CCA Awards Day

Thursday, October 31, 2013

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My second last day as an RGS student was spent at CCA Awards Day, which is a rather nice conclusion to the things I've embarked on in my four years in this school, especially this year. Although the ceremony was quite terrible in terms of organization and atmosphere, I guess the meaning behind it - to celebrate the non-academic achievements of us students - is pretty apt and fitting as one of my last memories in this school as a student. 

For me, this CCA Awards Day mainly centred around the contributions I made to my leadboard - House -but even more than that, it focused on the people who have made my journey in House Comm so fulfilling. With that, I shall use this opportunity to start on my graduation dedications (even though this post isn't about graduation) to the people who were involved in my House journey every step of the way. 

First, Waddle House Comm

(unfortunately, not everyone pictured here but I love y'all all the same) 
(also, this is such a terrible photo we all look like we are squatting because we were so scared) 

This does not just apply to the people in the photograph/ present at CCA Awards Day but every single one of you yellow duckies! Thank you all so very much for all the contributions you guys have made to House Comm and Waddle in general. You guys have been the most dedicated, efficient and wonderful people around and it has been such a joy working with y'all! I admit that I may not be the most effective leader - I find it difficult to encourage, I find it difficult to delegate and there are times where I don't even feel like I can carry a casual conversation with some of you if it didn't have relevance to work (yes sounds terrible, I know) but you guys have tolerated my socially-awkward self and worked with it, which I'm so thankful and grateful for. I may not be the coolest House Captain, I may not have the loudest voice, I may not be the funniest person around but you guys are the best of the best and thank you for allowing me to work with you all! The other House Captains always tell me that I have a great comm and I agree wholeheartedly. 

I apologize for the times I have let you guys down, let Waddle down and I'm sorry if I haven't been tapping on the full potential of you guys because I believe that you guys are so much more. I love every single one of you and to my batchmates - thank you; to my juniors - jiayou, have fun and go forth! :-) To Karyn and Jiaying - thank you for the brilliant year with JELLO and I trust that you guys will bring Waddle to greater heights, higher than it has ever been. I have faith in the two of you. 

Shi Min, Codee, Jing En & Shermaine! :-) 
best subcomm I/Cs around!!!!!!!!!!! (including those not in picture) 

Second, Jing En!


The best vice captain in the whole wide world!!!! :-) Thank you so much for all that you've done for Waddle and done for me - I wouldn't trade you for anyone else. I know the both of us keep saying this but it's really insane how those little letters we exchanged when we were Year One and barely even knew each other has blossomed into something so magical and so much more than the friendship we shared on those pieces of paper (that were mostly yellow). It's crazy how you've been with me every step of the way - encouraging each other to try out for Waddle House Comm at the end of Year One, getting called up by Anissa to submit a drawing, campaigning for Waddle Vice Capts in Year Two and working together in CELL and finally, campaigning again in Year Three and working together in JELLO :') Even though you might not know it, you've been such a great pillar of strength for me and I don't know what I'd do without you. 

You always seem to think that you are not good enough and that many things seem to come to you "accidentally" but trust me - you are and you are so much more than what you think of yourself! You are beautiful, and I love how you're seemingly quiet but can go crazy when the occasion calls for it. Thank you for these four years of amazing company and here's to more years! :-) 

Third, Boings

(missing Swan) 

You guys probably know I'd do a separate dedication for y'all some other day but honestly, you all did contribute to my House journey in one way or another and I wouldn't have survived without the support from you guys! Constantly encouraging me, telling me how Channel 5's morning announcements went, asserting me that I was good enough and even trying to lighten my load by getting your Waddle juniors to participate in IHGs (thanks Sarah) - big thank you :') There are times when House work makes me go insane but you guys told me not to give up and all is worth it in the end. I'm sorry for the times where I've irritated you guys with my crazy passion for Waddle and (sometimes) teasing your Houses in front of you all! Thanks for tolerating me and I love you guys very much.

And now for a short intermission between my dedications for cute photos from CCA Awards Day! :-) 

WUCKLE POWER!!!!
Best photographer ever - thanks Codee! 

Finally, Channel 5!


We all come from different Houses - 5 different yet vibrant colours of Tarbet, Buckle, Richardson, Waddle and Hadley - and yet we've somehow all been conferred the crazy title of "House Captain" and were made to work both together and subtly against each other. 

