Graduation Service

When you leave here, don't forget why you came. - Adlai Stevenson, to college graduates


Today I shall break away from my usual topics concerning "Re". Yes, the title says it all. It's Graduation Day today. It's gonna be the final time we step into our school chapel as its students and attend a service. We are graduates now. I still remember the first day I officially step into this school as its student. I told myself "It's gonna be a rough but short stay here. Perhaps I'll miss this place and the people here when I graduate from this school". Now I fully understand why I am such a prophet. Because right now, I am already a graduate and I do miss this school now. Well, at least I will miss my schoolmates and a few teachers including my favourite form teacher: Mr Sherman See. About 10 hours removed from the end of today's graduation service, I'm already starting to miss the days we had together as a class. Good 'old' days indeed. Heh, I am going to be a prophet once again and say now: "I am definitely going to sit down somewhere comfortable (or maybe having a hard time in post-secondary school education) in the near future, looking back and reminisce about my days in secondary school and my awesome class 4 Endurance." Also, I assume that my future self will even write a blog post titled "Reminisce". 
It has been 4 years already. Time really flies. From the kid who step into this school, I became a better person after these 4 years. I don't feel good about this school from the start, always wanted secondary school life to end quickly. From Sec 1 to Sec 2... It's been an fairly uninteresting journey for the first two years. But things completely changed when I entered Sec 3 and ended up in 3 Endurance(which is now 4 Endurance' 2011). It had been a wonderful, amazing journey with the rest of 4E. I can totally say that it's my best class. I am really emotional right now (no I am not crying. Yet. Or maybe not after all), and although we still have one more week together as students due to an intensive study timetable at school, we will not spend as much time together as we used to in the near future, when we finish our O-levels. 
When I first arrive in this school, I used to daydream that if I ever build a time machine, I would go back in time to my primary school days. But ever since 3E/4E came into my life, I would want to go back to our secondary school days instead. It's only been a short 2 years. I only feel like we only did spend a 100 days together as a class. The cohort has also been a great one too. I really hope that every single one of us will shine brightly as we continue our lives and step into the future. I will definitely remember every single classmate from 4E. If I don't, feel free to punch me. Really love you guys. We love 4E, Sherman See!!


Don't cry because it ended,but cry because it happened.

Reconcile

Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.


Quarrels often occur among family, friends and colleagues at work. We all know that. I seriously doubt that there's no one that has not quarrelled (not counting babies and toddlers) with someone else even once. There are infinite reasons for the quarrels people have with one another. Being extremely rude, having a different point of view, getting irritated or seriously annoyed, getting left out by a particular group and so on. I said there are infinite reasons so I'm obviously not gonna state everything out. When's the last time you quarrel with someone and after everything that had happened between you and that person, and when you think about it, will you feel silly and stupid for quarrelling with that person because the reason for quarrelling is very stupid when you realised it? A lot of people feel that way after some heated argument with a friend or a family member. However, in every quarrel that has brought things too far, the people involved has to reconcile with each other. We will have to sit down and talk things over so that both parties will understand each other, realise their faults on the matter and make corrections so that similar events will not occur once more, keeping their friendship or family ties alive. And of course', apologies are definitely necessary. However, there are people who does not seek reconciliation. These people who don't seek reconciliation probably have their own reasons. I have a friend who quarrelled with another friend of mine, and they did not really speak or communicate with each other any more ever since their quarrel. These two were best of pals in the past, when they are both the clowns of my class. But ever since that incident, they don't associate with each other any more. When the "Brotherhood" (a.k.a my clique) goes out to have lunch, only one of them will be present with the other absent. Now, even as we plan to create a event, one did not want the other to be present. It's obvious that he wanted a fun experience of the rest of us together and did not wish for the other to be present and make things awkward or spoil the fun. This may actually seem to be a valid reason for him, but I feel that it's best to reconcile with someone you quarrelled with, so as to mend the broken ties and continue to have a fun time together. You will have to try to understand each other, and be in the other's shoes to realise what you might have done to hurt or angered him/her. Also, I must say that there will be people who you will not want to reconcile with or associate with any more, maybe due to his/her personality or habits which you either very dislike or find it difficult to accept, or he/she did something terrible to you or someone you care about. Well, that will be another case. But don't make that an excuse to not reconcile with anyone though.

