FA, Convocation, Prom – all gone now. We’ve said our final goodbyes to each other and the only ones we’ll ever be meeting up with again are those that really matter.

The next few months ahead is gonna be exciting!

FA practices start tomorrow – kinda excited cos I really need to start moving and getting back into shape! Shall try to run on a regular basis too!! What’s really worrying me now is applications. Applications, with a capital A, and all the way from the A to the S. Internships, scholarships and most importantly, university applications. I’m really scared that along the way my interest would change, just like the way it switch from Sciences to History after coming to NUS High (yes, I know it sounds lame, but it’s a fact). Would I be able to bring myself through four years, or even more, of a subject that I currently like, but might not like in the future?

I’m still undecided of what I want for my future. Which internships to take, which relates to which scholarships I’d want to apply for. Which scholarships to take, which will define the next 4-6 years of my life after I graduate. Which courses do I take, or at least, apply to, which will in turn affect my whole future? Turning 18 isn’t really a good thing at a point like this – it’s decisions, decisions and decisions, which will ultimately affect the rest of your life. And the only thing I’m really worried about, is whether these decisions I’m making now, will have a positive, negative, or even detrimental effect to my future. I wish I could be a kid again, where graduating from a school only meant you’d have another school to go to.

I have so many things I need to settle, but I think I’m merely running away from them. Or at least attempting to.

Thursday actually kinda marked the end of High School life for me because it was the last project to be handed up and the last history essay I’m going to be writing for a long long time! Sucked badly at it though, cause I haven’t exactly written an essay + SBQ in exam conditions for almost 2 years D:

But well, its all over now.

After this coming Wednesday, another thing will be marked off the checklist, and we’d be one step closer to graduation.

That being said, this coming week seems pretty slack after such a totally shitty week, with FYP, Eugenol Lab Report, FYP presentation, Hist QT and SynChem practical test all in one week. Next week’s only going to be Hist paper + Hist test. Which isn’t any much slacker actually, given everything’s concentrated on Thursday.

Soon, we’ll have our last English lesson as a class, our last Math lesson as a class, our last Chem lesson as a class, so on and so forth. And the week after, it’s going to be our last exam together, as a level.

Sigh.

There won’t be any more CO sessions I’ll be attending, no more slacking/doing homework behind the timpanis, no more joking around with the percussion bunch, no more scolding from the jiaolian. These 4 years of CO have been a roller coaster ride – organising the first ever CO camp, renewed exco structure, and most importantly – SYF with the Green Tea Warriors! Looking back now, I think CO has been a really huge gravitating force in my life for the past 4 years, and if I do get into NUS, there’d be a high chance I’d join CO again. But its going to be different. Much as I wouldn’t have to face that shitty TIC any more, no more late night rehearsals, no more stressing over scores, I’ll still miss all of that eventually.

In a way, PACC really ended my 4 years with CO in NUS High on a very high note, given that the song we played was a super last minute thing, and pulling it off almost perfectly was something that I never thought was possible.

I had initially intended on writing a super long post with regards to CO, but seeing how my sentences are coming off as incoherent with poor phrasing, I should just leave this to some other day.

The idea of graduation is hitting me, finally, and hard. Real hard.

September is going to be a long month, full of late nights and fervent typing on the keyboard.

Sigh.

Remember the days spent in China, debating over world issues? Crammed in the tiny committee room (at least for mine), trying to decipher the different accents, trying to get a grasp of the issue at hand. My committee was ECOFIN, which dealt with the economic and financial issues that were plaguing the world – we debated on Debt in Developing Countries, and Economic standing of Women in LDCs. Being the delegate of Ireland, I’ve learnt plenty of new things to do with Ireland’s stance on the issue, and background of Ireland’s history. The nights spent in each others’ rooms, complaining, or simply talking about our committees, nights spent sitting outside the hotel eating yang rou chuan (it’s the China version of satay, but its with goat meat). Shuffling (ahemmm, inside joke) and all the other inside jokes we had as a delegation of Ireland from Singapore. Climbing the Great Wall, visiting Tiananmen Square and etc. Memories that will last me a really really long time to come.

Then Fold-A-Frog, where we, as a team, set a new Singapore Book of Record after a failed attempt last year, folding 18, 292 frogs in an hour, beating the previous record of 2293 by a few times. That was another exhilarating experience for me, organising the whole event; but it was great to know so many people who were passionate about helping the needy patients. The TTSH CCF staff were really helpful too, always chipping in to help us, even when they were really busy with the Charity ride on their hands too.

Then SDYC, which came and went really quickly too. I screwed up CC real bad, and I felt that I could have done better. Everything else was more or less quite okay, and I’m kinda glad we managed to pull it off as an OT. Perhaps it was WEMUNC, which got me closer to people like Teri, Chris and Chinaman, such that our inside jokes still carried on, maybe it was just the many hours spent together as an OT, doing silly things together, and all the EH HEH HEH moments. All the late night meals with a certain group, and all the saikang late into the night. And all the random dance styles, like frog style, backstroke, freestyle and butterfly! And of course, being nerds, we had the sin(x), cos(x), tan(x), x^2, -x^2, y=x (and many more) moves, which was well, thoroughly amusing.

