Always be thankful (Formal Blog)

My church friends and I had just eaten lunch after the church service, and were heading back to our homes from the airport when I received the message from my mother. There was a sudden burst of excitement within me. 7 months! I had waited 7 months for this. Without delaying any further, I hastily headed down to the MRT station to take the train to Simei.

My old blue bike was a prized possession of mine. The apple of my eye, it never failed to disappoint when delivering speed and stability at the same time. Unfortunately, an overtly eager me had exerted to much strength on the pedals once, when I was cycling, in a bid to increase my speed, and as a result, unscrewed it from the axis of the pedal itself. As a result, I had not been able to cycle since the December holidays. A long and painful 7 months it was without my bicycle.

The bicycle shop sat humbly at a quiet end of East Mall, out in the open, where human traffic was significantly lower than inside the mall. Not a big shop, I noticed instantly, but that was no problem, for it still housed a sizable range of bicycles to choose from. My eyes instantly set themselves on a rugged looking mountain bike. Rough tire threads, intimidating wheel diameters, complimented with a black coat of paint: something I thought would make a perfect partner to speed. However, through the recommendation of the owner of the shop, we were led to a significantly smaller bicycle, this one blue in colour, but a lighter shade than the one I currently owned. This one possessed a user-friendly gear too. After my father and I had both taken it for a short ride, we fell in love with the way it ran so smoothly and hence paid for it there and then. I was the proud owner of a shiny new blue bicycle.

The next day, I immediately took my new toy for a spin around my estate. As I cycled out of the void deck, there was a rush of adrenaline in me, and I smiled as the wind welcomed me warmly, brushing against my cheeks. I appreciated that the gear system on my new bike allowed me to change the tightness of the gear system, which in turn affected how "light" or "heavy" the pedals were when you were cycling. I hardly enjoy taking the easy way out though, so I decided to put it to 7, the tightest the gear system can get.

Deciding to be ambitious, I cycled up to the flyover connecting Sengkang and Punggol. Don't let the arch shape of this seemingly easy challenge fool you though. The first half of the arch requires a large amount of stamina and leg power (for me at least) to conquer. Sure enough, when I had reached the peak of the arch, my legs were screaming in strain. The view and the breeze though, paid of my efforts. The downward ride was even more delightful, even exhilarating.

I guess the arch represents many things in life. The climb up is always the worst part, but once it's over, everything else brings us joy. So don't ever give up; falling down isn't defeat, not getting up is.

"Life's a climb, but the view's great."