Acquirer and Pure

Wan Nayl Ismat

My eldest son completed his UPSR with 4As and 1B.  I was very happy.  He was besides himself in excitement and mostly relief.  He thought he flunked his Bahasa Melayu.  I was just happy he did well...after all 20 years from now, who really cares?  I remembered getting 5A's for Penilaian, but I seriously can't recall what I studied.  I think I got 7As for SRP and Grade 1 for SPM (can't remember my individual grades but I flunked by Additional Maths).  And like I said, 20 years aftermath...nobody's asking.

I'm one of those parents who think that children should be left children until it is the utmost necessity for them to sit, boxed-in in a room simply to memorize facts.  My son reads books and watches programs that are both insightful, educational and also entertaining.  He would sit me down and quiz me about sun spots, living planets, dinosaurs' age and every other details that leaves me awed with his amount of knowledge, understanding and ability to use the information he's gathered.  Half of the time I have no idea what he's talking about, but his enthusiasm alone keeps me entertained and glued to my seat.  Memorizing facts and details for exams is simply not necessary when he obviously displays interest in learning.

Sadly, our system does not test our children's application of knowledge, but instead in their ability to memorize and memorize and memorize.  Last I checked, knowing is not understanding, and a good memory is not necessarily a sign of intelligence.  So, I must say again that I am very proud of my son, who spent most of his pre-UPSR days watching TV, listening to the radio, reading novels, playing PSP, enjoying the outdoors, indulge in sleep and chocolates, and finally some time to tuition and revision (which only started in January this year); and still passed with flying colors!

My son is special and unique because he is mildly autistic.  I cannot begin to imagine the challenges he faces when he is misunderstood. But he has often been my source of inspiration.  In his struggle to overcome his social skills limitation; his emotional expression; his communication skills and his best kept secrets...he has raised above all expectations and proved everyone who thought less of him wrong.

Nayl discovering rabbits

Today, my son looks me in the eye and says "I love you," (very rarely and unexpectedly but it happens); he hugs me back and sometimes even offer me a hug for reasons very apparent to him, but not so to me (once he hugged me to thank me for an outing that must've happened months ago...and the replay of the memories prompted him to hug me in gratitude); he tells me a joke that only he understands but engages me by looking straight into my eyes; he tries to understand my distress due to his actions and though sometimes struggle to understand the logic, he would profusely apologize and do his best to make things better.

My son has grown so perfectly in my eyes and in my heart that I feel privileged to have been blessed with such a special child.  God has indeed a fine plan and I have learned plenty from my son.  He has opened up my horizons and shared with me the darker and lighter faces of life and the living.  My son helped me grow up and become a person of sight and less blind.

We named him Nayl Ismat that means the acquirer of purity.  He is indeed the purest of hearts; the cleanest of souls.  There is never a malicious moment but always a keen desire to love, care, honor and be honest in all his undertakings. Perhaps, I did something right and raised a fine boy...or perhaps, it was all just him being his special self. Today I write in dedication to my son, Wan Nayl Ismat and for all the young man he has accomplished to be.

The knowledge seeker