Saturday, September 4, 2010 @ Saturday, September 04, 2010
academics have finally come to an end. no more homework, no more deadlines to face, now it really is - just pure mugging. i have to say nostalgia's simply inevitable, after all, we spent a good six years in ACS and now the journey's just two more months from completion.
so many thoughts and feelings running through my mind, and amidst the spectroscopy of fancies, some things cant help but be highlighted. be it ups or downs, the entire ACS journey obviously, isnt perfect. i cant say i had a flawless education, without struggles or a loss of motivation. i cant say i had the best of cca records. but what i can say, is that every event served its purpose and reliving those experiences in memory brings no less than a smile and a sense of relief. of course, the happy things stand out more, above all. otherwise they wouldnt be known as happy memories would they?
a few of us recalled the first day of school. like the very very first day of ACS life. mine was probably as special as every acsian's first day in the school. just that, my cohort got to experience the grandeur of the old building, before the ib block got built. i remember walking into the school, in a fresh uniform, without a tie, past every other ac guy who appeared to be at least a head and a half taller than me, to the front office area. then tried to look for my name and class, then getting lost finding my class. of course, eventually i managed to find a spot by one point ten. the feeling of standing there, looking down at the assembly grounds from outside the class room, can only be known when you've experienced it. that's why its called a feeling! you dont describe it. but yes, we had the pleasure of turning left and right, and everyone looking down to dr ong's hill, in ac tie and uniform. the closest description i can provide: the sight of many many senates having a meeting with the chancellor in star wars, where the chancellor is in the middle, looking up to a multitude of other governors. yupp imagine that! then when we applause, the sound resonates everywhere, grand is an understatement. i remember almost fainting because i've never stood up so long for assembly before. that was the first day. and of course dr ong speaking for the first time, only the greatest principal of acs to date.
fast forward to sec two, where the entire class ganged up against woo. oh gosh those were the days we were so childish but united! the pranks we played just got better and better. i guess that's where we honed our wit eh? being able to rebut every single thing with a statement that had a subtle crisp of insult injected to it. ahh being called to visit tan see keng and bongard time and time again. they were nice people by the way, we never really got scolded, just negotiated with. this actually is quite refreshing, thinking back to those days. and cliche as it sounds, it really really does seem like yesterday that all these happened.
moving on to sec three and four. i remember dreading the first day of sec three because i got torn away from my previous class. but i also remember these two years being my best ever years in ac! it was epic. like beyond all things, i consider sec three and four my favourite years. why? because we were all childish little boys, and we did every stupid thing a teenage guy would do. and the best part about being an ac boy, we didnt have girls to worry about. so imagine the retarded things we could say and do without having any consequence of people running out not wanting to hear stuff or people crying because they got knocked into. just pure fun. teachers table tennis, captain's ball with tennis ball, olympics, water squirting, 150 paper planes, crucible badminton, sentosa outing... etc etc. i'd seriously, give almost anything, to have a day back in point sixteen again.
year five and six, obviously had a new dimension. because of girls, which isnt a bad thing, dont get me wrong. just, guys need to tone down when girls are around. just a fact of life. no more sick jokes, no more physical nonsense, and a heightened level of maturity. although that's nonsense, most of us still want to do the retarded things. i remember the first day of og, and the girls came in. coldest feeling ever, because the cohort of two hundred plus guys versus nineteen girls. and marcus chua was the only guy daring enough to go up to them, the rest of us still having withdrawal symptoms of having a guy only cohort. i remember the second intake, when things really really got better. and got paired up with alex who was a wonderful buddy coming up to me to talk first, i'll never forget that because life was made a million times easier. then i remember having to split to classes, which i dreaded so so much, until i found out my three bestest guy friends were going into point seventeen with me. and true enough, point seventeen turned out to be a dream come true. really, you cannot expect a non intact class more bonded, more God centred, more fun loving.
and now that all these have finally come to a close, i remember all the ias, tok, ee and presentations that i had to do. over the course of six years in the integrated programme. i learnt how to carry myself in a confidant, eloquent manner. i learnt how to present with boldness, and speak with courage. i learnt how to give reasoned arguments and rational rebuttals. i learnt how to phrase sentences with elegance, and play around with words. i really did have the greatest time of my life. my primary six tuition teacher, had a son who went to acs. when i told her i got a dsa into the school, the first thing she said to me was "wow, you're going to have a great time. i know because my son really enjoyed his time there." six years on, that statement stands through and through.
so where does God fit into the picture? one word, EVERYWHERE. i cant name everything. but everything i said up there, is a testimony to His never ending goodness amen? knowing myself, im rigid to change, i dont like to be moved out of my comfort zone to try new things. but He shifted me time and time again throughout my ac life. He took me away from my classes every two years, but He did that just to show me that He can be increasingly faithful. He blessed me increasingly over the past six years. the fun just increased. our God, is not a boring god. our God wants us to have fun. He created us to have fun with Him. i mean, God probably wanted to enjoy a nice cool afternoon in the garden of eden with adam and eve. He probably just wanted them to tell Him what went on today, and what they wanted to do the rest of the day. He'd probably play games with them. only, sin got in the way. point is, God wants us to enjoy ourselves and He has definitely shown me that. i know now, that every thing that happens, might not necessarily appear good at a given time period. trust me, i got quite mad at almost every change that occured. but when you look back (like what im doing now), it all seems so perfect. perhaps this is the crux of the cliche, "the imperfections makes it perfect". the momentary disappointments serve as a contrast and accentuates the joys of every thing being pieced together.
i thank God for my time in acs. how i got into the school, is one testimony. how i left the school, is yet another.
