Priority.

I wrote in a few entries back about Sophia Court, how much I loved the place, and the things I did there when I was younger.

Yesterday, I heard from my dad that my brother was meeting an old neighbour of ours, Francis, he was a close friend of my brother's when we lived in Sophia years ago. I remembered how we used to play catching, how he always came to our house to play the PS1, and how he made Lego creations with me.

Well, that's beside the point. What really hit me was what my brother said today, after I met him for the day. Normally, I'll ask him what he did, and his reply is a short 'nothing much', or 'shut up', or an occasional 'need to know for what'. However, his reply was different this time round, he said 'We went to Sophia Court to hang out' and the next four words that I can clearly remember 'I miss that place'.

Simply put, those four words made me think about Sophia Court again. Truthfully saying, I was better off when I was living there. The innocence, the brilliance and the seclusion made me focus on what was important in life - family, friends and love. Although I have to admit, moving here to Marine Parade was a great choice, it gave me a chance to make new friends in a new school, which further lead me to find true friends like Mathew and the likes. And more, like propelling me to enter Ngee Ann Secondary, which has been an enjoyable rollercoaster ride this past three years, with both heartbreaks and joy. It opened up my eyes, and led me to enjoy other things that the world has to offer.

However, with these possibilities, albeit that it's enjoyable, it acts like a hindrance, it pulled my eyes away from the more important things in life. I'm guilty for always spending time with my friends that I always end up forgetting about my parents, that I always come home late at night, and even then, I'll be hooked onto the computer, playing away. Whenever my mom or dad comes home, I always just welcome them, and totally forget about them, to the point that I don't even realise they've come back home sometimes. The only wake up call I had for that was when mom was sent to Hongkong to work, only then did I realise the times I didn't spend well, and all the times I wasted doing worthless stuffs while I could've been going out or just chatting with my parents, my mom especially.

Then there's friends. With the growing circle of friends, I tend to forget those I truly appreciate, and I only tend to realise when I hear them talking about stuffs which I totally have no clue about, which I would've wished I could've experienced it with them too, then and there. It hurts to be left out, and even worse when you're left behind.

And finally, love. Although I didn't develop feelings or a liking to anybody then, I sure wished I was like that forever. I've had my heart taken a few times, and loved someone truly once, but sadly, love shun it's eyes on me, and it always ends up in heartbreak. In a way, saying that I wished to stay like the old times - when love wasn't in the picture, is another way of me saying that I never wanted to feel the pain.

In life, like my father always say, we have to set our priorities right. One example he likes to use is that whenever it's exams, don't play, forget it, and just study - that's your priority. However, from his teachings, I've placed it in a bigger scale, in life - to always remember to love, to always appreciate your family, and to always remember those friends who stood up for you in times of need.