Читать книгу Happy Go Lucky - Jimmy Chua - Страница 7

HAPPY is blessed to be born in Singapore, a place with freedom of expression and abundance of wealth in 1984. He is the only son in the family and so his parents have high hopes on him to realize his and their dreams!

Just like most of the people here, he lives in a 5 room HDB (Housing Development Board) public housing flat and starts off by studying in a PAP (People’s Action Party) Kindergarden. He goes on to a missionary school, St Gabriel Primary School managed by the brothers of St Gabriel. By doing well in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), HAPPY took a different route from many others to enroll in St Gabriel Secondary School; others went on to prestigious branded name schools which promise more opportunities to climb the corporate ladder.

HAPPY is Lucky that his parents aren’t aware and isn’t concerned about the race to qualify for prestigious scholarship. So far, pretty ordinary life, daily fights with peers in school, badminton and soccer games after class and no tuition classes! Yeah, HAPPY is truly Happy, being who he is, as his parents are different from many others who pressured their children to perform well in school, scoring Aces for examinations, learning enrichment classes such as Ballet Dancing, Swimming, and Piano and juggling multiple tuition classes beyond what is taught in school. There is no time to play with friends and bask in nature.

The ZOO in Singapore is a favourite hangout for HAPPY as the family signed up for annual family membership. They would spend each Sunday there, watching the animal performances, walking around and learning about the animals from all parts of the world. The monkeys caught the eyes of HAPPY as he aspired to be as playful and free, in the adults’ eyes, NAUGHTY! Hahaha… Sometimes, his cousins will tag along and they learnt to paint the flowers and animals such as Elephants, Tigers, Goats, Parrots, Polar Bears, Giraffes and Zebras. This counts as a weekly occurrence right up till his primary school days.