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7/18/2006 Which am I ?Carrot, Egg and Coffee
A carrot , an egg and a cup of coffee ... You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee! The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother? Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?" Think of this: Which am I? When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
The recently concluded National Canoeing Championships and VIVA project have been the trials to me. Juggling between studies, CCAs and boarding activities, the two-year life in JC has been utmost enriching and challenging for me. It's a period of the darkest and brightest moment and of the greatest trials. Making every activities worthwhile and fighting for the glory of Raffles give me the great motivation to spur on despite all the difficulties. Sense of achievement only comes after all the hard work I have gone through and all efforts I have poured in. Spending tons of hours in training and organizing activities, I am tired now. But now they are all over, regardless the results. What really matters is the indelible experience.
But when I sat back and reflected upon all the things happened these two years, I can't help but to ask: which am I?
Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Or am I a piece of ROCK, always hard and invulnerable? But I am not!
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