A tribute to Perth

Just looking out of the window, in the music of Bob Dylan, a feeling raised in me, a guilt, that I’ve never said a proper “good bye” to Perth, the place that if I have to pick a second hometown, would be it. Not that I’m so ungrateful and shallow that I’ve never thought of this, as a matter of fact, I have actually ran some lines a hundred times in my head before, thinking that I’d post them up when I left the city. But the situation never really got that dramatic, besides, I was so busy with exams and a whole lot of packing to do, and most of all, I wasn’t 100% sure that I’d left it for good or if it’d be just another holiday at home then I’d come back. I’m not 100% sure now, either, but maybe Bob Dylan triggered something in me, I guess it’s time for me to acknowledge my affection and gratitude to the place.

Three years ago, sitting alone in my homestay’s living room, trying to hold back tears of homesick, my only wish was for 3 years to go by as fast as an wink of the eye, so that I can come home and never have to be far away from my loved ones again. And somehow it did! It’s how memories work, isn’t it, you in the present putting all the memories of the past together, like fast backwarding of a film, and you go like “Oh how time flies so fast!”, when you know you did curse it for passing so slowly back then.

Seventeen and a half years old, I didn’t know a lot, but I was also very much aware of it. There have been countless memories about my three years in Perth, some sad ones, some breathtakingly happy ones, some shameful ones, and a lot of crazy ones. That’s how I wanted it to be, because I believe that doing crazy, spontaneous things is the only way for one to fully explore life, which is important at that age, and also if you do not do insane experiments when you are young, there’s no guarantee you’ll make up for them when you’re older. So, Perth has been witnessing me growing up, falling in love, falling out of love, passing 18th birthday, [this following one is the one of the lines I’ve been running in my head, but unfortunately not many people will get it] shifting from a “JayJays” girl to a “ValleyGirl” girl, and a lot of my personal “first-times”. Thank you, Perth, for giving me the right opportunities, bringing me to the right people, so that I can be who I am today. I miss you.