Selemat pagi honorable Principal, respected senior assistant teachers, head of department teachers, counselor, and fellow teachers.
I cannot believe it has already been 10 months. In my welcome speech, I asked you all to give it your best Thomas-Jefferson-try and work hard. And boy, you did that and more. You were brave enough to excel in public speaking competitions; you entered national essay writing contests; you worked up the courage to Whatsapp me and invite me to the movies; you declared your love for the school on the spackled walls in colored chalk; you rocked the state of Pahang by winning 3rd place at a state competition; you sang your hearts in poems, drawings, and stories— and you did all this in your second language! But most importantly, you pushed me to work harder and be better.
Today, I sing for you a song that is very near to my heart. It is called “Follow Me” by John Denver. During my time at DePauw University, I sang this song once a year with my sorority sisters to welcome new members. “Follow Me” is a bittersweet song about finding companionship and a true home. In the first line, Denver sings, “its by far the hardest thing, I’ve ever done— to be so in love with you and so alone.” In this line, Denver sings of loving someone deeply but not knowing if that person loves him back.
From my first day here at SMK Jengka 18, I could feel love radiating alongside the hot Malaysian sun. I found love on classroom walls, love in sidewalk cracks, love in the muffled giggles at the kantin; love in the green splashes of a hand in the taman ikan; and love in every. single. “Hello MISS!!!” Despite this, as an outsider, an American, and a 23 year old that had recently moved away from home for the first time, I was timid, nervous, and frankly did not even know how to accept the love I had found floating in the air around me at SMK Jengka 18.
Throughout “Follow Me” Denver pleads for his love to trust him and to ‘follow him.’ He says, “make it part of you to be a part of me.” When I first arrived in Jengka, I was nervous to put myself on the line. I was nervous that I would not live up to last year’s ETA, nervous to be teaching for the first time, and nervous about speaking slowly enough to be understood. As Denver alludes in his song, all it took was a little trust for me to feel at home. As soon as I ‘made it part of me to be a part of you’ and got involved in bulletin boards, science competitions, and baking-wars, I knew that I had found home. I was held up by the support of Jengka 18’s incredible community to learn that I could be loved deeper, that I could try harder, and be so immensely proud of my students that love soon began to seep out of my pores, too.
Sepuluh bulan yang lepas saya tidak pernah bermimpi untuk dengan yakinnya berdiri di sini dan berbahasa melayu. terima kasih semua untuk tunjuk ajar, sokongan, dan kekuatan yang telah banyak saya belajar sepanjang tahun ini dan saya boleh katakan tahun ini saya lebih kuat, bijak dan penyayang. Saya sangat berterima kasih kepada setiap orang dan sentiasa akan menjadikan smk jengka lapanbelas rumah kedua saya.
[10 months ago, I couldn’t have ever dreamed of being able to confidently stand here to address you all in Bahasa Melayu. Thanks to your hospitality, guidance, support, and strength I’ve learned so much throughout this year and can truthfully say that I am stronger, wiser, and more loved. I am forever thankful for every one of you and I will always consider Jengka 18 a second home.]
To conclude, I will leave you with a verse from John Denver:
You see I’d like to share my life with you
And show you things I’ve seen
Places that I’m going to places where I’ve been
To have you there beside me and never be alone
And all the time that you’re with me
We will be at home
Terima kasih.
krrberger 