Saturday, August 23, 2008
3 down, 4 to go
As I sent friend by friend through the departure gates of Changi Airport, it suddenly dawned on me that life would never be the same again.
The past year has been nothing short of brilliant.
Fresh from Oweek'07, I think the amount of activities, the amount of people, the amount of closeness, and the amount of fun we had was tremendous.
At that point in time, I was so proud of ourselves, in how the Oweek'07 Ocomm managed to use our closeness to bring everyone close together. Raggers + juniors who just joined the 28th MC, I really thought that we brought everyone together as close affiliates.
Arts Open, the birthday parties, outings, gatherings at Paris, they were all at a very high 'standard', and the sheer quantity of people, plus the quality of fun, were truly fantastic.
Despite being very busy in Arts Club events (I think during the sems, I joined Bash, Bikequest, Beach Fiesta, and of course, Foodhunt), suffering due to the need to travel home almost everyday, and the dip in CAP, I believed we were busy but still happy.
People tell me that when these close friends leave for SEP, they are only out for a few months, and in the next semester, we'll be back together again.
Well, maybe I'm too forward-thinking, but these departures hold much more significance than leaving for a few months.
In a very short 9 months later, many of these friends whom I've laughed, cried, joked, sang, danced, partied, mugged and worked together will not walk into the departure gates of Changi Airport, but rather, exit the departure gates of 'studentship' and into the world called 'adulthood'.
These 8 or so close friends leaving for SEP is just the tip of the ice-berg, when you compare it with the same time next year, I guess almost half of our big 'gang' will be gone, leaving the poor 'honours gang' behind, and I guess during that year, we won't have many gatherings nor much fun, only endless deadlines, projects, and theses.
And to be frank, when I saw Hock decked in that working attire of his when we sent Tienkwan off, I can't help but think how lonely I will be, how much I will miss this group of friends, when I struggle out there in the dog-eat-dog working world on my own, putting on my shirt, pants and leather shoes, acting out in a 'corporate' manner, instead of the casual, uncle-ly t-shirt and bermudas.
And it's such a pity that as much as we try to bring our juniors into the fun and the bond we have as a group, people's wills get tested and defeated so easily when work comes into the picture. And when things don't go smoothly and they get criticised, they distanced themselves, blamed, created that 'siege mentality' for self-comfort, instead of learning and bonding through it.
I think I now get the exact feeling whenever Serene says that Year 2 (now Year 3) rocks. We play hard, party hard, study hard, but when it comes to work, we argued vigourously, yet at the same time, we sucked things up, continue to work hard, and use the hard work and experiences (be it negative or positive) to bond ourselves, and have that kind of friendship CCAs are supposed to produce (instead of animoisity and rivalry).
It is really a pity, but as philosophy taught me, the more different the 'outside group' is, the more appreciative you will be of the 'inside group'.
Well, life is a one-way street, and for us who are remaining in Singapore, and remaining for Honours in the 4th year, let us treasure ourselves, and have as much bond and fun as we can during these precious years, before we enter the lonely workforce yeah?
So, just let me thank all these friends who have made my university life a lot more bearable and colourful. No matter where you are now, take care!
lowtide blogged @
3:05 pm