Huiying, Melissa, Minglu and Vanessa, thank you so much for everything we've been through this year. We've gone through so much shit and so many rainbows together and our friendship has blossomed through all these as well, which I'm so thankful for. I think it's really funny because 4/5 of us (without Minglu) worked on Housecomm Induction Camp 2012 and we got scolded for screwing up almost everything by our favourite Mrs J (she's legit one of my favourites now - no sarcasm at all!) and what we've experienced afterwards is nothing compared to our little stint then. 

From emceeing at the Year One's Orientation concert, working on our public speaking skills together, being competitive with each other, playing our favourite games at *SCAPE, celebrating birthdays, going for photoshoots and seeing our faces everyday on a banner displayed in the parade square amongst many others. You guys have been lovely companions and even though our characters differ a lot, we somehow managed to work quite well (not the most efficiently though) and I think we've all lost count the number of Google Documents we have created and worked on together. Sacrificing our academics (well maybe except Van HAHAHA), sacrificing our sleep, sacrificing our time for House was all worth it, and you guys made it better! :-) 


I admit, we must be one of the most thick-skinned people around but I love it and we've had so many embarrassing moments in front of the school, screwing up announcements, making bad jokes but always, never failing to laugh it off. You guys are amazing and I love you all! Even though for majority of us, our House leadership journey ends here (at least, at this point of time we don't think we'll be joining Council in JC), we all know that deep down, the House spirit runs wild and strong and there's no changing that. Ever.


With that, I conclude my CCA Awards Day dedications :-) House has been such a huge part of my RG life and I've never ever regretted my decision to apply for House Comm in Year One. In fact, it's probably the best decision I've made in my 4 years here. 
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Dramafest 2013

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

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I have so many things to blog about, but I shall do it slowly, in chronological order, even though I am dying to blog about graduation. 

BOOOOO
Happy (early) Halloween! :-) 

Last Friday (25 October), I attended my very last RG Dramafest (well unless I come back next year to watch it) and dressed up for Halloween for the very first time! It was such a fulfilling and eventful night and I honestly don't know how I'm going to put everything into words because I got really emotional throughout everything, and that's something I will touch on later in this post. 

Like last year's Dramafest, the theme was Halloween, which is apt considering Dramafest is always held in October and as usual, people attending it were encouraged to dress up and the Boings decided to go all out considering it was our last year and well, it would be really fun! To be honest, we were all feeling extremely self conscious about ourselves but we told ourselves that we were already Year Fours so if we were to be judged, we'll just take it in our stride. Besides, who's to judge us? /glares/ 

Also, we heard that the prize for the Best Dressed was a minion soft toy (courtesy of Swan) so we embarked on Project Win-a-Minion, to make sure that at least one of us won the award and guess what? We did! :-) Priya won the award - we were all so proud :') 

So here we are - witches and a doll! 

Priya! :-) 

Sarah! :-) 

Phionna! :-) 

Me :-) 

Throughout the night, almost no one could recognize me and it was a bit strange. I think it's because I was dressed as a witch and mostly because I wasn't wearing spectacles. I had wanted to try to see if my eyes could take it wearing contact lenses through the night in preparation for FAM (Farewell Alma Mater - in other words, our prom!) and it felt super tiring to be honest :-( I really really don't like the feeling and I'm not used to how I look without spectacles as well so it was really weird - may just reconsider the decision to go spec-less.

With Sarah! :-)

I think all Houses put on wonderfully brilliant performances and I'm so proud of everyone because I know how difficult it is to stage a play like that - trust me, I've been through that before (last year!) But after watching Waddle's play, I teared up quite a bit. Fortunately there was an intermission for me to take a breather and let the feeling sink into me because I felt so incredibly proud of my little Waddle juniors. 

It was crazy because I initially wanted to sign up to help out for Dramafest this year, but I decided against it somehow as I thought I should let go for once and I was right. This performance was the first tangible result of new leadership in Waddle and I just felt so heartened because our play was so amazing (it was super entertaining and in my opinion, the best one of the night - no bias) and for the first time in a few years, I didn't have a hand in it. It made me feel like I was dispensable... in a good way which basically meant I should finally let go and leave this school and of course, this House in the very capable hands of Karyn and Jiaying and the other little Waddle juniors. 

