Decision Time!

I could not sleep that night, thinking,"Should I or should I not?".I thought about missing my friends and family in China. But I also remembered what my mother told me once when I was younger. She said, "Often in life, we have to give up something to get something else better!" I asked her opinion and she supported my idea of going away to earn a living. My dad was not as supportive though, because he knew that if I were to go, I'll have to borrow money from someone to pay the agent fees, as we definitely do not have the money ourselves. Even if each family member put in all of his/her savings, we still would not have been able to come up with that amount. Such is the situation at home... we live hand-to-mouth each day but we get by.

Finally I decided that I have to go. It's a sacrifice I have to make to give my family a better life. However, first, I have to decide how and where I am going to come up with the hefty agent's fee!

I have a distant relative, an "uncle" who is reasonably well off...or at least more so than we were. I decided that he may be able to help me. The banks won't lend me any money and I am afraid of using illegal money lenders. In China, they have a reputation of harassing your family and loved ones when you're late on payment. I immediately called my wealthy uncle and explained to him the situation. He was reluctant to help but somehow that day, I summoned all my convincing power and managed to convince him to loan me 50,000 RMB. I was ecstatic when he finally agreed. That afternoon, I immediately made the two hours bus journey to get the money from him. My mind was made up... I was going to Singapore and nobody's going to talk me out of it! I was determined to give myself and my family a better life!