Chosen Topic:
Life is not always perfect; it is what you make of it
'N' Level student-inmate from institution TM1
Consolation Prize
I have been a caregiver in the Autistic Community for the past eight years. I have seen many different types of autism kids throughout my career. I love my job because I get to see these kids interacting with their parents. The facts that autism kids have difficulty expressing themselves and struggles with their thoughts, I feel accomplished each time they express a little more with their parents.
There was one incident where I was on my way to meet up with Chloe and her mother. I took a quick run through on Chloe profile, remembering the last session I had with then. Chloe’s mother describe Chloe was the type that have difficulty expressing herself and she will only point to the things that she wants. Sometimes, on rare events, her mother said Chloe would get frustrated easily and ended up shouting.
Unfortunately, the rare event happened on that day. I greeted Chloe and her mother, and we took our seat on the round sofa. I put my bag beside me and I informed Chloe’s mother that on next week, our community will be having a charity event, it did not occur anything unusual in the beginning, as I was talking to Chloe’s mother, I noticed Chloe was looking intensely at the mural wall that was painted behind me. And suddenly Chloe started to cry. It was difficult to calm her down because Chloe’s mother and I did not know what she wanted. The crying got worse, and Chloe was shouting. I was thinking very hard and only then I released that last thing she was looking at was the mural wall painting.
I got up and told Chloe’s mother that I will be right back. I ran as fast as I can to my desk and grab a bunch of colourful crayons and a drawing block. When I returned, there was no more crying, but I can still see Chloe was sobbing badly. As I got near to the both of them, Chloe’s eyes were drifted to the bunch of materials. I lay all the materials in front of her, and her mother was surprised but smiled when Chloe started drawing.
One moment was chaos and the next was so peaceful. Looking at Chloe seating down in front of the mural wall drawing, as though she is in her own world was priceless. Not long after, Chloe turned her head to look at us. Chloe’s mother and I got up and Chloe was holding a painting of her father. It was heart breaking to witness all of this.
Chloe’s mother embraced Chloe in her arms and whispered something that got Chloe to smile a little. It was a precious smile and I wonder what her mother said. It did not take long when Chloe’s mother received a call and said they got to make a move. We said our goodbyes and I hugged Chloe and told her that she can have the crayons back home. She thanked me and gave me her precious smile again.
I sometimes wonder how Chloe’s mother feel. Despite going through so much, she is still able to love Chloe unconditionally. I have learned a few valuable life lessons from her. Whenever we learned to accept the unacceptable, life will change to be beautiful. Because her mother believes there is a greater scheme a head in life for the both of them, life is not always perfect, it is what you make of it. The meaning is that learned to accept and appreciate a little thing. Because these little things will create a huge impact into your life. Life can only be perfect if we want it to be.