Que Sera Sera

How did I end up being a lawyer?

Pardon this rather self-absorbed entry, but I was just sitting in my office, on the phone with a client, and I lifted my head and saw my black robe and white bib hanging on my door. And it suddenly hit me... I'm a lawyer.

How in the world did THAT happen??

When I was a little girl, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to be when I grew up. I didn't want to be anything else. I wanted to be a pilot.

Whenever my parents took me on trips by air, I'd sit by the floor-to-ceiling airport windows and gaze in awe at the HUGE BIG airplanes taking-off and landing outside.

I'd stare at the pilots in their crisp white uniforms dragging their black rolling-suitcases and I'd picture myself in their shoes.

I was completely and utterly amazed that these people could take control of the HUGE BIG airplanes and FLY 'em in the air to go all over the world.

When I became a teenager, instead of posters of boy bands or hunky actors, my room was decorated with pictures of airplanes.

I wanted to be a pilot so badly, that it never occured to me that I couldn't become one.

When I was in Form 3, at the end of the final semester, we had to decide which 'stream' we would be joining for the coming year. I knew that joining the science stream would be a prerequisite to my application to be a pilot. But before I did that, I wanted to find out what the other qualifications would be.

So I wrote to MAS's recruitment division, asking for a list of qualifications.

A few weeks later, I received a reply and I eagerly read down the list...

1. Malaysian citizen
- check!

2. Aged between 18-26 as at date of application>
- check!

3. Good command of Bahasa Malaysia and English both written and spoken
- check!

4. Medically and physically fit with perfect eyesight and visual acuity of at least 6/60 without optical aid, correctable to 6/6 and not colour blind.
after years of carrot sticks and vitamins - check!

5. Not less than 163cm (5ft 4in) in height.
- check!

6. Prepared to undergo vigorous training up to twenty (20) months.
- check!

7. Prepared to sign training bond
- had no idea what that was but - check!

8. Pass SPM or its equivalent qualification recognized by Malaysian government with six (06) credits including Bahasa Malaysia and a minimum of B4/C4 in Mathematics, Physics or General Science and English taken at one sitting.
- can do!

9. Male

...........

Male?
That was one thing I could not possibly do anything about.

I was stunned, and with great apprehension, I called them up. I spoke to a very kind lady who confirmed that in order to apply as a cadet pilot with MAS, I had to be male.

So I hung up the phone, moped for a couple of weeks, tore down my airplane photos and signed up for the non-science stream, taking a mongrel of subjects including Add Maths, Eng Lit, Accounts and Economics.

People tried to pacify me, saying that I could try out as an army pilot, or another airline. But I had had my heart set on being a pilot for the national airliner that I refused to consider the 'other' alternatives.

So that was that.

I had no other dreams, so I plodded through Form 4 and Form 5 without much thought about what I'd be doing after graduation.

I carelessly and half-heartedly toyed with other 'ambitions'...
Thought of being a hotel manager, an undercover detective, an advertising executive, a UN representative... all sorts of stuff.

It was only towards the SPM trials did I seriously sat down and thought it over. And my mind drew a blank. I had no idea what I wanted to be.

So I went to see the guidance councellor who encouraged me to take a rather lengthy aptitude test. I completed it and the results came out -- Most suitable profession = Law

I did a different test (one that involved lots of hypothetical questions and personal attribute tests). The results came out -- Law.

I did a final test (one that ALL us Form 5 students had to do). The results came out -- Law.

So, tadaaaaah!!!!

Here I am.

I may not be wearing a crisp white uniform, but I AM wearing a sombre black-n-white suit... and by a twist of fate, I AM dragging a black rolling-suitcase... not through the hustle and bustle of the airports, but the hustle and bustle of the courts.

Don't get me wrong now, I like what I'm doing. I really do.

But I'm just amused at how I ended up.

5 year-old Mediha would be very surprised to see 26 year-old Mediha.

Que sera sera... what will be, will beee...

Note: The qualifications for MAS cadet pilot no longer includes the prerequisite of having a penis.