Along came Morgan

The house was only occupied by my mom and I before Morgan came along.

I was so exited when I heard the news that Morgan-from-Canada-is-coming-the-one-who-will-save-our-lives-by-editing-and-filimg-the-Portraits-Of-Perseverance-documentary-for-four-months. The best part was she would be staying with my mom and I in our house. As I cleaned her room, I compiled a whole list of places to take her during her stay here.

That fateful day in November, Morgan came. My first impression of her was somewhat like this picture. Her eyes especially gave off some sort of piercing look. I couldn't blame her for looking glum. I would most probably look the same way if I were to land in a foreign country. Although my mom and I were a legit home stay, looks can definitely be deceiving... we could have eaten her alive.

I was surprised by how productive Morgan was on her first week. She didn't show any signs of jet-lag, she slept earlier than I did, and woke up (much) earlier than I ever did every single day.

As the days went by, I began to like Morgan a lot. Growing up as the only child, I always wished I had an older sibling to look up to. Morgan has definitely played that role well, even though she has only been here for a short period of time.

Since graduating from secondary school last year, I felt like I was at a big crossroad in my life - from lots of friends in school to not seeing them at all for weeks; from tons of laughter to almost not talking all day long.
Thanks to Morgan, I had someone to talk to about what I was facing. She made me realize that I'm not the only one facing something like this, because she had felt the same way too when she graduated high school... and it is all part of life.

It was also because of Morgan that I decided to buy some new blouses while shopping with my friend. Even though Morgan claims she didn't bring many things to wear here, she always looks nice no matter what she wears. Her clothes are suitable no matter what event she's attending. From wearing a uniform everyday for the past 11 years to now having to look decent while working in an office, I was at a loss about how I should look proper and professional. Observing Morgan's closet of (always decent) clothes, I decided I should use her as an example.

My mom was surprised by my choice of clothes. "They all look like something Morgan would wear!!" she exclaimed. "Yup," I said. "That's the whole point".

In my states of panic on what to wear for fancy occasions, Morgan is always a room away to help -  whether its choosing the right dress, hairpiece or necklace. She always helps me, and I'm forever thankful to her for that.

Some people say we look alike. 

Morgan also opened my eyes to a whole new set of career choices. Since I was 7 years old, I wanted to work for the animation studio, Pixar because I was fascinated by how they made toys come to life, I couldn't do that!

By the age of 13, Pixar fascinated me by the way they captured the emotions of audiences of all ages. But after 10 years of having that dream, I decided that working for Pixar wasn't right for me. I couldn't sit in one position the whole day drawing characters. It was a hard decision - thinking that you had your life all planned out from such a young age, to growing up and knowing you'll never be happy doing that and giving up on that dream altogether. Good thing I didn't take up designing as a college course!

Thanks to Morgan, I now see TV journalism as a career that I might enjoy a lot. Before Morgan came into my life, I thought that news stations only consisted of cameramen and reporters. Now I know there is more than what meets the eye. Besides being a news anchor, Morgan also decides what goes on the news. The kicker is that she can do everything herself without any assistance! She gets the information, contacts the interviewees, interviews while filming the whole episode, edits the footage and submits it to the station. Talk about a hard working lady!

It is Morgan's last few days in Malaysia now. I'm not looking forward to the day she leaves, but we can't keep her here forever. Although I may never see her again for years to come, she's definitely made a big difference in my life. I really thank God for sending me a big sister when I needed one the most.