A few days before teacher's day,I thought to my myself,"should I do or buying anything for my teachers?" Suddenly,Pn Haslin came to my mind!! Why do I keep thinking about her? Pn Haslin is my MUET teacher. She is a very strict teacher but at the same time cool and open minded. We can talk about almost anything in class. I don't know how to explain it but somehow,she touched my heart in her own 'expressionless' way. She will always have that funny smile and puzzled face when me or my classmates ask her some private or funny questions. Personally,I think she can be a comedian. She won't show much expression but she will always say something really funny that will definitely make me and my classmates laughed our nuts out. She is very strict about coming to class late. There was this one time,Karthik and I came to class late because we took very long to eat and her period was exactly after recess. When we reached class,she told us to go to the library. She didn't scold us or showed any signs of hatred towards us for coming to class late. Instantly, it made Karthik and I realise that we did something wrong and it was our fault. The next day,Karthik and I were eating at the canteen when we saw Pn Haslin walking past the canteen to class. It was still early but we didn't wanna cause any problems,so we took some final scoops of our food and ran up to class. She laughed at me when I choked on my food because I didn't digest my food properly and ran up after that. Me and my friends also ask her opinion regarding our problems,relationships,stories and even the things we go through each day. She even tells us her stories about her ex boyfriend and so on. To be honest,I couldn't imagine her being in love until she told me her stories. Overall, she is one of the coolest teachers I've known in my whole life. So for teacher's day,I wanted to do something for her. Since I'm cheap,I didn't want to spend money on her. Anyway,anyone can buy her gifts and I wanted my gift to be more special then any other students that had given her or will give her. So I decided to write her a poem. I know lame right. So I was on my quest to write her a poem. Like usual,I go to the park for inspiration. Hanged out with Arjun and he helped me with the poem and some other sources. Finally,the poem was done. Here is how the poem goes,
Teacher's Day
Pn Haslin,
the art of language is taught by you
forever I will remember you
students come,students go
to them you'll be forever be true
sharing,guiding and caring till the end.
You paint my mind
you guide my thoughts
you share you're achievements
and advise my faults.
You understand your students
you're open and smart
you're a talented teacher
I knew it from the start.
Of all the teachers in EC
you're the finest there is to me
Oh Pn Haslin you're so sweet
without you,my life's incomplete.
By the coolest student you'll ever have,
Hariz
18 May 2009.
Actually the end of the poem,without you,my life's incomplete. I wanted to put, without you,I'll be like shit. but shes a teacher. Got to remember that. On teacher's day I didn't come. So the next day,I tried to find her. Since MUET is all over,she won't be entering my class anymore. I couldn't find her at all. Then the exams came,so I was really busy I didn't get to recite her the poem. After the holidays, I finally got the chance to recite her the poem. It was recess time and Harish told me that she was at the staff's room. So I ran up to take my book. Soon after,all of us went to the staff's room. There were about 13 or 14 guys all behind me. We reached Pn Haslin,and she asked us what we wanted. Try imagine 13 or 14 guys standing in front of you smiling and giggling. I didn't want to recite her the poem then because I was really nervous. Anyway we were in the staff's room. I actually planned to knelled down and recite to her but I was too nervous. I was sweating and shaking at the same time. I saw a box of tissue nearby and took some to wipe off my sweat. She noticed I was carrying a book and she asked me "what is that?",looking confused. Then,I gathered all my courage and put all the nervous feeling aside and told her then I wanted to recite to her a poem. She was like "Ok,go on." The rest gave me some space. I slowly opened my book and recite it to her. While I was reciting the poem to her,I could see that her eyes were very watery and as if she was about to cry. After that,we all went back to class.
A few days later,she saw me and called me. She gave me a letter and asked me to read it.
I didn't understand some of the words she wrote due to her handwriting.LOL. But it was very meaningful. This is what she wrote on the letter.
Dear Hariz,
First of all, I would like to express my appreciation for the rendition of the poem recently. I hope you will be happy to know that despite my 'expressionless' face, I am deeply touched by your attempt. Whether or not you are sincere with your rendition, I am glad that you made an attempt in proving your worth.
With all sincerely, in my opinion your are a very talented young man who will improve with time. Although you might not approve, I strongly believe that you will succeed in whatever you pursue. I know you like to read, with a definite interest in a variety of topics. I hope your passion will serve you well.
Thank you Hariz for enlightening my teacher career with your 'colourful' behaviour. It has been interesting trying to understand you and I hope I meet with your criteria of what a teacher or how a teacher should be.
Good luck, young man and your future undertakings. Do not lose hope and remember your roots. Insyaallah, He will show you where you should go.
Sincerely,
Haslin Ismail
EC 2009.
After reading her letter,I felt really touched that she even took the time to write me back a letter and I think she had been holding the letter for some time and looking for me. I was really inspired after reading it. Anyway when she said 'expressionless' face,I don't think its true because I could see that she was touched by my poem. I've never seen her like that before. I'm just glad she liked it. Should have recorded that time but we were in the staff's room. If I took out my phone,surely will get confiscated.
Anyway,thanks to all of you for reading my story. I'm just happy that,you guys find the time to read my story and visit my blog. Thanks to all. Without all of you,blogging will be boring.