If you know me, you'll know that I have this crazy strong emotional and perhaps physical attachment to Waddle and I simply can't let go of this baby but after watching the play, it truly gave me a wonderful and much needed moment of epiphany, telling me that it was time and the little ones were more than ready to bring Waddle to greater heights, without my guidance :-) Because of that, I felt like this Dramafest was truly a significant one for me - it marked a milestone where I finally felt like I have done enough and my term has officially ended. 

And that aside, more photos of crazy us! :-)

With my fellow witch, Priya! 

To those who were wondering, Tarbet won, followed by Richardson and Waddle won third best play, which is really commendable - I was so proud of them! :') 

And to end of the post, all of us in Halloween garb! Happy Halloween everyone! :-) 

(I'm really emotional now, because of Graduation but I'll save that for another day) 
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Swan's Sixteenth

Saturday, October 26, 2013

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So Swan turned sixteen on Monday, and of course, the Boings celebrated it with her! :-) 

We had initially planned a morning birthday surprise, to have a little picnic in the Koi Pond so all of us met in the morning (with the exception of Sarah and Shermaine who were in school) at Far East to get some fried chicken - which Swan and actually all of us love. However, we found out that KFC wasn't open that early in the morning so we got it from another stall instead. 

When we reached school, we realized that Swan wasn't in school yet to "help Sarah with an English essay" and she couldn't be contacted on her phone either. We deduced that she overslept - yet again (HAHA sorry Swan). 

Sad kids with birthday things but no birthday girl :-( 

Boooo :-( 

All of us then had to go to class to attend or rather, endure two hours of Mother Tongue lessons before we carried out our surprise plan during recess. Sarah met Swan in the canteen first while the rest of us set up the little "picnic" space. 

The grass was really wet actually :-( 

The cake that Shermaine got! :-) 

Chicken wings and cabbage - Swan's favourites! They were quite cold by then though, which wasn't ideal. 

Sarah leading Swan to the "surprise"! :-) I wonder if she actually did close her eyes hehe - judging by the way she was walking, she did!

Yay what a happy girl :-) 

Full group shot :-)

To be honest, I feel like we are one of the craziest bunch of Year Fours because of the insane things we always do and how we are all so "out-there" and I find myself very fortunate to have such beautiful and lovely friends who have made my last year in RG so fulfilling and fun. 

Swan blowing out her candle! 

Truth be told, the grass patch is terribly unconducive to have a picnic because the grass was really wet and it soaked through the picnic mat and also technically we aren't allowed to eat there because it's outside the café boundary as well so we moved onto the concrete to eat.

Professional cake cutter :-) 

I love Swan's expression here! 

Anyway, Happy 16th Birthday once again, Swan! :-) I hope you've enjoyed your birthday surprise and the birthday presents and basically having us as your friends because you mean a lot to us as well! I'm sorry for the times where I've annoyed you but I'm still going to continue doing it because I know you still love me hurhur. You're such a cool buddy, but secretly extremely lame as well which is really funny. I'm really honoured that I'm now on your mum's prized photo-displaying corner - please leave me there for a long time :') Thanks so much for everything, love ya! Oh but please please stop oversleeping because you make me hate you when you do.

CAKE IS ALWAYS GOOD. 

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A Look Back

Thursday, October 24, 2013

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Four more days of RGS life left. 

It feels really surreal, thinking that I'll be leaving this place so soon. This place, which has provided me with so much more than I would have ever expected when I walked through those gates back in 2009 on Reporting Day, afraid and unaware of what was expected of me and what I was going to go through. This small little cozy compound and the people in it - all the experiences and memories have brought so much more tears and so much more happiness than I have imagined. Indeed, it was the place that I spent majority of my time in for the past four very fulfilling years. 

Truth be told, being a student of this school wasn't the smoothest ride for myself. There were so many obstacles in my way, some of which I'm still facing and honestly, I don't think it's something I should hide from others so yes, I had several terrible and horrible moments that I wished I didn't go through during my years here because this journey is in no way an easy one but admittedly, it's definitely been an incredible learning journey for me, as cliché as it may seem or sound. 

And what's so funny to me is that recently, I've been noticing mostly through social media that so many of my juniors in school are going through the same things as I have (yes it only just occurred to me) and somehow they all appear to be taking everything so seriously. Of course, I'm quite sure I had the same emotions as they did when I was at the same stage as them - anxious, excited, worried, upset, disappointed at some points - but trust me, little ones, life will (well, it should) eventually work out. If it doesn't work out, make it work because only you are able to control your experience for the remaining of your time in RGS - be it three years, two years or one year.

