When Dreams come True! ( Part 2)

My second year in university was extraordinary. And so was my life in AIESEC.... In my second year with AIESEC it was all about exploring... exploring the possibilities... exploring my could-do's.... exploring my interest but most of all, exploring my future career path through AIESEC.In 2002 i was just an ordinary executive in charge of In-coming Exchange and also part of the HR Training Team for my university. During this year, i tried as much as possible to learn from my seniors about the various areas and departments in AIESEC.... and of course with that slowly starting understanding my passion and my interest through the work that i was doing. I was mainly passionate about HR as meeting people have always been one thing that i have loved to do since young. But then i realized that it was not only about meeting people it was talking to them, helping them understand themselves,helping them develop themselves in the most interesting ways.

When it came to elections, I felt that i had to do what was needful for me and my organisation. It took me several months just to decide if i wanted to go fo the Vice President of Human Resource position or to run for Local Committee President itself. I would love to be the next VP HR for LC USM as i have always been inspired by the previous VP HRs and i remember saying to myself in my first year of AIESEC that, "one day... i want to be just like them, role models..." However, at the same time i felt that i should also challenge myself further to run for LCP. Of course, at that point of time, I thought that i knew everything and that i was ready to lead my LC to unimaginable height!

One month prior to elections and with a lot of guidance and support from my mum, i decided to run for( in order of preference):
1) Local Committee President
2) Vice President of Human Resource
3) Vice President of In-Coming Exchange

The 3 areas that i felt most confident being able to contribute as a leader for my LC...

It was my first time going through interviews and and all and for me, it was not something that i quite liked....I remember saying to one of my seniors that time after my interview.." This is the first and last time i go through something like this....it's mental torture.."

Anyway.... if i thought the interview was a torture... well waiting for the results was even worse! I remember having sleepless nights thinking about the results... I was really hoping that the EBs would give me a chance to lead my LC and not just view me as someone who can dance and makes people laugh. I wanted to show people that i had what it takes to be a leader...and with that i hope that my months of researching and studying for the interview would finally pay off....

Well... it was time to announce the board.... and my best friend in AIESEC at that time was elected as the in-coming Local Committee President! I remember feeling happy for her.... but at the same time i couldnt help feeling really dissapointed and sad over my "failure". During our transition camp, we were then put into our respective departments, and i was finally pronounced, VPHR.... yeah i was on top of the world... and was really eager to start my term!

As time went by, I found myself trapped in many different kinds of situations. Situations that really made me sad and depressed at times... It was the most challenging year where i experienced how different it was to work in a team where people work, think and act very differently. It was really hard working with people of different personalities...where we could never agree on ANYTHING! At that time, i felt that everything that i have in AIESEC was not worth it at all... it was just spoiling my life in university.... and the thought of just quitting from the team/AIESEC did occur many times. However... looking I'm glad i never decided to take the easy way out.

I stayed on in AIESEC that year... focusing on the people who believed in me... who were depending on me... the people who provided me with positive energy and support to carry on. I stayed back mainly for my babies that i had recruitted that year and t he year before... i wanted them to see AIESEC as how i saw it during my first year... And with that, I was able to still carry.... And i'm proud to have made the wisest decision at that time... to stay and take these moments and situations as lessons in my life...oh yea, i could have quit... but what next? Am i going to do the same everytime i run into challenges in life?Of course not, quitting is only for those whho want the easy way out for everything.... and i didnt want that for myself!

Of course, thinking back, things could have been a lot more different if i had been more mature to handle things, able to see things from different perspectives, and didnt have such a big ego! But well, those were the days and i believe the true learnings from life come from your negative experiences.... if life was always as easy and smooth going, then there will be nothing that you can learn from...or aprreciate...or improve on.,.... LIFE WOULD BE SOOOO BORING!!!

One conference that I will always remember that year,was NLDS in UUM, as the HR sisters, naturally we were in charge of the closing ceremony for NLDS... That is when my HR sisters, JEssica and Felicia .... and of course Michelle... we sang a song to conclude what we thought was the finale to a great NLDS in UUM and a great finale to our lives in AIESEC... We sang the song, At the Beginning With you... a song that truly reflected our journey in AIESEC... a song that we thought would be the last sung by us in AIESEC... I remember crying so badly at that conference, thinking that it's going to be my last year in AIESEC ( yeap despite everything that i went through... the fact was... AIESEC was still something so dear to me... ) and i couldnt imagine my life without AIESEC...

Anyway, year three in AIESEC ended as i finished my studies in university and carried on to go for an internship program in India for about 5 months right after my final paper......