Paul is my no.2 brother, 3rd in my siblings. He is the most resemblance to our father according to many people, the look, the behaviour as well as the brain. He was a chubby child, with round eyes and a happy face. We had a picture taken together when he was as young as 6 months old. I looked tense and was trying to hold Paul while he was smiling mischievously. He used to be a mischievous and playful boy who has the guts to confront and never afraid to speak up his mind. In fact, he is the boldest among 5 of us.
Mother was always proud of Paul for his resemblance to our father and naturally, she adored him. She might say that she didn’t like the way Paul acted or said but her face showed that she was surprised, thinking; how could he be so similar to our father. I think Paul also looks like our paternal grandmother, Daw Saw Hlaing. She was a typical Burmese from the upper Burma, often spoke abruptly and didn’t practise sweet talk but spoke as she felt. He may remember that once he had thrown a nail clipper at her and we didn’t have any clue why he did that to her.
During his teen time Paul tried not to do anything that would prevent the growth of his height. One instance is that while we put the tub on our heads for fetching water, he raised the tub above his head as high as possible, trying not to touch his head so that it would not affect his growth of height. He probably did the right thing and now he is taller than us. In his High school, Paul chose the Arts subjects instead of the popular Science subjects.
This reflected his personality; desire to excel, aspire to be outstanding in an unconventional way and embrace the unforeseen challenges. As always, he followed his heart and achieved his dream; he was one of the top students in the country when he passed his High school exams. After graduating from the Yangon University with B.A (English) Paul surprised all of us again; he planned to study Theology. His talented image continued to outshine and he was one of the best students again.
His graduation day was a memorable and emotional one where proud Phe Phe (our maternal grandma) took a picture with his brightly dressed grandson. It was the one and only graduation ceremony of her grandchildren Phe Phe attended as Paul was the first grandchild to get graduated.
Paul’s attitude of being self-dependent changed when he went to America for his further studies. He realised how much he values the love and warmth of the family. Our Mother’s death has also deeply affected him as he had planned so much in his mind for our mother’s well-being. I am pretty confident that Mother would have sensed his mind and appreciated. After her death, he has transformed as a very mature grown-up gentleman. Without anyone telling him he took the responsibility to look after the 2 younger brothers who were vulnerable and naive.
He went back to Burma after his 1-year Master degree studies and again, he passed with first class degree. He looks like our father in appearance and also is the one who follows our father’s footsteps, which always made our mother proud.
Paul met his fiancee at MIT where she also was a fellow student. I think only God can choose the best life partner for you. Now they are getting married. I wish I could attend the wedding and I very much love and like to be present and be proud and happy as a sister. At this moment, I can only wish since I still can’t figure it out how this miracle could happen. If it does not happen, I should be contented just to see the photos of my brother and sister-in-law!
During his teen time Paul tried not to do anything that would prevent the growth of his height. One instance is that while we put the tub on our heads for fetching water, he raised the tub above his head as high as possible, trying not to touch his head so that it would not affect his growth of height. He probably did the right thing and now he is taller than us. In his High school, Paul chose the Arts subjects instead of the popular Science subjects.
This reflected his personality; desire to excel, aspire to be outstanding in an unconventional way and embrace the unforeseen challenges. As always, he followed his heart and achieved his dream; he was one of the top students in the country when he passed his High school exams. After graduating from the Yangon University with B.A (English) Paul surprised all of us again; he planned to study Theology. His talented image continued to outshine and he was one of the best students again.
His graduation day was a memorable and emotional one where proud Phe Phe (our maternal grandma) took a picture with his brightly dressed grandson. It was the one and only graduation ceremony of her grandchildren Phe Phe attended as Paul was the first grandchild to get graduated.
Paul’s attitude of being self-dependent changed when he went to America for his further studies. He realised how much he values the love and warmth of the family. Our Mother’s death has also deeply affected him as he had planned so much in his mind for our mother’s well-being. I am pretty confident that Mother would have sensed his mind and appreciated. After her death, he has transformed as a very mature grown-up gentleman. Without anyone telling him he took the responsibility to look after the 2 younger brothers who were vulnerable and naive.
He went back to Burma after his 1-year Master degree studies and again, he passed with first class degree. He looks like our father in appearance and also is the one who follows our father’s footsteps, which always made our mother proud.
Paul met his fiancee at MIT where she also was a fellow student. I think only God can choose the best life partner for you. Now they are getting married. I wish I could attend the wedding and I very much love and like to be present and be proud and happy as a sister. At this moment, I can only wish since I still can’t figure it out how this miracle could happen. If it does not happen, I should be contented just to see the photos of my brother and sister-in-law!
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