Review

Only those with narrow minds fail to see that the definition of impossible is "Lack of imagination and incentive." - Serena Butler


My scores are my preliminaries are rather a joke (for now at least, since I still have not get back a few of my other papers), coz I either do quite well, or I fail. I've scored A1 for English Language overall, which is a surprise for me since I always don't do so well for my English. My composition was the one who pulled me up to this grade. Technically, I've scored 27/30 for my essay writing, which is rather impossible. Yes, it is considered impossible to score that high for my essay writing. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my script. The topic I wrote for my essay writing was "Ambition", which is the most badly done averagely among the entire cohort among the five topics you can choose from. As I've read a book about the rivalry and relationship between the two NBA legends, Larry Bird and Earvin 'Magic' Johnson, I decided to write about it, about both their deep ambitions to defeat each other and clinch championships for their teams, and also their influence on next-generations NBA players whom started to share the same ambitions as them after they have seen their epic battles: To become the greatest. To win.
Yes, I've scored 27/30 for that, no mistaking it. The teacher who marked my script commented about how I really sound like a sports journalists and how perhaps I should really become one since I do have the passion and talent for writing about sports. Maybe I should really consider becoming a sports journalist. 
Another surprise is my Social Studies (SS) results. I almost always get 23/50 for my SS Exams, and it almost made me hate that number, and almost made me nickname myself 'Michael Jordan 23' when it comes to receiving SS papers. Guess what did I get this time? 40/50. That's insane for me. I had totally no idea I would ever score that high for my SS in my life. I always fail my SS exams. This is the first time I have ever passed a major SS exam. It was always impossible for me, but now it's proven. It can be done.
I have failed my A-Math (as usual), my Geography (as usual also) and my Physics (this is time was too difficult for us, even our teachers says so). Tomorrow, I am receiving my History Paper which is the other half of my Combined Humanities Subject together with SS, and my Chemistry paper which I am 'destined to fail'. If I scored high enough in History that will secure me an A1 for Combined Humanities, I will have a joke for my prelim results. Though I know it's gonna be tough, I'm gonna strive hard for all my subjects. I'm gonna turn the tide around this time. I'm not gonna fail again. Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. It's not impossible to do well for certain subjects. It's only a matter of effort. Perhaps luck too. You know the Adidas catchphrase? "Impossible is Nothing."

Resign

It is said of Muad'dib that once when he saw a weed trying to grow between two rocks, he moved one of the rocks. Later, when the weed was seen to be flourishing, he covered it with the remaining rock. "That was its fate," he explained. - The Commentaries

Sometimes things just don't go your way. They just don't. No matter how much you want something to happen, to come true, or to appear in your eyes, they just will not respond the way you want it to. It's said to be foolish to fight against 'fate', because it will happen the way it is meant to be. I mean, why try to change something that cannot be changed? But are things really that way? Are our lives really already planned out, and we can do absolutely nothing to change it? We don't really know, do we?

I screwed up my A-Math papers. Completely. Although I did put in some effort into studying, and I thought that I finally got the trick, the questions in the papers are so far ahead of my practice and understanding, and I am always unable to grasp the advanced concept which almost everyone else already did. I am always a step behind, sometimes more than just one step behind.
Other than that, I encountered another one. I messaged this friend of mine to wish her good luck for the Literature Paper, then she told me about her group requiring just one more person to fill the 10 people criteria for a table at Graduation Night. As she sounded in need, I offered to help by transferring one of our guys(I am sitting with Brotherhood members which makes up 10 exactly), to her group and persuade another guy who we are quite close with to join our table. I know that this probably will not be a good idea coz' we are the 'Brotherhood' and we should sit together at Graduation Night, and not one of us should be left out. Still, after offering to help, I didn't want to disappoint her, so I asked a guy to transfer to that group which he agreed to, and awaiting reply from another guy who we are persuading to join us in his place. Being the prophet I am, I foresaw the reaction from a few members from the 'Brotherhood' when the guy who is transferring out of our table to join her table. They were like obviously didn't want him to leave and thought that he abandoned us for a girl he likes (which is in that group). Yes, I know it's too melodramatic but one person in our group is really that dramatic. After all my efforts to get things settled and almost ready to tell her that it's settled, the person who originally transferring out messaged me that there is no longer a need to help her fill in the last empty space as they already gotten someone to join them. After everything I've done, it felt like I was told straight in my face that I am longer needed. Of course since I was the one who offered to help in the first place, I shouldn't complain about being no longer needed, but it really struck me hard when I received the news. Because I knew that there was a chance that she may find someone else before I do before it even happened. I am a little afraid that it will happen coz' I honestly wanted to help her and all I wanted perhaps was a words of thanks and gratefulness, if nothing else. But things usually don't go our way. Not just mine and yours, but everyone else in the world. It's sad, coz' sometimes we always fail to notice those little things that make our day. However, don't you just hate it when something important to you always don't respond in the way you really wanted it to? Maybe I should really resign myself to 'Fate'.

My most sincere apologies. I have not posted anything since more than a week. Yes, my Prelims Part 2 has started today. It has been very stressful and busy on me these days coz' I've got to study for all these examinations in preparations of the quickly approaching O-Levels. Just a little update. I will continue to post after my prelims which will all end with the only exception of Chemistry Paper 1, like in about 3 days? Gotta stay focused~