That being said, now that all of the abovementioned commitments are either over or more or less done, I really have to get my life back on track. Hist essay due tomorrow, and 3 english current affairs journal due by this week. FYP due after the Sept hols, and History test and research paper due shortly after.

But all in all, August was really fun and enriching, yet tiring and exhausting at the same time!

Then right after I return to SG, it’s gonna be Fold-A-Frog Event! Excited for it, even though our group is probably on the verge of falling apart

Then SDYC! Haven’t been doing much for it/nothing much to do anyway, I think.

But that aside, school work’s piling up at an alarming rate, and I’m glad I’m only missing 2 official days of school since the following week’s National Day Celebrations and all. But then again, it’s like missing my last NDP celebration at NUS High, so very very sian also

FYP and History research paper are the bulk of my headaches right now!!!!!!!! I’m worried sick for it, and I probably have to find some time to head down to NLB/Lee Kong Chian Reference Library soon to get started on my research paper! I hope I can pull off the same feat as I did in Y5 though. Why did finishing a research paper back then seem so easy, despite the 4am sleeping time I used to adopt right before the paper was due?

Jiayou me, and jiayou to everyone else! I’m gonna survive August, and after August, I’ve only got school work and uni apps to focus on. Ttfn!

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It’s been two weeks into school and its been crazily hectic, for me at least! YFC’s going well so far, all we need now is confirmation, and we’re definitely good to go. Do support us! School’s been great, but most of my free afternoons are now spent either settling YFC stuff, chionging homework, or doing up WEMUNC stuff :/

The new CO room is AWESOMEE. We have like twice the space of the space we had before, and now we have awesome curtains, nice backdrop, overall nice interior design (Chinese + Japanese mix, imo!) and windows that can close But the sad thing is that Ms Sion is leaving us next week She has been a really nice teacher IC for CO and have led our SYF team to what we’ve got, and without her, I wonder what would have happened. After this coming week, no more bitching sessions with her about a particular other teacher. I’ll really miss Ms Sion I think

That aside, stayed up on Thursday night to watch the Harry Potter World Premiere live. The fans were really crazy :O Most of them camped there for around 3-5 days at the venue, Trafalgar Square. The one part which really made me feel all emotional was the last part, which can be found below. It’s not really of a very good quality, but I guess it would suffice, cos the only HD version I saw was during the actual live screening. Imagine those watching in 3D, omg.

On a side note, I’m not sure if this is coincidence or was it planned this way, but look:

The Deathly Hallows.

Cannot wait for the movie to be out on 14.7 although this loser over here has History + WEMUNC training on that day. Sighhh, I wanna watch it when it comes out!

Okay, I should get back to my position papers. So much to do in this weekend alone!!

Ware said that this was the most common regret of all. It’s easy to let our dreams slip by due to circumstances or decisions that we’ve made. These choices mark the divide between living a fulfilled life or one that is full of regrets.

It’s important that we aim to achieve at least some of our dreams along the way. We often put off trying for our dreams due to a myriad of reasons. Before we know it, we would have lost our health and therefore, our chance to attain them.

If your dream is to start a business, get to it. If it’s to learn how to dance or try skydiving, book a class. If you want to make music, pick up a guitar.

Don’t put it off any longer.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

In between having ends meet and aiming for a luxurious lifestyle, it’s easy to see why we get caught up with our work.

Ware said that this was a common regret of male patients who didn’t manage to spend enough time with their family.

It’s easy to get caught up in the rat race, but remember to set aside some time for the important things in life. Most importantly, you will have to understand why you do what you do. Is it for your own personal achievement, for family, or for a higher calling?

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Hands up anyone who has suppressed their feelings in order to avoid potential embarrassment or argument.

Avoiding arguments is good for a harmonious life, but the problem comes when we take it too far. When we blindly follow the opinions of someone more assertive just to avoid arguments, we’re shortchanging ourselves.

While it’s understandable that we use Twitter and blogging to rant about things we are unhappy with, do remember that talking about it face-to-face is always a more sincere option.

So if an issue is major enough, try approaching the person for an honest and frank chat. We’re not saying that the talk will be smooth sailing, but your relationships will emerge stronger and healthier.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

It’s easy to lose touch with good friends. A busy lifestyle can take away time from the ones you love. This is where technology comes in.

With services like Facebook, WhatsApp and Yahoo! Messenger, it’s easy to keep tabs on old friends. Talking to friends is so effortless today that we have no reason to let staying in touch with friends take a backseat.

At the end of the day though, nothing beats chatting over a cup of coffee. So always remember to occasionally take things offline and catch up with your friends the old fashioned way.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

‘Many don’t realize until the end that happiness is a choice’, said Ware in her blog post.

This is very true. Happiness is something that we choose for ourselves. Many get upset over the circumstances in their lives. What they do not realize is that they can choose to face difficulties with a smile.

Take a moment and enjoy life. If difficulties come your way, remember that pain is inevitable but wallowing in misery is always optional.

Choose to be happy.

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Article found here.

I find this somewhat true. I am already guilty of a few of the points mentioned