Back then....

University of Bonn's delegation for the 2009 National Model United Nations (NMUN) Conference in New York.

A formidable team of highly motivated, cosmopolitan and lettered students with great preparation, tirelesss resolve, unmatched eloquence and indescribable energy. They were representatives of the governments of Brunei Darussalam and Democratic People's Republic of Korea at the 2009 NMUN conference.

They were students from various academic fields whose passsion was multilateralism, diplomacy, change and global governance. They flew the flag of the prestigious University of Bonn in far away America in a week-long 'induction' exercise on the complexities and challenges associated with keeping our world free of nukes.

I was a part of the delegation but i missed flying with them to the conference. A great conference i was told it was.

I had poured a lot of myself into the preparatory meetings, consultations and simulations but eventually i couldn't make it to New York.

My presentation on Brunei Darussalam was top-notch. It was highly commended; I got an official invitation for the conference. I had all i needed but somehow i didn't travel to America's third most populous state. I didn't have the priviledge to slog it out in diplomatic discourse with thousands of other young and great minds from all around the world at the UN headquarters in the States.

It was then like a million-dollar opportunity that slipped off my hands. I wanted to see 'God's Own Country' for the first time.

Back then i felt somewhat unhappy but shortly after, i picked up myself, leveraged on the skills i acquired from the NMUN preparation and matched on to participate in several other Model United Nations conference where i won laurels and didn't have to worry about the one New York opportunity i missed.

Even with dotting every i and crossing every t sometimes, things can still fall out of place. Indeed, the expectation of failure could also be the crucible for failure. However, the ability to pick oneself up and utilize the lessons of missed opportunities as spring board for rising to enviable heights is the hallmark of a great man or woman.

Back then, even though i missed an opportunity, i didn't allow it to rob me of my identity - a great man, a man on a mission, an embodiment of God's grace and glory.