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Saturday, January 23, 2010/ 1:41 AM A Sweet Memory Hello, people. My name is Asrul in case you have forgotten who I am. I am seriously bored and to be honest, I am clueless. I don't know why. It's usually at about this time that I get slightly emotional. I think it must be the nostalgic spells which possessed me. In less than one week, we will be making our way into the next phase of our life, that is the tertiary level of our complex education system. Junior College. It sounds rather exciting, isn't it? Making new friends all over again - feeling all nervous and jittery just like how we felt when we were in kindergarten when our parents left us all alone in the classroom. For the third time, we can get to relive that moment again. Somehow, I am scared because that means I have to be hardworking and diligent again. At the same time, I am also excited because maybe I get to meet amazing people just like how I met the amazing people in Yishun Town. Yishun Town Secondary School. How shocked I was to be posted into that school. I was having my holiday in Langkawi when my aunt sent a text to me stating that I was posted to Yishun Town Secondary School. How flabbergasted and disappointed I was! I was expecting to be posted into Riverside Secondary. I even have the thought of appealing into RSS, but I'm absolutely glad I didn't. When I first stepped into YTSS, a sudden surge of emotions rushed through my soul. I had a chill running down my spine. I knew it was going to be a school that was going to push us hard. The school had high hopes for itself and for the students too. It wanted to be well-recognised neighbourhood school. I dashed immediately to my primary school friend because she was the only familiar face around. I stood near the staircase aimlessly, looking up innocently at the school flag wondering what was going to happen next. I made friends with a person called Boon Hong quickly. Before I knew it, everything happened so fast. I soon became extremely good friend with Pira. Pira is loyal. You can always count on him. He likes to laugh a lot and crack jokes a lot which made lessons much more enjoyable and memorable. We are still good friends until now. Unlike all my other friends, to name a few - Akbar and Afiq, I was the most hardworking one in my class. I did my homework regularly, scored well for tests and also had frequent lunch in Sun Plaza's McDonald. In fact, I think we had them everyday! It was fun! I missed those moments when we had to stared at customers who were leaving and quickly grabbed seats for us. I became a monitor in secondary one after I stole somebody's position as the class monitor. I ruled the class. Mrs Eu was delighted. I managed to bring my naughty and raucous class early to the parade square. We won the best class as a result. However along the way, I also made enemies with two people. I am ashamed of myself. I was being extremely selfish to the people around me. Sorry, Wei Hua and Nizar. From the bottom of my heart. My studies were fine. I was ranked 15 out of 200 students for the year 2006. I was happy! Due to my academic excellence, I was promoted to the best class in the following year. 2E3 was a MUCH quieter class as compared to 1E7. There were no familiar faces around. I was the only ex-1E7 in 2E3. It felt like I was being thrown into another unknown territory which was conquered by geniuses. I recalled very clearly who I sat next to on the very first day. That person is Xian Han. Xian Han is a very calm and gentle person. He loves to smile a lot. I sat and talked with him. Oh yes, another person sat behind Xian Han. His name is Shi Wei. Shi Wei is a very good-looking and athletic person. He will always chid me for scolding profanities incessantly and swearing without rhyme or reason. The three of us were somewhat outcasted, but we started to get a little bit more comefortable as the months passed. I hated my CCA, NPCC and I will always try my best to skip it. I came up with many good excuses. One time, I even stayed back to paint the class flag with Karthikan, Teck Wei, Farid and Sufyan so that I could skip my CCA which requires us to do push-ups! Abhore! Secondary two was not a very good year in terms of academic for me. Nevertheless, I still managed to get into the best class for the following year! I think my ranking was still the same. I was ranked 15th again. I was chosen to do Arts in secondary three but my mother wanted me to offer Biology so that I could become a doctor. Therefore, I went to 3e7. 3e7, to me, was the best class I had in all my years as a child and teenager. The fact that we are smart but also talkative made me feel a sense of belonging to the class. I can still remember during my first morning assembly, I sat next to a very unfamiliar face. Simply because he was newly transferred! Who else could that person be other than Mrs Eu's son, John! He was quiet at first but not so in the years to come... Secondary three was a relaxing year for me. I don't know why. It must be because I met incredible people which made school enjoyable! I did not feel very stressed although I sat next to two seriously smart people - Farid and Ajantha. Ajantha was a good friend and we always talk a lot. The three of us always competed with one another in our tests and examinations. Farid was nonchalant most of the time. I loved my seating arrangement because there was Edna in front of me and Yan Ting and Janani behind me! Edna likes to cheer a lot and poke fun at Mr Wee. She exudes happiness to the whole classroom. Yan Ting is a screamer! She yells a lot but also shares secrets with me :) I love English in secondary 3. Mrs Lim was a caring teacher. She was the only teacher in YTSS that I had a one-on-one coaching with. My results for that year was fantastic. I was ranked 4th. I couldn't be happier. Three great people soon came into my life. I will never forget how I met them. It was after a post-examination activity. I was talking to my dad on the phone when suddenly Boon Yee called my name... "Asrul, do you want to follow us to Changi Airport?" asked Boon Yee exuberantly. "I will ask my dad first," I replied. I got the approval from my dad and so I followed them to Changi Airport to have lunch at Poppeye's. We laughed and talked a lot. In case you don't know who I'm refering to, they are Hafiz, Lih Wei and Boon Yee. Hafiz is a friendly and loud person. He likes to talk about anything a lot. He knows music best. He has answers to any questions that you might want to pose to him. He gets along with people well because he is charismatic and very fun to talk to! :) He cheers people up. Lih Wei is definitely a unique character. He is sleepy most of the time but incredibly smart. It must be due to the excessive sleep. I think he is a very kind person and I cannot imagine anyone hating him. He is crazy most of the time. He is a fun person to hang out with, definitely. :) Boon Yee! She's random and also crazy. Basically, the three of them is crazy. Boon Yee is clever, handworking and sometimes, she talks like a mad person with strange hands actions. She likes to smile and make everybody feel happy! :) The three of them are amazing people. I will never ever forget them. Along the way, I made great friends with Pei Yi. Pei Yi is a bubbly person! She's a daredevil and once she talk, it can go on and on and on. That is the reason why she makes people around her blissful. She is not your typical girly girl. Pamela is also an amazing people! I chat with her a lot on the phone. I hope it continues. She is funny and she will lend you an ear if you are feeling down. There are many great people in my class. I am glad and lucky to have such a wonderful class :) My years in Yishun Town Secondary School had been spectacular. I will never forget it. It is where I learn to become a better person and forged strong friendships. I cherished all the moment in YTSS because every single moment had been a fulfilling and fruitful one. Even though my O' Level results were not that great, I believe that there are better things in stall for me. There is a purpose why things didn't go the way I wanted it to be. For now, I shall take the next leap forward in my life! Love, Asrul. |
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