Monday, June 16, 2008
Just came back from mi sec4 history teacher, Mr Kelvin Tan's wake. He passed away ystd...at a young age of 36.
We entered e room, saw his cheerful smile in e picture frame. For all these years, this was exactly the impression i had of him. But now, he's gone. We looked at some teacher's day cards given to him, and also pictures of him n his brother from young till his graduation at NIE and beyond. His smiles were all so bright, so full of life, yet the person we saw in there seems so frail, sunken and tired after a long battle with the illness.
We were told that his death was featured in a chinese newspapers, and we took turns to read the article. He had flu and headache, admitted to hospital and found bloodclots in his brain. Despite the seriousness of his illness, he delayed treatment for the sake of his students. This's him and his passion for teaching.
I understand how his family feels, after all, i've lost my paternal grandfather, my mum's brother-in-law (her sister's husband) and my mum's brother. His parents lost a great son whom they were proud of, his brother lost a sibling. It's about losing someone we've lived and communicated with for our whole life, and he's no longer there anymore. His family members were trying very hard to control their tears, consoling other relatives and friends, sometimes even joking with us. But when the night falls, who knows exactly how much they have cried in their sleep?
Life and death are part and parcel of our lives. To us, his death may be a pain in our hearts. To him, this is probably a relieve. At least we know that now, Mr Tan is in a place where there are no more illness and quarrels, and he is definitely happy to be in the hands of the Lord.
Mr Tan, I thank you for the knowledge you have given us back then. I thank you for teaching me about your persistence and passion in life. I'm truely sorry for not having the chance to know you better.
You'll be missed by everybody who loves you. Rest in peace, Mr Tan, till we meet again.
We entered e room, saw his cheerful smile in e picture frame. For all these years, this was exactly the impression i had of him. But now, he's gone. We looked at some teacher's day cards given to him, and also pictures of him n his brother from young till his graduation at NIE and beyond. His smiles were all so bright, so full of life, yet the person we saw in there seems so frail, sunken and tired after a long battle with the illness.
We were told that his death was featured in a chinese newspapers, and we took turns to read the article. He had flu and headache, admitted to hospital and found bloodclots in his brain. Despite the seriousness of his illness, he delayed treatment for the sake of his students. This's him and his passion for teaching.
I understand how his family feels, after all, i've lost my paternal grandfather, my mum's brother-in-law (her sister's husband) and my mum's brother. His parents lost a great son whom they were proud of, his brother lost a sibling. It's about losing someone we've lived and communicated with for our whole life, and he's no longer there anymore. His family members were trying very hard to control their tears, consoling other relatives and friends, sometimes even joking with us. But when the night falls, who knows exactly how much they have cried in their sleep?
Life and death are part and parcel of our lives. To us, his death may be a pain in our hearts. To him, this is probably a relieve. At least we know that now, Mr Tan is in a place where there are no more illness and quarrels, and he is definitely happy to be in the hands of the Lord.
Mr Tan, I thank you for the knowledge you have given us back then. I thank you for teaching me about your persistence and passion in life. I'm truely sorry for not having the chance to know you better.
You'll be missed by everybody who loves you. Rest in peace, Mr Tan, till we meet again.
what we could have been, 9:17 PM.
