The Rocker, My Cousin

You may be thinking why you should even want to know about my cousin; one whom you have not been acquainted with. Well, Let us look at it this way - Why not ask yourself another question? Why did I chose to blog and share about him of all persons? You would know the answer after reading this post.

Yes, he is one person who has impacted my life significantly...

My cousin is 15 years old, that is one year my senior. His name is Bryan and he loves playing the guitar and basketball. Wonder how he looks like? For a person his age, he is exceptionally tall and well-built. His height is 1.8 metres and he weighs a whopping 75 kilograms. Though we are cousins, we bear resemblance of each other except that he has a long and unkempt fringe, the kind that gives people the impression of a funky and cool guy. Indeed, he is a rocker, ready to rock out on his guitar anytime!

We grew up together under one roof until Bryan's parents moved out after they acquired an apartment of their own. As an only son, I do feel lonely at times and look up to him as my brother. During the school holidays I would also stay over at his place.

Those were the good old days we had until I turned eleven when my uncle was suddenly given an overseas assignment by his company and was required to move to Mumbai, India for a 4-year stint. His family was to follow suit as well.

When the news reached me, I was saddened and reluctant to part with my "brother". I knew I would be lonely and bored. However, after giving the matter much thought, I considered it a blessing in disguise because I could then concentrate fully on my PSLE, while he is away.

I remembered the time when my family bid them farewell at the departure hall of Changi Airport. Before we parted, we promised each other to strive for the best until we meet again. Indeed, I did well and went to the school of my choice. As for him, he managed a posting at an International Boarding School and made many friends from all other parts of the world!

Looking back now, 3 years has past by very quickly. In fact, we excelled in what we set out to do. He went on to become a great amateur musician of-sort in his search for his one true love while I invested in both my studies and trained hard for my passion in pursuit of my football dream...

In the blink of an eye, we are now left with one final year to go and he will be back in Singapore for good at the end of next year. To me, it is like journeying through a book. It gives me an overwhelming joy to know that we have grown from kids to teenagers, each having our own lifestyles and interest. Yet, though we may be miles apart, our bond stays forever and we will be there for each other no matter what happens.

Now all I want to do is to await Bryan's return and relish our times together again...

(By the way, I'm the younger of the two in the photos above. You can also see that Bryan is already a head taller than me then).

Not To Be Forgotten,
Joel