This blog never really died...

To all my friends from secondary school, JC, NS or my first term in SMU, I'm really sorry for not keeping you updated in the past 6 months. Yup indeed, the past 6 months seemed a lot tougher and busier than my first term in SMU, partly because I was swarmed with so many modules that I was not good at and I had to work doubly hard for them. Nevertheless, besides the disappointing Management Science module, (which I really regret taking under that prof) everything else seemed to pay off. Overall, I did quite well for my combined GPA, largely due to my results in the first term.

However, there were a lot going on behind the scenes. For a start, I still remember that Business Law was my first class in this term and I had created such a bad impression on my prof (which I honestly have no idea why) that she "ban-listed" me from the second lesson onwards. Initially, I thought I was just hyper-sensitive. But it was no sooner that my friends told me she made snide comments everytime I asked a question or provided a suggestion. (Things like "obviously you have not been reading up on the case", when it was only the second lesson and no one bothered to buy the case book yet, and "you can say all you want, but this is not how the Singapore Law works") And I realised she always replied my emails "a tad later" than my friend, for example, my email which was sent on Sunday night only got a brief (if not absurdly abstract) reply on Thursday afternoon but my friend's email on Wednesday night received an immediate reply. Seriously, I was so frustrated and demoralised after every Business Law class that I had even thought of giving up! Luckily, my good friend Melvin reminded me that exams in SMU are transparent. (Names are not written on exam sheets to prevent discrimination) As such, I was determined to salvage whatever negative class participation marks I had and kudos, I did it! Haha, of course this is somewhat exaggerated since it is impossible to get negative class participation marks, but the point is unlike me in the past, I did not give up without a fight. :)

My LTB (Leadership and Team Building) module was a totally different experience altogether. Looking back, it was certainly one of the most memorable times I had in SMU. As part of this course, we had to organise and execute a community service project and we will be judged based on our project results as well as team dynamics. In the end, we created a beautiful and homely library-lounge for the orphans of Darul Ihsan. Doesn't it sound fun? Or at least until you realised you have to work with 7 very different people in your team who are pre-arranged. Frankly speaking, this is the module which made me drop lots of hair, took up all my msn and dinner time and made me lose countless nights of sleep. As it turned out, every team I knew had their own major problems, and none was so cordial or smooth-sailing as I initially thought it would be. However, what touched me and made my team different was that somehow, we realised that we needed to iron out these problems. And for the first time, I could feel our heartbeats thumping as one. Yes, although this is a meaningless cliche phrase in most instances, I could really feel their heartbeats this time. This feeling is indescribable; when you see your teammates working with you from Saturday morning to Sunday 6am, when everyone disregarded his or her presentation on Monday just for the sake of making the LTB project a roaring success, and in the middle of the night we shared our woes and laughters like we were long time best friends. (Such as comforting Yue Yue when she missed her mum so terribly, confessing in funny poses in front of the video camera, feeling unjust for Angie and together with Jinhao helped her to create an A+++ email to refute the unfeeling CYJ, and laughing with Forest throughout the night while he made Singapore's funniest video for the project. As ridiculous as these descriptions may seem to be, the truth is it was really a very emotional and dramatic night. Maybe you might think that we were forced to bond together as a team to finish the project, but this wasn't the case. In fact, we could have easily finished the powerpoint slides and packed up for the day. However, we chose to make 3 excellent videos for the project because we really wanted to make something out of our project and our friendship. And like what I've told my LTB friends, this is and probably will be the only time I could talk in LJ language. (If you're still innocent, never mind what LJ means) *A tribute to you guys again*

After my exams in April, my story at Boys Town started on a new chapter. Currently, I'm tutoring a Chinese-Japanese student called Zachery. He seemed to be very enthusiastic towards learning and I'm quite satisfied with him. I also have good and bad news about my former students. The good news is Djong and Roy have finally stepped closer to their dreams by entering the institutions of their choice. (Djong went to poly and Roy decided to sign on with Guards) They have achieved what they wanted and I'm happy for them. Hopefully one day, they would help their juniors in Boys Town too. However, I'm quite worried for Xavier. Although he was not assigned to be my student, however, I have interacted with him on many occasions. Currently, Xavier is transferred to Boys Home due to some offences he committed. Therefore, I'm going to contact his counsellor in Boys Home asap and hopefully get a chance to see him and give him an important present. (It's a meaningful card and some glitter pens for his drawing) I thought it's urgent that I meet him soon because I know how it feels like to be cut off from all your friends and family. During such harsh times, it's really comforting to know that at least someone out there still believes and supports you. I hope that my message can get across to him that he's not alone... and hopefully, this will be a turning point in his life.

Coming back to myself, I personally feel that this blog never really died despite hibernating for a whole 6 months. Occasionally, I still read my blog again and find new inspirations in my life. Every promise I've made and everything I've been through is a living testimony that I've somewhat grown up. I guess this is something I've never expected when I first began this blog. Hopefully, the spirit of persistence and confidence will continue to inspire me as I write this blog. As for now, Gambatte! Gambatte! Gambatte!