I know, I sound a lot like a preacher just saying all these seemingly politically correct things but trust me, it's true. I have had my fair share of disappointments in this school as well but everything turned out pretty alright in the end, by my standards. Anyway, I feel like some of my experiences might be able to help someone out there who is currently facing the same situation that I did when I was younger so I shall share a few here, credits to my wise and old self (heh). 

To the Year Ones, if I'm not wrong, the Student Leader Trainee (SLT) names were released today and undoubtedly, it may be disappointing when you realize that you weren't selected if you had wanted to become one for a long time. Trust me, if you truly wish to hold a leadership position in this school, it's okay not to be selected this time round, it's not the end of the world. Even though I didn't go through this SLT system (we had something else that I personally preferred more), I remember myself being quite upset when I wasn't selected to become a Student Leader in Year One nor was I selected for the Leadership Camp at the end of Year One to choose Prefect-In-Trainings and Junior Peer Support Leaders. I remember being crushed because as a Year One, I had looked up to a lot of the seniors who were in leadership positions and who all seemed to be so amazing and inspiring and I just wanted to be like one of them.

Despite not being a Student Leader in Year One, I applied to be part of Waddle House Comm in Year One (unfortunately, the new system doesn't allow Year Ones to apply) and it was the best decision I made during my four years here. I got in and was part of a lovely new yellow family from Year Two onwards. However, sometimes it's not the title or position that matters and I just continued to do whatever I could do the best of my abilities through Year Two, though not going overboard to the point to impress excessively. I then ended up being nominated to become a second-intake Prefect-in-Training, before being confirmed as a full-fledged prefect in Year Three. 

My leadership journey in RGS grew from then on and I soon became more confident, confident enough to campaign for House Captainship and other crazy things that I never did regret doing. And all these without being a Student Leader in Year One. I wouldn't say that being a leader in the school is important because it isn't, unless it means a lot to you (it did to me, quite a bit) but the bottom-line is that if you didn't manage to get short-listed this time round, it's really alright because there are plenty of other chances to showcase one's leadership skills, be it in your CCA or any other programmes. Also, one may not necessarily possess the required skills in Year One - some of us just need some more time to grow and mature a bit :-) So look up girl, because there is a whole world, a whole life ahead of you. 

To the Year Twos, I guess the one thing that's on everyone's minds would be the Raffles Academy (RA) selection tests. To be honest, academics has never been my strong suit and I was one of those people who didn't really consider the possibility of being a part of any RA and it didn't bother me much at all. Alright, maybe it did bother me a little, especially since I had an elder brother who had two RAs when he was in secondary school but being a non-RA student for the next two years was something I was able to accept and it didn't exactly affect my experience as a student in RGS at all. 

Perhaps there are some people out there who feel like they are truly passionate about a certain subject and strongly believe that there is this immense need for them to be a part of a RA class to be able to fulfil their burning passion. However, again, I don't think one should be that devastated to find out that they weren't selected because the dedication for the particular subject shouldn't waver and I'm positive that there are so many other ways to broaden one's knowledge and explore, especially with the easy availability of information in this vast Internet world. 

Really, try to spend some more time with your Year Two class because it won't be long before you guys go your separate ways and if I were to be entirely honest, Year Two was the year that I enjoyed the most in my time in RGS and I truly miss the times I had as a Year Two - not too young but not too old to have to shoulder so many responsibilities; just right to experiment and test new waters. 

To the Year Threes, Year Four was the year where I became quite courageous and I think it's the same for all of you as well. There's a certain sense of excitement that comes with taking on new roles and responsibilities and the prospect of finally being the oldest and wisest ones in town. Contrary to popular belief that Year Four would just be a year of studying and mugging (well yes there's lots of stress involved), it's actually a year that you find yourself and somehow discover a lot of things you never really knew about yourself. It did, for me. 

Also, because it's your last year, don't be afraid to go all out. Become more daring, more bold, more loud. Celebrate your achievements, give yourself a pat on the back from time to time and most of all, support the people around you. Honestly, I wouldn't have survived this year without the constant encouragement I got from my friends. I don't really have any experience to share with you all because in Year Four, everyone's focused on their various different commitments and what I've been through this year doesn't really apply. I think that the experience you guys have gained for three years will be more than enough to tide you through everything and even enjoy it as you go along :-)

Everyone's growing up and it's time to move on. Have fun in this small school compound which we constantly complain about - because there will come a time when we grow to miss it. Also, all these opinions are entirely my own and don't take my word for it because everyone would go through their own unique experience here, almost fully determined by themselves but I just hope my little bit of advice can serve to help someone, somewhere out there. 
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Picnic: 1345

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

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Hello friends :-)

I've been wanting to blog about this for so long but I didn't manage to get hold of a computer for quite some time - so sorry for the delay! So yes, last Saturday (19 October), I attended Picnic: 1345 at the Singapore Management University with a few of my friends namely Shermaine, Sarah and Swan (wow they all have names starting with 'S'). 

