P/S: the $0.88 comes from Heng! :'D
When I first talked to Heng about this, he's very excited for me. I remember he said that, "I'm very rich. I will surely help you." But I'm very confident he ain't that rich, he just wants to help me. He's the guy that will go all out to support his friends, in my case, both mentally and financially. I'm really thankful for that :') Also because of him (and Tee), I planned on organizing a similar biking trip in Malaysia as soon as I graduate and get home, which is... in 1.5-year time. Time flies. :/
A year ago, I came to the UofI, finding that it's so hard for me to fit in. I have never been in an environment with 100% of English usage. It's just... so hard. After two semesters in the UofI, I tell myself, I want to make a difference. I want to push myself. I have to get out of the comfort zone that's set by myself.
So I applied to work in Organic Chemistry lab last summer, Z-group is the place that I feel the safest and most comfortable in. I feel so blessed to have them Z-group members and Professor Zimmerman. Also, I signed up for a few RSO-s on quad day 2014. It's time to get out of my shell, I told myself. So I signed up for Rotaract Club,Illini 4000, Volunteer Illini Project, Illini Mentor Program, and Tzu Ching. If you realize, those organizations focus on volunteering work. I have always been wanting to get involved in community service/volunteering, because I never had the chance to do volunteering work when I was home. In the end, I settled for only Rotaract Club and Illini 4000.
The more I found out about Illini 4000, the more I admire the team. I spent about two weeks drafting my application essay, and finally when I got an email from Tory on October 5th, I cried. At that moment, I honestly could not believe that I made it to the team.
The one and only concern that I had about joining this team was the minimum fundraising amount of $3500. I have never done fundrasing event before-not even $35, and now I have to do $3500?! I have been so worried about this. For locals, it's easier to ask for donation from high school friends/teachers, relatives, parents' colleague, friends' parents, etc. While for me? With a currency exchange rate of $1=RM3.33, how do I get people in Malaysia to donate to me?
You know there's a quote saying, " If you wanna achieve something impossible, you have to do something impossible" ? It's no longer a choice for me whether to ask for donation or not. I spend quite a lot of time walking everywhere, enter every shop/restaurant that I see, and just introduce myself and ask for donation. There are a lot of people ignored me, and those really pulled me back. At times, I'm just like, I can't do this, it's impossible for me to raise enough money. The next day I wake up, I just grab my purple paper file with personal letters, documents, etc in it, and continue to ask around. As soon as my first biggest donation came in, it was $1000 from Far East grocery, I felt a huge relief. I'm just like, "it finally paid off." This has really boosted my confidence.
Today, again I did something I thought I will never do in my life. I basically just walk the whole RAL, reaching out for professors and graduate students. I'm also thankful that Julio keeps encouraging me, and always say "JUST GO". I really appreciate people who actually listen to what I say, and ask questions, at least I know that my message is conveyed. Sometimes I just got really discouraged by people who didn't even look at me while I was explaining things, also people who just kinda like walked away and ignored me. For that, I really appreciate people who let me know how amazing am I doing, how amazing my team is, or how great our mission is. Honestly my biggest fear is that I don't speak good English, and I wouldn't want my words to be ambiguous. If only I can speak better English, I will never fear asking around. It really takes a whole lot of courage.
Despite the setbacks that I have, I am truly grateful for having support from many of you. I believe that towards the end of this project, I will have learned and grown up a lot. It's definitely a very valuable learning experience.
I still believe, as long as I don't give up, nothing can bring me down.
~ Be bold. Be sincere. Be optimistic. Believe.
Despite the setbacks that I have, I am truly grateful for having support from many of you. I believe that towards the end of this project, I will have learned and grown up a lot. It's definitely a very valuable learning experience.
I still believe, as long as I don't give up, nothing can bring me down.
~ Be bold. Be sincere. Be optimistic. Believe.
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