FOUR SHIPS TOOK ME AROUND THE WORLD.
After that, I chose to build a life closer to my family.
My Life Journey • Episode 06
I worked on the Bunga Mas Empat, Bunga Mas Sembilan, Bunga Mas Lapan and Bunga Mas Sepuluh.
On these passport pages, I wrote down the places I had visited.
In Asia: Singapore, Indonesia, India, Colombo in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea and China.
In Europe: the Netherlands, England, Spain, Portugal and Sweden.
Each name reminds me of earning a living far from my family.
Working at sea gave me an income, experience and the chance to help my family own our first car.
I appreciate all of that.
But my priorities began to change.
In the previous episode, I shared how I lost Atok and Embah. I couldn’t visit them when they were unwell, and I couldn’t attend their funerals.
I increasingly wanted to be close to the people I loved, with more opportunities to come home, see them and be there when they needed me.
At the time, I saw colleagues in their thirties and forties continuing their careers at sea.
I respected their experience and resilience. But when I pictured my own life, I felt it would become harder and harder to stay away from my family.
My thinking at the time was:
“If I keep sailing into my thirties, I don’t think I’ll be able to leave life at sea behind.”
That was my personal belief then. Everyone has different circumstances and choices.
I was still young. I believed there was time to learn a new job and build a successful life on land.
Eventually, I left my seafaring career. My next chapter took me to a job as an Office Coordinator at SSF.
Perhaps you are also reconsidering your career because your priorities in life have changed.
My experience taught me to clarify three things before choosing a direction:
What matters most to me now?
What new things am I willing to learn?
What steps could bring me closer to that life?
For me then, family came first. I was willing to learn different work, so I gave myself the chance to build a career on land.
Four ships had taken me far from home. I carried those experiences with me as I began the next stage of my journey.
What has prompted you to choose a different direction in life?
PMr. Mohd Hawarie Tan Muzi
In Episode 07, I’ll continue with my experience at SSF and what I learned while working with Abang Zul.
#CatatanPerjalananSaya #Hawarie #BeraniMengubahHaluan