hard but he says what's important is to always remember what you want and work hard to get it.
If only I had the strength to do so, myself.
Abbas is not one who conforms to the community but in turn, shapes the community around him.
Even when his grandfather had wanted him to become a surgeon and adding that you don't need straight As to study Game Arts, he pulled through and is now enjoying studying what he loves.
I talked to him the other day about how I had lost all contact with my dreams and goals.
He asked me what I wanted in life, what I wanted to achieve at the end of this path I've chosen.
I froze in my chair, my head filled with emptiness and a heart so broken, I almost teared up.
I thought I'd realized it earlier but the feeling really sinks in when you tell a person you don't know at all what you want in life.
As many times as Abbas kept asking me, I had no idea of what to work for.
He asked if I liked what I was doing/going to do.
I told him I learn to love the things I do because I get used to doing it.
I practically live my life so that I don't disappoint the people around me.
Heck, I even get perfect grades for the sake of not getting scolded by my parents.
Of course they want to guarantee a bright future for me but along the way, I lost my dreams.
I forgot them.
That is why I admire Abbas so much.
He is not the person I am, a person who conforms and achieves only people's expectations instead of his own dreams.
I don't know whether or not you would understand my admiration towards him, but he is the very definition of a "doer".
Instead of just dreaming, setting goals and waiting for stuff to happen, he takes the bull by its horns and doesn't let go even when he's staring straight into the eye of death (not exaggerating).
Anyway, his story of determination and passion is yet to be finished and I'm sure it will end very, very well.
He has all his family and friends cheering him on and I can't wait to one day be able to tell my children,
"Hey, you know what? Your Uncle Abbas made this game,"
Till that day comes, I will always pray for his success.
All the best, bro.
"What do you want in life?"
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