lest i forget


graduating from nanyang jc is such a bittersweet experience. i am glad to throw aside all the horrors of school - pe lessons, chinese,school stress, bad canteen food... but to say that i would never miss the school is plain lying. i have had truckloads of fun and laughter in this place, and i am glad i spent my 2 years here.


still remember the first day i entered nanyang, wearing my pl uniform. i walked up the flight of steps leading to the hall. i felt so alone, small and insignificant despite the hordes of people around. i couldn't find anyone i knew, not even by sight for most of them. after checking the list of names outside the hall, i went in to search for my orientation group. the huge hall was filled with ogls shouting, cheering..and the new intakers, many of whom were probably feeling the same way as i did - scared. i found the row of chairs i was supposed to be at and sat down. i was resigned to minding my own business[reads keeping quiet and stoning]. well..sounds a bad start right?


..2 years worth of events..


finally i have gone full circle. taken all the internal exams i need, done all[most?] of the homework i should have, endured all the mornings assemblies[correct spelling?] i ever needed too. this was marked by our graduation ceremony today. no doubt boring and overly lengthy, it signalled that jc life was ending. not that i am head-over-heels in love with my school but in some sense, i think that it was the best place to complete my jc education.


things/people/events i would never forget
- OZ. the whole business of helping to write it, practising our guts out to prepare for it and finally performing it. the whole experience cannot be forgotten. each of us who participated leave with memories of great friendships formed and the endless that fun we had. i could forget the world but this:)


-04A2. my wonderful classmates. we were not the most well behaved people around but we were united in many things. the inate sense of fun and laughter we shared with our crazy ct made our time in school enjoyable. i will certainly miss you guys:) you all have been a blessing in my life.


-my tutors[ms kwok,mrs teo, both mr ngs, mr nandwani, mrs cynthia tan, ms victor and ms chew] they were tutors would truly cared for us, as individuals. eccentric,enigmatic and quirky they were but each was filled with a passion and love for teaching. if i do follow the footsteps of my mom and become a teacher, i want to be like them.


-mrs ho, principal. old, naggy and a little old fashioned yet she has been the best principal i even had. our results, no doubt important, was never the only thing on her mind. she was one who really knew her students and wanted the best for them. i can only wish her a happy retirement.


-my walks to and from school. those daily 20 minute walks helped me alot. they were the times that i spent alone..thinking, reflecting and sometimes just stoning:) but there were many things that i pondered through during my walks. shall miss these personal pockets of time alot.


-the odd breaks that we took. being year 2 meant less academic subjects cos pw and chinese were done with and forgotten. that meant that we had more breaks, evenly split between the crowded and empty canteen slots. we took the empty times to eat and thus i spent a lunchless year cos i was always too full from recess to stomach lunch.


-the time i walked into school with pei yee only to see ian running his 42km marathon. watching him complete the last 5 rounds showed me grit, perseverance and the "its all in the mind" thingy. i can only wish to have half half the endurance he had on that day.


-friendships. gained some and lost some. i think that in these 2 years i have emerged a stronger person and hopefully wiser too. i have come to realise that many things are beyond our control and there is no use wallowing in self-pity. yet i still feel tinges of regret sometimes.


-all the other small stuff that are forever etched in my memory. my fav drink of cookies and cream, the very nice bookshop lady, endless amounts of money that we spent on photocopying, the comfortable sofas in the library,the musty smell of the lecture halls...i would never forget them..


a final reflection[warning..some pro christian stuff]
my 2 years of jc has just ended. i guess that looking back, God has been very good to me. despite me entering a school that was 'secular', He gave me plenty of christian teachers to make up for the loss of christian friends. never did i imagine that so many of them would share the same faith as me:) it was such great encouragement.


most importantly, being in nanyang opened my eyes to the real world. a world that needed the Lord. that revelation struck me deeply especially during year 1. it was a culture shock of some sorts but i thank God for the chance to learn the meaning being a witness for Christ, to act in a way that Christ can be seen in me. i learnt to mix with people of other religions and understand them better, some of whom have become good friends of mine. its my prayer to see my jc friends in heaven one day.


thus end this chapter of my life. i see the final hurdle to cross before i move on to fill up the blanks pages behind. jc may soon become history but i would always flip back to this chapter and remember with nostalgia. each of us would carry on with our individual lives and the friendships we shared in school may be tested, but i know that we will certainly hold on to the fact that we were once in each others lives.


jane
04a2
class of 2005