Shermaine!

Sarah!

And Swan! :-)

So what exactly is this picnic about? It's basically a picnic-cum-concert in support of World Vision Singapore, an organization that aims to tackle cases of poverty and injustice in many countries around the world. Similar to Watoto, which I've blogged about in the past, it also has a Sponsor-a-Child system that allows those more well-off to contribute in changing the lives of someone else across the globe. 

The money that we paid to attend this event ($15) went to the World Vision fund, after removing the cost used to organize the picnic. Food and drink was provided as well as entertainment for the entire day lasting from 4.30pm to around 7.30pm. The line-up includes Raffles Rock, Vanessa Faith, Jonathan Meur, amongst many others. 

I look really spazzy but okay yay with Sarah! :-)

The pains we take to take a group photo HAHA whenever I'm with this group of people, we do crazy embarrassing things like this. 


To be entirely honest, the turn out for the event was slightly disappointing and very unlike what I had previously envisioned the picnic to be like. I had imagined more people to be present and the atmosphere was slightly affected by the low turn out. However, I still had a great time because of the company I was with and it was quite a beautiful day just chilling with them. 

Oh and a side note: Kenny and Ben were there as well volunteering for the event and at first it was a little strange as I haven't seen them for such a long time but it was cool I guess - they just kept asking us to buy things (flowers, cupcakes etc.) to raise funds. 

HAPPY :-) 

Aww I realized the two of you are both wearing really similar blue shades! 

You Can Change This :-) Oh and it's called Picnic: 1345 because there's One Thousand Three Hundred and Fourty Five Million people living in poverty worldwide today. 

To be honest, I felt like the entire event didn't exactly revolve around the idea of changing the world or knowing more about where the proceeds from this picnic was going to but rather it was just a really casual chill-out event that could pass off for any other concert because it was really just music, apart from a bit of emceeing talking a little bit about poverty. I would have liked a little more insight about those things during the event and was slightly upset that it didn't serve such a purpose. 

Sarah & Swan collecting their food! 

Shermz & I! :-) 

The food that they provided! :-) A canned drink and some pastries which if I'm not wrong was sponsored by Montreux Patisserie. We each got a curry puff, a tuna puff, a brownie and a red velvet cupcake.

It was all really sweet stuff  (the savoury ones weren't all that savoury) and all of us were craving for chicken / other forms of "real food" throughout the entire picnic 

C U R R Y P U F F & bodyguards!!!

One of the performances for the day :-) 

Look at their Sarah & Swan's cute socks! They were wearing lovely skirts/ dresses as well - just look at that lovely lace from Swan's skirt (ahem forever 21 ahem)

Shermaine's favourite performance - Jonathan Meur!

It was quite funny because she was really charmed by him and even gave him a flower (that she bought from the volunteers that were selling) and took a photo with him after the performance - we went to look for him! :-) It was really cute and funny. 

Vanessa Faith :-) Her voice is really quite lovely. 

The peas that our next door neighbour (the ones sitting next to us in the picnic) gave to us. Extremely kind of them even though I don't like peas :') 

Shermaine's gift to Jonathan Meur, as mentioned earlier :-)

Before her little mission to brighten Jonathan's day (and her own as well, I believe) 

Raffles Rock! :-) I really liked them hehe because they sang "Royals" by Lorde, which is one of my favourite songs at the moment. 

Beautiful beautiful company - thank you for the lovely afternoon/ night!

AND Swan keeps moving....

Going drunk in the night :') I love us

Despite the event being a lot different from what I had expected (in a negative way), it was still an amazing day because of the wonderful company and I guess it's really the thought that counts. Although it wasn't the most well-organized thing ever, I really appreciate the heart behind it as I'm sure that the organizers really meant for it to be a meaningful picnic with all the proceeds going to a charitable organization. 

I'm still thankful to have been a part of this and I would definitely support it again. 
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