New Kid on the Block.

Assalamualaikum.

New Kid on the Block.

Meaning: A new arrival in an area or in a group of young friends.

So yeah. I have nothing interesting to talk but I’ll just continue with this.
Something random.

Have you ever being called “the new kid on the block”? Well I have.
If so do you, you might find what I went through as the new kid on the block similar as what you did.

So. I was this 9y-o girl moving from the big hustling city to a small quite town. The everyday view of top-notch condominiums, houses, traffic jams, etc changed to greenish paddy fields, kampong houses, and those abandon-looking shops.

People gasped as soon as they heard my new class teacher, Puan Shamsinar said this;
“Ok. Kamu ada kawan baru hari ni. Nama dia *while browsing through my record book* Nur Syazadiyanah binti Suraini. Kawan kamu ni datang jauh dari … Kuala Lumpur.”

“Owh. Budak KL.”

A friend had to change his seat to the back so that I could sit in front since I’m the BUDAK BARU, OK. BUDAK BARU KENA DUDUK DEPAN. Haha.

Being the new kid in town I can’t deny that I can’t help but (constantly) comparing SK Sungai Dua and SK Taman Melawati (2); where, of course I brag about my old school.

“Oh. Dulu kat KL kan..”
“Oh..sini macam tu eh? Dulu mse kat melawati…”
“Kat sekolah lama dulu kan..”
“Cikgu kte kat melawati kan…”
“Dlu kalau masa seni kan…”
“Bilik tayangan kat sana kan…”

And I remember I cried the first day in school when they said “surau xde air.” Not because I was afraid Allah would be angry if I don’t pray (duh~ at that kind of age?) .. but because I was afraid MY MUM would get mad. Huah2. so yeah, I keep cursing this new school for not having enough facilities for us to pray, REGARDLESS how big the surau is compared to the one in SKTM2. The surau can hold hundreds of people just like the suraus we normally see outside but back there in melawati, there were only rooms for us to pray. kag0m owh mase baru masuk. tp still nk whine jugak. hahahah. Heh~ ego budak baru. Gahah.

So yeah. I keep on comparing my beloved old school with this new school; without realizing how annoying I must had been. I got high scores in exams and the teachers would always say, “Tengok.. Syaza boleh dapat tinggi2 walaupun dia budak baru..” etc etc. And the normal response was “Dia budak KL cikgu…”

Cg Sham picked me to represent the school for Pertandingan Bercerita. They mocked me, they made faces, they just didn’t like me lah senang cite.

The first implicit challenge is obvious but often overlooked in the first blush of excitement about being offered a new job: It is highly unlikely that you were the preferred candidate of everyone you'll be working with. If there were internal candidates for your position, they and their supporters will have, at best, mixed feelings about your selection. You may enjoy little or no honeymoon when you arrive on the campus. [chronicle.com] 

I was the only student of 3K that was appointed to join the prefects next year. The others were the already-prefects.

Second, if you are a newly appointed academic administrator, you can reasonably expect that some of your new colleagues will greet you with jealousy, resentment, and suspicion. If you're already a seasoned administrator, you know that those unfortunate attitudes simply come with the territory. You've gone over to the Dark Side, after all. [chronicle.com]

-Iklan jap.-
I just don’t understand why must u be labelled stuck ups, snobs, when u have that KL dialect. And because of this matter I rarely talk with others (until now) especially those who made faces and mocked me. I have my own principles why I choose not to change my dialect! One of them – this dialect is considered a living memory with my old friends. And, people would laugh every time I say “hang”. CHEH. What more if I say “AYAQ”. Ahhahahah. Huhu..

Back to business.

It is hard to adapt in new surroundings, especially when the former surrounding is way different than the new one. I kept missing my old neigbourhood, my old school, my old friends, and kept thinking that when I woke up the next day, I am still in Ampang, Selangor and getting ready for SKTM2. It just didn’t want to happen.

Years later, I started to cool down a bit. I began to accept the fact I am not going 400km back. Like it or not, this is the reality. I stopped comparing bit by bit and I find more people would love to befriend me. To make long story shorts, I think I finally satisfied everyone after 3 years I’ve been with them. Em. No, maybe there are a few people just still don’t like me, though. Huahua. I’ve learned that a lot of people just love their schools and hate it when people, NEW people look down on their schools. I happened to, once, become the hated new person. Hoho~

Every time there was a new kid on the block, I would be the first one to approach because I knew exactly what they were feeling. Isolated. Scared. The feeling of just wanted to go back. But at the same time, I was split between the need to satisfy the friends I have intricatedly made and the friends I am about to make.

God, what am I talking about? Blur. Haha. The conclusion is, it really is not easy being the new kid on the block. You wanted to be yourself but at the same time you need to be careful not to hurt anyone in the process. Orang kata, masuk kandang kambing mengembek, masuk kandang harimau mengaum.. di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung. I just don’t take the advice.

“Mungkin dia lain
Yang lain berjalan, dia berlari
Mereka diam, dia bersuara
Mereka terus, dia membelok”

er.. half of my so-called sajak kat kem tu. No need to hear the rest. Horrible. Hahaha. Put our egos away and learn from our mistakes.

If there's a theme to my advice, it would be to have curiosity, humility, and patience as you settle into your new position. Those are worthy traits to exhibit in personal relationships, and they will serve you equally well as the Old New Kid on the Block. [chronicle.com]

it is absolutely okay to walk in the opposite directions into the never-ending labyrinth of a new block, just don't get lost. Wassalam.