Personal Statement

  I have this lizard keychain on my bag. Green, metallic, and small. Nothing significant, nothing important. At least, not to anyone else. The links holding it together broke a while ago and I panicked because I almost lost it. So I asked one of my friends to weld it back together for me. She asked me why it was so important, and I did not know what to say. Because it held memories for me? Because it signified something? Would it seem silly to say that this green metal lizard reminded me of everything that I had been through?

  “Family adventures,” I told her finally, and she nodded, case closed.

  Because it did signify family adventures. Our family adventures mainly revolve around the sea. To be specific, sailing. I had been on a boat since before I could walk. By the age of 6 I was helming and helping my dad to do oil checks for the engine. By 11 I was navigating my way through night passages by the stars. By 14 I was sailing an average of 1000 nautical miles a year. So yes, my life was basically centered around the sea, and still is. But what does a lizard have to do with it?

  We got a trimaran in 2013. Small, only 24 feet, but fast if the wind is right. And we called it “Cicak”. It means lizard in malay. Indonesian. Whatever. Hence the little lizard on my bag.

  It holds memories, that lizard. The worst storms when you can’t see anything beyond 20 metres, when the wind is ripping and tugging at you and the waves are getting higher and higher and you’re scared that you might not make it back in one piece. Passages through the night where the moon is bright and full and is the only source of light, and the southern cross is behind you and the only thing you hear is the creaking of the boat and the soft lapping of waves. Long 45 mile passages where the sun is beating down on you but you’re still having a laugh and scrambling for the last cold coke in the makeshift cooler. Days when there’s no wind during a race and dad jumps in for a quick swim and splashes everyone. Driving the boat into an anchorage in an island and watching the coral beneath you as you rev the engine down and put it in neutral. The “beep” of the horn as you cross the finish line and beat the opponent by 2 seconds.

  The simple things, but hey. It’s the smallest things that make me happy.