Monday, November 11, 2013

Masters Degree, anyone?


alhamdulillah..there is actually nothing to brag about but i am sharing this with a note in my mind which is to help those who are pursuing and will start their Masters degree. alhamdulillah again i managed to complete mine. there are a few things that i would like to share when we talk about 'sambung' or 'buat' masters;))

1. when you want to start studying, make sure niat utama is because of Allah. not because you just want to look good, be better that others or to make your own self proud. Allah must be the main reason and followed by your other aims in terms of your future education+career plan. so that if things do not go your away after you have gone through all the ups and downs and finally graduating with pointers above 3.5 better than your degree bla bla, you will not feel deeply frustrated and useless. hiks. ;p

2. when you are studying, be prepared to make sacrifices in terms of firstly money. you will have to spend more on your fees, books, travelling matters (like what i did as the journey to ukm is quite far) eating and maybe accommodation at times. this means you have to spend less on buying certain items for yourself especially. then there is also the "TIME" conflict..of having to stay up late to complete assignments. as for me i can only start doing assignments when i'm done with all the house chores and if possible when the kids are asleep. at times when i'm completing a really critical task i would literally be in a room with a closed door while listening to the fun both husband and my boy(s) were having. it is really painful at times not to have enough lalala time, especially when i had to leave aqil who was only 1 to 2 years old every weekend for two days. my heart breaks each time up until now whenever i think of it. i would cry every friday when saying goodbye to him. and as i am driving to bangi i would be crying my heart out in the car. on the road. along the highway. sobs. and not forgetting less time doing what i love most too like watching the TV or lalaing with my girlfriends. SACRIFICE dengan rela and seikhlas hati okay?;))

3. when we talk about examinations and assignments, one thing for sure is to be truthful and honest to yourself. we can get a little help here and there. but i do not believe in copying during exams or totally paying someone else to do all of your assignments. that is not really right. i did get help from my brother especially , friends and  ukm juniors when dealing with SPSS on the analyzing part as i am not that brilliant in handling softwares. bleerrgghh. but make you sure you learn while you are getting the help. go and get help only when you need it, and make sure you learn from the people that you are getting the help from at the same time (saying this again ekekeke), not getting the help just because you have a lot of money to pay someone to do your assignments up to the stage of binding them etc. also attend tuition classes held by other students who are better in certain subjects like most of us did. we attended tuition classes even during school holidays for our statistics subjects. as at the end of everything, getting an A or even an A- is the sweetest victory, only of you really put your effort out with sweats and tears and everything. i also do not believe in handing in your assignments beyond datelines or completing one just for the sake of completing it. with Allah's will i would try as much as possible to put my full effort. i did not want to waste my journey of three hours to ukm, leaving my boys, eating alone, praying and crying at UKM mosque out of fatigue and stress, spending hours until night at the library after classes and etc be meaningless if i did not do well enough in every subject. alhamdulillah. these are the things that i think each of us should really greatly take into consideration.

4. we also have to be proactive. always be prepared when attending a class. when given a task or assignment, do not hold back don't say 'oh lambat lagi dateline nanti-nantilah buat'. No. don't do that. that can or may be the attitude when your are doing your degree. but at masters level, you have to literally get out, go out about and start to do things. for masters dekat UKM especially, doing research, writing papers are like your darah daging. in each semester tu sometimes you have to not only carry out one study but maybe one for each subject. there are also conceptual papers yang complicated jugak as you have to do ample of reading and be critical when reviewing past studies done in order to come up with a brilliant and intellectual conclusion in the field that your are researching for. really, nothing is simple and easy. the key word is to work hard, be honest and smart in managing the assignments, and presentations. hoho there will also be a lot of presentations. so you might want to brush up your presentation and communication skills to excel in these. ;p and it will be better if you can volunteer to be the first few presenters. trust me, it is better to be among the first rather than the last. and last but not least do not do things at the eleventh hour (last minute). because trust me, even if you start early for the tasks given, when you are reaching the dateline, you will still feel that you did not have enough time!!!ahahaha. but don't let these bring you down. remember!SWEET VICTORY bebeh!;p

5. one thing that will be good and useful especially when you are aiming for PHD later, get the chance to write as much papers as you can and at least present a paper at any conference available. some lecturers also said that it would also be better if you do your masters the THESIS MODE if you want to make things easier for you PHD. on top of that, anyway or anyhow, still, will never fail to provide you ,meaningful experience.

6. as a part timer, it means that i had to juggle between work and study. but remember, this one is really important, do not neglect your work just because your assignments are piling. work FIRST and then your study. ;p

7. have a consistent effort of working on your DISSERTATION!. now that is really important too. some of my friends ade yang tersekat with their dissertation up to more than two semesters!because of PROCRASTINATION! huhu. and never fail to contact and meet your supervisor no matter how nerve-wrecking it is. never fail to meet him or her and remember it is not you who set the time but they are for every appointment. even if you have to take a day off amik CRK ke ape because your supervisor can only meet you on working days. ;p seriously.  

well, not to say that the fact that i have survived the journey means that i have actually done all of the above. no. mistakes make us to be a better person remember?*winkwink*. alhamdulillah i achieved the results that i am happy and satisfied with. i'm thankful enough. ;) well, i, humbly urge all of you out there to never stop acquiring the knowledge, academically and also spiritually. insyaAllah, with the right niat and intention, everything that we do akan diberkati dan dirahmati Allah. insyaAllah. 

so, get all geared up and go for it!reach for the stars!Allah is always there for us. insyaAllah. peace everyone.



                                                                 Convocation Day! ;p

Sunday, November 10, 2013

autumn in my heart ;))






travelling #throwbackplymouthandlondon in 2010. it has been three years and i could still remember how cold it was since it was autumn. the really cold breeze with its sentimental scent (remind me so much of the days back when we were staying in Newcastle) really brought tears to my eyes the moment we stepped out of the airport. aishh. we traveled with a luggage for each of us and a huge hand luggage and a handbag.it was really inappropriate actually but the fact that we wanted to borong all the chocolates that we used to eat when we were kids living in the UK back then and nk beli all the really cheap books as it was christmas time!so books at that time were at their best bargain huhu. i miss UK so much.isk isk.

anyway,cannot wait to smell the cold breezy breeze again insyaAllah..*winkwink* this time around am gonna have mr. hubster to be with me. hopefully with Allah's will the weather will be nice, the whole journey will have less or no turbulence at all as i am actually scared of flying boohooo!and we'll not get sick because of the cold and etc. gonna start packing up and yah, as usual, we do not have enough warm clothes yet. last minute 'pghepers' as usual keke. thank you Allah and may we be leaving the year and in fact be starting the new year according to our islamic calendar by being a better muslim doing what Allah loves (most importantly), a better wife, daughter and mother and sister, friend and a companion to anyone who comes into our lives. peace.;))


p;s: travelling helps us in so many positive ways, so let's go travel y'all!;))