{"id":3979,"date":"2020-05-11T23:41:35","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T23:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/?p=3979"},"modified":"2020-05-11T23:41:35","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T23:41:35","slug":"imagine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/2020\/05\/11\/imagine\/","title":{"rendered":"Imagine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every now and then I like to play make believe that this world runs on imagination where things happen just because we wish for them. I\u2019m aware that it\u2019s a false fantasy but sometimes it is a satisfying escape. Especially now when we\u2019re trapped in our rooms because of COVID-19. We can\u2019t physically go anywhere. We can\u2019t meet our friends. Our lives have been warped significantly. But the same doesn\u2019t apply to our minds. Our minds are free to wonder wherever our imagination takes us. As a writer and a storyteller, my mind is my most valuable asset and now, it is a means of freedom. I can get lost in it. I can be wherever I want to be. My imagination is limitless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trapped indoors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first thing I conjure up in my mind is to escape to a place far away from the university where I currently reside. And since it is my imagination, the place doesn\u2019t have to exist. I\u2019ve been in quarantine for over a month and I can\u2019t bear being confined to the same environment because everything gets so\u2026 dull and uninteresting. I\u2019ve been chained to this routine of doing nothing throughout the day because I find no motivation to be productive. I\u2019ve also been tormented by my thoughts thinking life as we know it has forever been altered and normality won\u2019t take its reign anytime soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I plan my escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To a field of sunflowers. Under a clear blue sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything would be yellow and bright \u2013 a stark contrast to my life on campus where everywhere I look is just dingy walls and buildings. It wouldn\u2019t hurt to have more greenery on campus. In fact, it might even be visually appealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to be in a place where there are no walls. No rules. Nobody. The circulation would be the natural breeze blowing across the field, rippling the petals of the flowers as it does so. Everything would be quiet. Except of course, the occasional exchange between me and my best friend, and the snapping of cameras as we take \u2018tumblr-esque\u2019 photographs against the stunning backdrop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Field of sunflowers under a cloudless sky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I put quite some thought into having my best friend with me. I had asked myself if I wanted to be completely alone. I didn\u2019t and here\u2019s why: A) the scenery is just too beautiful to be enjoyed alone, B) I\u2019d need somewhere to drive me there (this is a concoction of my imagination; I could have literally teleported to my destination but I\u2019m just being reasonable \u2013 I mean who doesn\u2019t love a road trip?) and C) staying in quarantine has made me realize how much spending time with my friends mean to me and I\u2019m not passing up a chance to take my best friend on an adventure with me \u2013 even if it\u2019s make believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We would stay there until sunset. Then we\u2019d hit the road. My best friend is an excellent driver and I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll feel safe in any vehicle he drives. But for this story let\u2019s assume he\u2019s driving a white Pontiac convertible (vintage) and we\u2019re making our way to nowhere. On the open road and without a destination. Now that\u2019s freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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White Pontiac Convertible (1964)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019d pull up in a diner. Nothing too fancy. Fifties themed. There\u2019d be a neon sign flashing outside which reads \u201cAll Day Breakfast\u201d. We\u2019d step inside and patter across the black-and-white checkered tiles towards our booth. I\u2019m craving comfort food: pancakes with maple syrup and strawberry waffles while he orders a burger with a side of fries and a chocolate milkshake to wash it all down. I\u2019d have a steaming mug of coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fifties diner<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We sit and talk about how far we\u2019ve come. He starts to talk about the virus and how our lives have shifted from the norm but I shush him. Instead I shuffle over to the jukebox, pop in a coin and put \u201cJailhouse Rock\u201d by Elvis on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jukebox<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We head out. It\u2019s dark and the wind is chilly. My friend hands me his denim jacket while he lights a cigarette to keep him warm and focused. White lightning flashes across the sky. Then comes the thunder. Then the first drops of rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the drizzle turned into an outpour, we are back on the road. Are we going home? Not likely. I needed to be as far away from the city as possible with its settlements and secrets. They weren\u2019t doing justice to the poet in me anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My friend asks, \u201cWhere to?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnywhere,\u201d I answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously our first stop is going to be the gas station. We are low on fuel. The wind starts to howl and becomes so frigid that it seems to enter through the gap in the car window and slice through my skin. We rolled up the windows, turned on the heater and put on the radio. It isn\u2019t complete silence in the car (I mean two best friends on a drive, what do you expect?). We reach the gas station and the rain seems to have died down a little but the chill is still in the air. I go into the store for two king-sized cups of coffee and hurry back to my friend who\u2019s pumping gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gas station in the rain<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As we start to drive, the rain thins and soon there is none. The asphalt road is wet and appear slick under the streetlamps which line the side of the road. It is as if driving on the canvas of an unending oil painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are we going home now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is one more destination I\u2019d like to hit. We drive further away from the city into the mountainous region at the border. My friend being the superb driver snakes the car through a serpentine pass to the top of the hill where we park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We sit on the hood of the car and look up at the sky. There are no angry red and charcoal lines which signaled rain. In fact, there is a pale moon beaming behind a wispy cloud amongst a bed of stars. It\u2019s beautiful and it feels incredible to stargaze, to admire the wonder interpreted in a children-favourite nursery rhyme \u201cTwinkle, twinkle little star\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sky full of stars<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019d make our way home soon after. As the headlights cut through the darkness, my senses are on full alert and I keep an eye out for any cars that might pop up around the bend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am happy and my friend is too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This experience has brought us closer. I had the chance to share with him what freedom and happiness meant to me which was getting in touch with nature, capturing the moment by a Polaroid camera, a fast food dinner at a retro restaurant, driving in the rain, hot coffee to kill the chills and stargazing under a silver moon. Simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am very glad that I took the time to write this especially in a time like this where going out feels dangerous. I know I\u2019ve been affected greatly by the outbreak of Coronavirus (most of us are) and I\u2019m finding it hard to cope with the situation. I feel trapped, honestly. I don\u2019t know what my next move is going to be. None of us do. I loved the possibility of escape even if it was all inside my head. This is my ideal escape and was fashioned from all the movies and magazines I read as a kid. All I want is a neat adventure with someone by my side so I could share a laugh with and not feel lonely. It\u2019s amazing how the human mind works sometimes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The imaginative power of the mind<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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My best friends<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a writer and a storyteller, my mind is my most valuable asset and now, it is a means of freedom. I can get lost in it. I can be wherever I want to be. My imagination is limitless.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":3989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[139,128,165,154,138],"tags":[459,402,408,458,361,454,456,438,457,145],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3979"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3979"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3991,"href":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3979\/revisions\/3991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ambassadors.ucsiuniversity.edu.my\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}