Here I am with the part II of my education journey and I wonder whether there will be a part III (where I decide to do Masters or something hahaha)
Pre- University Education
After my O levels, I went into National Junior College which was one of my least favourite part of my education journey. I actually wanted to be in HCI (not that it will make any difference now) but being a 17 year old student, not being part of my dream school felt horrible HAHA. And referring to my post on my primary and secondary schools, the two schools always provided some interesting activities for the students to be part of. I realised I didn't mention it previously but Anderson had all the Experiential Learning Cycle, outdoor trips to Bukit Timah or around AMK... And all I had from NJC was an outing to Singapore Discovery Centre... Okay lah hi army boys.
Academic
This was the point I started disliking Science. Biology involved many numerous terms argh. It was interesting if you were just reading for fun BUT it sucked big time if you were mugging for examinations. Chemistry was really horrible. I thought Chemistry was really fun during secondary school days but then in JC I started to do badly in JC. SIGH. But I really did work hard for Chemistry and I have no idea why I still got a B in the end.
I didn't do really well for Economics as well and Economics became the only subject that I had tuition for HAHAHA. But waste of my money because I got a B in the end as well. #fail
Overall, I think I really didn't do well for A levels, which doesn't really matter now. Or maybe it does. Scholarships etc sigh.
Social
It was during NJ days that I started learning a musical instrument. Can't believe I joined the Harmonica Band, performed in front of people (as a group lah), participated in SYF etc. Just got reminded of this- an interviewer asked me whether I am still playing the harmonica which I said, "sadly no". Sigh I think this ended the conversation. But this brings me to a lesson.
Lesson 4 (yes continue from Part I): Hobbies and interests are really important.
In terms of friends, yes I did gain numerous valuable friendships, which were formed over similar interests. It was so great finding people who love reading and I still remember how our post exam activities involved finding second-hand storybooks and camwhoring.
And I remember how I used to study at MOS Burger or Subway and be a total lightbulb HAHA.
HAHA my hair used to be so long.
Hmm but what really stuck with me was how things could change in the blink of an eye. You could be so close to this person, texting every single day and suddenly you all just stop texting and drift apart. I really did wonder what exactly happened between us. Oh you kaypoh people (anyone actually reads this??), it's a her not a him. #notalovestory
It's funny how I think I changed the most during this period of my life but I can't seem to put my JC experiences in words??? Maybe there are just too much information that I really can't share here without it being too obvious so I will just summarise that. It was a painful lesson but I have learnt well.
Lesson 5: Don't assume and think too much into things. It's up to a person to prove it to you, you don't have to find reasons and excuses for the person.
Post A-levels
This is totally not part of my formal education journey BUT since it was my first time working at a huge company, it did educate me about office work and politics. And it taught me Excel skills which proved useful during University days haha. Okay so being very free during work, I always think about weird things that may or not may be related to philosophy. I think about life, the search for love and the search for food HAHAHA. I think this was the period I gained A LOT of weight. All my good hawker food, I miss it all. It was also during this period of time that I earned enough to travel to Korea. And I really love the idea of earning money and then spending on travel. There are so many things in this world that I haven't explore. :'(
University Days
The reason why I didn't say JC was the absolute worst part of my education journey was because... University is the worst part. At least Year 1 Semester 1 was. I stayed at Hall 7 (for a few months) and I left not because I hated hall life but because I hated being away from home. What an irony because in Year 2 I fought so hard to be away from home to be on exchange HAHA.
Okay back to Year 1 Semester 1. So compared to JC days where we were spoon fed, University was all about independent learning. I ABSOLUTELY LOATHED BUSINESS LAW BECAUSE I HATED GREY AREAS. (Not linked to why I didn't like NJ ok lame) Or maybe it was related to how I just couldn't do well for the class participation. I didn't like how it felt in class. Like it was a horrifying battlefield. That how a misstep (mistake in answering) could result in death (more like death stare from people).
