Assalamualaikum.
Hi fellow readers. My name is Faizah. Some of my friends called me Pija or Peja but my aunties called me Tia. So today I am going to tell you the origin of the nickname, Tia.
According to my crazy+fun aunties, the nickname Tia originated from the malay word "Setia" which literally means loyal. At the time we're so young and foolish, all we could think of are getting boyfriends (I know its stupid but please forgive us). My parents are usually busy with work. So whenever my aunties went on a date with their boyfriends, I have to tag along even though I don't want to. And their boyfriend usually brought a friend as a blind date and to keep me company. I found that its really uncomfortable to talk to strangers so whenever that guy talked to me, I would just nod my head or kept quiet. My aunties thought I was being loyal to my then-boyfriend(now ex-boyfriend) at the time so that's why they called me Tia. LOL.
I guess that name sticks with me up till now because my aunties still called me Tia as a habit. I think it's true that I am a loyal person and that name suits me well. In my opinion, loyalty is very important in any kind of relationship and not just limited to romantic relationship. I'm very loyal to my family even though we fought a lot. I'm loyal to my friends especially to those who are there during my worst. I'm loyal to my country as well, I'm sure we all are.
Loyalty to me is like a treasure trusted upon me. It depends on the individual whether he/she want to deem it valuable and keep it in secure place or give it to someone else in place of something more valuable. However, I think there's a limit to loyalty which I sometimes failed to see. For instance, I've known someone for almost 10 years and we've been through a lot of things together. We've been good friends for a long time and since we liked each other I mistaken that as a commitment. I thought I need to be loyal to him even though he never promised me anything. I even rejected anyone that tried to get close to me but when I grew fond of him, I pushed him away out of confusion of my own feelings. I didn't want to risk losing our friendship so I set a boundary beforehand. In the end, we went our separate ways.
Being loyal is not always good. You have to assess the situation to know whether its good or not. Sometimes being loyal can be toxic, so be careful. This can be seen in the story of Hikayat Hang Tuah. Hang Tuah was loyal to the sultan even though he was wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit. He was sentenced to death but his friends stood up for him. However, his loyalty caused the death of his friends by his own hands. That was my interpretation of that story which might be different from others.
My point is loyalty is an important essence in any kind of relationship, but it must have a limit to a certain extent. Be loyal but be smart enough to know when loyalty is no longer appreciated.
Thank you for reading this entry. Have a nice life.
