I Hated Studying

I hated studying. I simply didn't know how to learn. I spent an hour trying to memorise one page, only to forget it after turning to the next. Every poor exam result made me believe my future was doomed. My mother warned me that without a good school certificate, I would have no job and no future. I became obsessed. In my mind, it was simple: pass or die.

One day, my eldest brother quietly said, "To study is difficult. Not to study is even more difficult."

Those words changed my life. After school, I went straight to Toa Payoh Library and studied until the librarian switched off the lights at 10 p.m. I never watched movies, never dated, and hardly socialised. Studying became my mission.

Years later, at the age of forty, I graduated with an Honours degree in Computer Science. It took years of evening classes after work and consumed all of my savings, but the journey was worth every sacrifice.

Looking back, I realise my brother didn't make studying easier.

He simply gave me a reason not to give up.

~ Sam Choo