Merdeka

Today I give thanks for small mercies.

I am thankful we live in a country that is so rich in culture and diversity, and despite politicization and media mongering, we still live in peace.

I am thankful for the traffic jams, for that means I live in a country which has decent roads. I am thankful because that means I am driving.

I am thankful that I am able to find a place to eat at any hour of the night, thankful knowing that when I have left work at 3 in the morning there is still somewhere open to satiate my hunger, that there will always be somewhere open that I will be welcome to.

Today I am feeling unusually patriotic, not because I am a government servant, and theoretically should be pro-government, but because I feel like we are growing in exciting times, and that we will continue to change and challenge ourselves. I think we have potential, and at times it is almost a fine balance between anarchy and political challenge, but I believe we will grow from every challenge we have met, and that we have the potential to grow into something that we will all be truly proud of.

I may not speak the most fluent Malay.

I may not be the most traditional girl around.

I may not think the way you do.

But this is still my home.

My roots are still here.

Happy Independence Day Malaysia.