Saturday, September 4, 2010 @ Saturday, September 04, 2010
academics have finally come to an end. no more homework, no more deadlines to face, now it really is - just pure mugging. i have to say nostalgia's simply inevitable, after all, we spent a good six years in ACS and now the journey's just two more months from completion.
so many thoughts and feelings running through my mind, and amidst the spectroscopy of fancies, some things cant help but be highlighted. be it ups or downs, the entire ACS journey obviously, isnt perfect. i cant say i had a flawless education, without struggles or a loss of motivation. i cant say i had the best of cca records. but what i can say, is that every event served its purpose and reliving those experiences in memory brings no less than a smile and a sense of relief. of course, the happy things stand out more, above all. otherwise they wouldnt be known as happy memories would they?
a few of us recalled the first day of school. like the very very first day of ACS life. mine was probably as special as every acsian's first day in the school. just that, my cohort got to experience the grandeur of the old building, before the ib block got built. i remember walking into the school, in a fresh uniform, without a tie, past every other ac guy who appeared to be at least a head and a half taller than me, to the front office area. then tried to look for my name and class, then getting lost finding my class. of course, eventually i managed to find a spot by one point ten. the feeling of standing there, looking down at the assembly grounds from outside the class room, can only be known when you've experienced it. that's why its called a feeling! you dont describe it. but yes, we had the pleasure of turning left and right, and everyone looking down to dr ong's hill, in ac tie and uniform. the closest description i can provide: the sight of many many senates having a meeting with the chancellor in star wars, where the chancellor is in the middle, looking up to a multitude of other governors. yupp imagine that! then when we applause, the sound resonates everywhere, grand is an understatement. i remember almost fainting because i've never stood up so long for assembly before. that was the first day. and of course dr ong speaking for the first time, only the greatest principal of acs to date.
fast forward to sec two, where the entire class ganged up against woo. oh gosh those were the days we were so childish but united! the pranks we played just got better and better. i guess that's where we honed our wit eh? being able to rebut every single thing with a statement that had a subtle crisp of insult injected to it. ahh being called to visit tan see keng and bongard time and time again. they were nice people by the way, we never really got scolded, just negotiated with. this actually is quite refreshing, thinking back to those days. and cliche as it sounds, it really really does seem like yesterday that all these happened.
moving on to sec three and four. i remember dreading the first day of sec three because i got torn away from my previous class. but i also remember these two years being my best ever years in ac! it was epic. like beyond all things, i consider sec three and four my favourite years. why? because we were all childish little boys, and we did every stupid thing a teenage guy would do. and the best part about being an ac boy, we didnt have girls to worry about. so imagine the retarded things we could say and do without having any consequence of people running out not wanting to hear stuff or people crying because they got knocked into. just pure fun. teachers table tennis, captain's ball with tennis ball, olympics, water squirting, 150 paper planes, crucible badminton, sentosa outing... etc etc. i'd seriously, give almost anything, to have a day back in point sixteen again.
year five and six, obviously had a new dimension. because of girls, which isnt a bad thing, dont get me wrong. just, guys need to tone down when girls are around. just a fact of life. no more sick jokes, no more physical nonsense, and a heightened level of maturity. although that's nonsense, most of us still want to do the retarded things. i remember the first day of og, and the girls came in. coldest feeling ever, because the cohort of two hundred plus guys versus nineteen girls. and marcus chua was the only guy daring enough to go up to them, the rest of us still having withdrawal symptoms of having a guy only cohort. i remember the second intake, when things really really got better. and got paired up with alex who was a wonderful buddy coming up to me to talk first, i'll never forget that because life was made a million times easier. then i remember having to split to classes, which i dreaded so so much, until i found out my three bestest guy friends were going into point seventeen with me. and true enough, point seventeen turned out to be a dream come true. really, you cannot expect a non intact class more bonded, more God centred, more fun loving.
and now that all these have finally come to a close, i remember all the ias, tok, ee and presentations that i had to do. over the course of six years in the integrated programme. i learnt how to carry myself in a confidant, eloquent manner. i learnt how to present with boldness, and speak with courage. i learnt how to give reasoned arguments and rational rebuttals. i learnt how to phrase sentences with elegance, and play around with words. i really did have the greatest time of my life. my primary six tuition teacher, had a son who went to acs. when i told her i got a dsa into the school, the first thing she said to me was "wow, you're going to have a great time. i know because my son really enjoyed his time there." six years on, that statement stands through and through.
so where does God fit into the picture? one word, EVERYWHERE. i cant name everything. but everything i said up there, is a testimony to His never ending goodness amen? knowing myself, im rigid to change, i dont like to be moved out of my comfort zone to try new things. but He shifted me time and time again throughout my ac life. He took me away from my classes every two years, but He did that just to show me that He can be increasingly faithful. He blessed me increasingly over the past six years. the fun just increased. our God, is not a boring god. our God wants us to have fun. He created us to have fun with Him. i mean, God probably wanted to enjoy a nice cool afternoon in the garden of eden with adam and eve. He probably just wanted them to tell Him what went on today, and what they wanted to do the rest of the day. He'd probably play games with them. only, sin got in the way. point is, God wants us to enjoy ourselves and He has definitely shown me that. i know now, that every thing that happens, might not necessarily appear good at a given time period. trust me, i got quite mad at almost every change that occured. but when you look back (like what im doing now), it all seems so perfect. perhaps this is the crux of the cliche, "the imperfections makes it perfect". the momentary disappointments serve as a contrast and accentuates the joys of every thing being pieced together.
i thank God for my time in acs. how i got into the school, is one testimony. how i left the school, is yet another.