GEORGE TOWN: A firecracker explosion left Siti Nur Aishah Abdul Rani blinded in her left eye when she was five.
Today, at 20, she stands tall as one of the new students accepted to further her studies in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) here.
Siti, who hails from Kuala Mengkuang, Bukit Mertajam, said the person with disabilities (OKU) label that she had carried since that dark moment, had not hindered her from achieving success in academics.
"The black episode happened during Ramadan. What I can say is, I was not the one playing with the firecracker then. It just flew towards me before exploding, and I celebrated Eid in the hospital.
"As a result, if I read for too long, my eyes would feel dizzy, I would get headaches, and my vision would become blurry. There have been times when I could only see part of the writing on the whiteboard in class, with half of it being blurry.
"But Alhamdulillah, I am grateful that despite these challenges, I achieved a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.84 in my Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) last year," she said when met at USM today.
The Bachelor of Arts in Humanities student said she was extremely grateful to her single mother, Siti Kholijah Othman, 47, for her sacrifices in raising the family since her father's passing in 2012.
Besides her vision issue, Siti has also been battling scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, for about five years and has suffered from a slip disc, believed to be due to a fall.
"When I was studying at SMKA (Perempuan) Al-Mashoor, a teacher noticed that my posture seemed off when I walked or sat and advised me to get further check-ups.
"Due to the scoliosis, I often experienced back pain, but I am determined to continue my studies to the highest level possible to secure a good job and support my family," she added, expressing her aspiration to become an educator.
Siti was part of 4,807 STPM, Matriculation, Foundation, and Diploma programme students who received offers to pursue undergraduate and diploma programmes as new students for the 2024/2025 academic session at USM today.
Meanwhile, twin sisters Ainul Mardhiah Zolkifly and Ainul Kamilah Zolkifly, who have been inseparable since childhood, are still on cloud nine to continue their journey together into university life.
The older of the twins, Ainul Mardhiah, said while pursuing matriculation programme at Gambang in Pahang, they also shared a laptop,smartphone and printer as their single mother could not afford to buy extra.
"We are grateful as we are not only pursuing the same course but also put in the same dorm room," she said.
Ainul Kamilah said they wanted to make their family proud by studying hard and achieving good results.
The twins are selling hijab accessories like pins to help them prepare for their university life.
Both enrolled in the Bachelor of Accounting with Honours programme.
The twins were part of five pairs of twins who registered as new students today.