HIST

Yesterday was Friday.
I was thinking of whether or not I should meet my South East Asia lecturer regarding the subject. She had said in the last class that she'll be in her office from 9am to 10.30am had anyone wanted to consult her regarding their carry marks and so forth. First I thought it wouldn't be worth it to bother about the carry mark since I was 200% sure that nothing could be done about it. I wasn't well prepared during the mid term and what I got was - although it did affect my carry mark a bit - I think, is more than what I deserve.

But, I decided to go meet her anyway.
For I believe that it would be beneficial to talk to your lecturer even when your marks ain't changing. So there I was knocking at her door at around 9.30am in the morning and I heard a voice from inside saying,

"Come in"

I opened the door slowly, feeling relieved that I have finally found the correct room after having toured the entire level 5 of HS building, only to find out her office is in level 4 instead.

"How are you madam? Am I the first to come today?"
-This sort of intro was just a mean to hide my nervousness at that time-

I sat in front of her and started to check my mid term, open-book test and coursework papers. I talked to her about the short notes part for mid term, where I particularly failed to score. She explained to me some of the reasons for the lack of marks given. At the end I was satisfied.

She then asked if I'd like to further my study after graduation, which I answered with a definite 'yes' and that I might go to Jordan if Allah wills. And then she asked which area of history am I interested most. I told her along with the reason, "Middle East and Europe. Because they involve a lot of sequences, war and controversy - things that are illustrative and what I can imagine" -And of course, because Middle East is the heart of Islam and also because European powers were, and still are the main trouble-makers of the region.

And of the reason why I struggle a lot with South East Asia? Is due to my own weaknesses that kinda fail me from grasping all the informations related to the social development, economic trasnformation, tin mining industry, rubber plantations and all such details belonging to this beloved region.

And I know that actually it's no excuse.
Looking at our mdm, who tireless teach the same subject over and over again every semester. I truly salute someone who pays that much attention and have that much patience for this. And its undeniable that this course does really benefit me in term of understanding more of my neighboring countries and their origin.

And just now I received an sms from mdm,
"Salam. I've uploaded the list of topics to be read for final exam hist 4350 in lms. Once you've checked pls confirm with me whether you can access it or not. Tq - dr wan suhana"

To which I replied,
"Wsalam mdm :) alhamdulillah i was able to check n read the list of topics just now. Tqvm! - fm"

I wasn't expecting any response then but to my surprise, this was what I received few seconds later, "Tq. All the best!"

I was so touched.
And it makes me remember my whole journey of studying history where at first I doubted whether or not it was a right decision to make. Firstly it was a struggle for me. I hardly knew any historical term like 'anglo-saxon', let alone 'coachin china' and all those stuffs.

And then I became more and more literate, historically :D
And I met these kind classmates - people who'd give you a round of applauses just to make you feel good even though your presentation was bad. And such lecturer who'd spare some of her valuable time just to chat with you, get to know you better and encourage you to go the extra miles for yourself.

And suddenly I reflected that perhaps deep inside her, is a big hope when she comes to class everyday. That she's fully aware she's educating a young generation who'd be the lifeline and the hope of our country in the future. That perhaps the way she looked at us was the like of how HAMKA viewed his pupils - For this, and for soo many other reasons, this post is dedicated to my beloved mdm and all of the lecturers in the IIUM Department of History. May Allah keep you all in safety and blessings.

p/s:
Teachers, deserve the very best.
I promise to strive greatly for these subjects.
First I'm going to finish those two books by Osborne and Steinberg for South East Asia, and then I'm going to start revising for my first paper which is for the Muslim Nation in Contemporary History course. Fight!