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i want to fly.
always wanted to.
but will I?
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Sunday, October 18, 2009
4 years ago, I made the decision to come to North Vista. Sure, many of my classmates went to Nan Chiau, a logical move, but for me and a few others, it was not a choice we could make. 2 points made all the difference.
In Sec 1, I decided, I would be who i want to be in my new school. The first thing that I did in-line with this decision, I took part in the Vistarian Idol competition! Sure, I didn't win, I got stage-fright in the finals, but it was an enjoyable experience! While it was only a few weeks into the first year in the school, quite a few of my new classmates came and rooted for me! I wonder if I still have those banners somewhere...Later in the year, I made a big mistake, one which I learnt a lesson from. Playing truant for that Maths lecture, not a good idea. I remember the day after that clearly. Reprimanded by the teacher, I felt so guilty, so ashamed. Never again would I let that happen.
Sec 2, new class, new classmates, made new friends too. Full of ups and downs in this year, but eventually, Sammel became my best friend! We fought for the first time in this year, even got rather physical, but we made up eventually, and I don't recall having a fight since! I'm happy I got to know you! Somehow, flight-sim craze got to some this year. I've passed the flying-bug to Cheuk Wing, and I remember that silly little "Flight Simulator" made of writing materials! I'll bet Guan Xue enjoyed it! And of course, who could forget the killer-Maths Papers Mrs Yeo set? Still, it helped! School may have ended, but for us Sec 2s, we had one more important decision to make. Subject Combinations for Sec3/4. For me, it may not have been my first choice, I remember Mrs Edison calling me while I was at the airport about that, but I don't regret having put what I got as my 2nd choice! It made all the difference next year, although I was not happy with it at first! A 1000-word letter of appeal anyone?
Sec 3, a new year, a new resolution. With all the stories from teachers, friends and others alike about how students tend to do badly when they have that certain mindset in Sec 3 about the O levels, I made my new year's resolution. I wasn't going to leave it till Sec 4, no way. I would put effort into Sec 3 as well. I'm not sure whether it was this resolution or my choice of subjects, but I went beyond my wildest expectations! It started with 1 test, then another, and another...Slowly but surely, I built up momentum. By the Mid-year exams, I could claim that I was the best in the school! I never thought it could happen being only above average in Sec 1 and 2, although my PSLE score is the 2nd highest in the cohort. Heck, I never thought of it at all! But my effort paid off! It's even engraved in the 2 holes in my pants. But it was not all work and no play, there was a lot of play! This 3E2 class was crazy! I guess being isolated in a classroom far from anyone else added fuel to this party fire! From roller-chairs to paper airplanes, this class was fun, no doubt about it. Hilarious moments, stomach-hurting laughs I won't forget for a long time to come. By the end of the year, I had cemented my position in the school, but I was not going to stop at just being 1st in Sec 3. There was still one other Mt.Everest to claim.
Sec 4, familiar faces again, but this time, work took a bigger portion of priority. I had a new resolution for the year, to improve on Chinese, the subject which I had never gotten better than a C5. As with Sec 3, I had a slow start to the year, scoring not-so-well for tests at first. But as the weeks slowly passed, the grades gradually climbed back up to last year's level! Our 4E2 classroom was on the 1st floor, a blessing actually, although a shame that most of us never got to experience having a classroom on the 4th floor! The fun of 3E2 continued on in 4E2, but it was slowly diminishing. Within months of 2009, Mrs Yap left our class, and so did Mdm Yow, our class form and co-form. A farewell for Mrs Yap, but we will continue working hard! April came, SYF and speech day all came in a flash. Within a week, both were over, and it felt as if a part of school life was missing. A strange feeling, but I had to get over it.
Mid-year soon came, but there was no mid-year exam, not quite an exam. In June, the biggest exam so far came. It was the O Level Mother Tongue Paper. This is not a drill. It seemed to be quite far off, but as the date drifted closer, I started feeling the heat. The subject that I had barely passed in the last 3 years. I couldn't let this mar my O level results slip! Exam Day came for Papers 1 & 2. I flipped over the paper. It seemed...easy? That ease was a double-edged sword for me. I could have done great for my standards, or I could have been cruelly tricked into believing so. Results would only come in August, I had to wait, like every other 16-year-old in the country. August soon came, and I saw my results. I aimed for it, but I couldn't believe it. I got a B3! I was estatic, but I knew I wouldn't be totally satisfied unless I could get an A, so I pushed for a second attempt. English Oral, held around that time, went great, but was it really that good? Only time will tell.
Prelims also arrived around August. 4E2 got it's first taste of a 4th-floor classroom! This is the proving ground for the O level Exams. With the Prelims timetable a carbon-copy of the actual O Level timetable, save for a few accomodations for NDP, it was a rather long 3 weeks. At the end of the Prelims, I was confident. When the results came out, my confidence received a boost. I had improved in a few subjects which I had been getting weaker in, but there was a fatal flaw. Everything was great, A1s at best, A2s at worst. Except for 1 C6. E Literature. How could it have gone so wrong? Time to pull myself out before I sink further.
It was a useless effort at first, little improvement. But I could not give up on Lit. Soon, the numbers were up. XXX days to O Levels. It seemed so distant. Every day that passed did not make it feel closer. In the final term, it was mock exam after mock exam, day after day, getting ever more exhausted. In the end, these mock exams still paid off. For one, I improved in A Maths and Physics, I found critical errors in E Maths and Chemistry, I continued producing quality essays for English, but perhaps most important of all, I improved in Literature. The subject I hated so much, only second to Chinese. As I had done for Chinese before, I pulled myself up, with help from my teachers.
Before long, it was, the very last day of school. For all the lack of speed time seemed to pass with, it now seems to have come too quickly. The last day as a class. It was a bitter-sweet day, having fun till the very end. In the end, looking at the blank white walls which used to have the words '4E2', the class was so empty. 4E2 2009 has ended in North Vista, but it lives on in the students of 4E2.
Thinking back on these 4 years, do I regret making this choice, coming to North Vista? At first, a little. Now, not one bit. These 4 years was filled with fun and laughter, achievements and motivations. If I could make the choice agian, I would choose the same.
From now to the end of the O levels, all the best to everyone, work hard to achieve your goals! Suceed beyond your wildest expectations!
JavierGoh left a note at 10/18/2009 11:52:00 pm
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