"It's about how you finish it."

Today I'm going to talk about a famous quote that you probably have heard it before. When I was 14, I watched a very great, absolute funny yet heart-touching film starring Queen Latifah. That film won my heart every time, even if I have seen it like for thousand times. If you have not watch, go watch it.

Last Holiday is a 2006 American comedy-drama film starring Queen Latifah and directed by Wayne Wang. Latifah plays a humble store assistant, Georgia, who is told that she has a rare brain condition, and only a few weeks to live. She decides to spend her last funds on a luxury holiday in Europe before she dies.

Nak summarise ke? Haha ok. So basically what happened was, in each time Georgia (her role) tried to have fun by wasting her money on something luxurious during her so-called last holiday, she will gain more money than she actually had. It throws her back in mind, why would God blessed her with more money when she is currently dying? Why would God gives her hopes that everything is going to be just fine when she just got diagnosed with brain cancer?

She gain everything back. Money, loves and friends during the whole holiday. Towards the end of the movie, her boyfriend (yang gigih kejar balik, redah lautan , panjat gunung) told her that the diagnose machine was actually broken and she had no cancer at all! Which suprises her! So her questions to God were answered at last. The brain cancer doesn't even exist from the first place. Can you imagine that? I kennot. Letih habiskan duit fikir nak mati but actually mesin yang rosak. And kau sihat walafiat.

Queen Latifah in Last Holiday

And finally, she got an advice from her boyfriend's good friend (masa tu dia bebel macam mana nak handle restoran yang dia baru open camtu so movie tu pun dah nak happy ending punya scene), which what I wanted to share with you;

 "It's not about how you started it, it's about how you finish it."

Masa tu kan I was like oh ok. Pergi share ayat tu dekat Facebook. But totally lose it when my cousin tanya: "Kalau tak tahu macam mana nak mulakan, then macammana kita nak siapkan?" I was in total blank. 'Betul jugak soalan tu' dan senyap terus fikir pasal ayat tu. I was 14 that time so I couldn't figure what lies behind the sentence. Share je lebih tapi tak faham. Ok kelakar.

Until I went to a camp (untuk satu kelab seni mempertahankan diri), few months ago. I finally get the meanings behind it. Just 4 months ago. 6 years after I shared the quote on Facebook, baru faham. During the camp, we invited a very respectful man to give a talk during our closed ceremony. He randomly asked us, why we joined the club? Ada yang jawab sebab ikut kawan, sebab minat or paling simple, sebab nak penuhkan kredit koko.

And this is what he said in his speech;

 "Then? It's okay. You could be joining this club for the sake of your parents, your own interest. Boleh jadi awak join kelab ni sebab senior hasut awak. Pun boleh jadi awak masuk kelab ni sebab nak stalk orang yang awak minat. Tapi itu tak penting. It doesn't matter how you join the club. What matter most is how will you leave the club at the end. Adakah awak akan tinggalkan kelab ni sebagai penggalas ilmu yang dihormati? Atau adakah awak akan keluar sebagai pengkhianat seni mempertahankan diri itu sendiri?."

"And I believe, para jurulatih awak akan menyampaikan ilmu tulen disamping menitik beratkan adab resmi padi, semakin berilmu semakin menunduk. And that's how you should end the journey. Macam mana tulennya seni mempertahankan diri itu, setulen itulah hati awak selepas awak habis menuntut ilmu daripada guru-guru awak. It's all about how you end it. "

Masa tu, otak terus melayang balik kepada quote yang saya kongsi tahun 2010. 6 years! After six freaking years, now I truly understand the silver lining of the famous saying. It's not about how you start it, but how you finish it, the entire journey. Adakah awak akan graduate akhirnya walaupun pada asalnya awak kena paksa sambung belajar? Atau, adakah awak akan ditendang keluar walaupun awak masuk universiti dengan kelayakkan pointer 4 rata?

Macammana nak tahu jawapan? Dengan apa yang awak lakukan sekarang. How's your journey right now that determines your destination at the end. Not what qualified you to start it.

I'm glad that I went to that camp.

I've finish my drinks. So I shall finish my writing too.