Kuala Lampur, June 3 -- One of the strangest things about adulthood is how quickly achievements become administration.

You work towards something for months, sometimes years. You imagine how it would feel when it finally arrives. You picture the relief, the satisfaction, perhaps even a moment of celebration. Then it happens. And almost immediately, it becomes work.

I was reminded of this recently while looking back at the past year. Within the span of 12 months, I was promoted to full professor, appointed principal of Tuanku Bahiyah Residential College, and later became director of UM Press. Looking at those milestones on paper, they seem significant enough.

Yet if you asked me what I remember most, it is not the announcements. It is t...