Confessions of a Cat-holic (204)

Maybe I was too attractive to be true. Maybe my profile was too athletic, so I was taken as a jock. Maybe my physique was too fit. But I wanted to clarify that I was never the smartest, or the prettiest, or the tallest among my peers in my alma mater. There was no such thing as a head girl in our school system and we were no DGS either. Look-wise, I was about the 500th in my school; my academics was fairly okay, I was consistently within top 10 of my class. In terms of net worth, oh I was way behind, probably something in the bottom 300th in the entire school. It was just that SPCC was severely lack of talents so I easily stood out in a pool of midgets. My intelligence level was constantly discredited by my peers in the new school, because I was different from them.

I was different from them because I was well rounded, with a balance of affinities towards both humanities and science. I was different from them because I was not an accountant. I was different from them because I was not excellent in mathematics. I was different from them because I had the qualifications to get into medical school but chose not to. I was different from them because I got into an Ivy League, with scholarships too, while many of my peers ended up in University of Wisconsin, Madison. I was different from them because I couldn't play a musical instrument. I was different from them because I couldn't even read music notes. I was different from them because I didn't join the music department. I was different from them because I lived in South Horizons, a military base where many disciplined servants including the correctional officers, immigration officers, firefighters, police, and customs officers lived. I was different from them because I was the tallest in my class. I was different from them because I didn't suffer from chronic flu or harlequin ichthyosis. I was different from them because I could speak English as fluently as Mandarin. I was different from them because I had a Korean face with Canadian passport. I was different from them because I actually had a life outside of class. I was different from them because I looked better than them without trying. I was different from them because I could play basketball. I was different from them because I was not living in an ivory tower. I was different from them because I was connected to the real world. I was different from them because I also watched ATV and Cable TV. I was different from them because I paid attention to current affairs. I was different from them because I was sober. I was different from them because I didn't believe in Christianity. I was different from them because I was not working my ass off for stupid things like prestige or recognition. I was different from them because I was not a sheep. I was different from them because I had individual reasoning. For these reasons alone, I must have been a retard. Because I was different, and given the presumption that SPCCers considered themselves the smartest ones in Hong Kong, and maybe in the world too, I must have been a retard for not following their trajectory.

But I wanted to say that whatever bliss they lived in, I hoped they could wake up some day that Hong Kong was just a pacific island. Being the best in Central district wouldn't make you top of the world. I was not an accidental banker / fixed income sales. I didn't accidentally get placed in my sales team under Eric Tsang because I was lucky. I didn't accidentally get into the SEO program. I didn't accidentally get employed by Lehman Brothers because I looked good. I didn't accidentally work in Morgan Stanley out of randomness. A lot of people thought that I was a lucky retard, and that I got to where I was by selling my soul and my body. Maybe that was their case of psychological projection, but no I insisted to be different and say no to Central business world's 潛規則. I had no hidden agenda and I didn't need to either. I chose to be placed in fixed income sales because I understood the markets enough to pick a division that best suited my strengths. It was synergy; it was by collaboration and joint efforts that I worked in the best fixed income sales team in Hong Kong, and maybe in Asia too.