I also couldn't understand why I had to do IT. Yes, that's when my Excel skills came in useful. I fell asleep almost every single lesson during IT because it's really boring and it's in the afternoon omgggg. And I really didn't like the group dynamics and this guy actually had the decency to imply that my contributions were worthless.
BUT BITCH PLEASE, GUESS WHOSE IDEA SAVED EVERYONE'S ASSES? Hehe
Hahaha I just realised I have this tendency to be the one to come up with the initial ideas? Hmm, see how reflections are useful, I suddenly have an realisation while doing one. So here's another lesson for you.
Lesson 6: Reflections are good for you because it helps you consolidate thoughts and maybe you will remember things as well as me HAHA.
During Year 1 Semester 1, I had a GPA that was way below second upper when I actually stayed up so late to mug. I wanted to do Banking & Finance so I focused a lot on Accounting and Financial Management and screw up modules like IT which was supposedly do-able. After the release of the results, I learnt that in NBS, most people actually don't like sharing their GPA with one another and some people do judge people based on their GPA. And how there are people who are really selfish with their notes. I guess I was shocked BUT I have gotten used to it.
I really hated NBS, hated the modules I was doing and I guess the turning point (so exaggerated) for me was when I started doing modules like Marketing. I love how Marketing is full of common sense, yet creative. It wasn't that fluffy as what people said. So I kind of stopped regretting being in NBS and stopped hoping that I had went to FASS. And there's something I did not actually tell this to a lot of people: I have actually applied for early admission to NTU Psychology instead of Business. During JC days I really liked Psychology but did Business for reasons which I do not want to think about anymore hahaha. But it's okay cause doing Psychology elective make me realise I may not do well in Psychology.
Oh before I forgot, it was also during Year 1 Semester 2, I kind of enjoyed being in school and maybe started feeling more confident of myself.
Oh before I forgot, it was also during Year 1 Semester 2, I kind of enjoyed being in school and maybe started feeling more confident of myself.
Lesson 7: “You can have anything you want if you dress for it.” –Edith Head, no but really dressing better makes you feel more confident of yourself, so why not just put that tiny amount of effort to make yourself happier?
The next best moment in University was going for Exchange. I had never regret going to Hong Kong for exchange during Year 2 Semester 2 when everyone was trying very hard to secure a good internship. A good internship may have helped me in securing a job now BUT the experience of spending an ENTIRE semester overseas was amazing. It is not really about the country you are in, but more of the fact that you are away from many things for a while. It's really nice to escape reality, just for a while.
I applied for the exchange spot to City University of Hong Kong, not knowing any single one who applied for it. I didn't really want to go to Hong Kong, I didn't like the pace of life etc. And I have always thought that I will be in Australia/New Zealand for exchange :( But in the end, I couldn't match many modules to Australia universities and NZ was really expensive.
Lesson 8: Sometimes, the best decisions are those made on impulse.
Oh and a bit of lesson 3 of how everything happens for a reason :')
Okay, so here's a not so flattering photo of me at my exchange school.
My days after exchange were kind of a blur. In the semester after exchange, I did my all time favourite module International Business Environment, IBE because it was taught by my favourite prof, the one who made me think that Marketing is not just fluff. It really involves thinking. And I have to emphasize it really was not easy to do well for her module haha.
Trying to find motivation after exchange was really hard. Other than dealing with motivation issues, I had to deal with not so awesome groupmates LOL. But I guess through certain projects, I have learnt that how conflicts are often necessary. Disgusting OB lessons about conflicts.
Lesson 9: Differentiate dysfunctional and functional conflicts
Despite suffering from a lack of motivation, I am glad I managed to pull up my GPA and in my final semester, I had the highest GPA in my entire three years hehe. To all those people who said year 1 GPA would be the best among all your years in university, THIS IS FOR YOU. And to all those people who said your project grades possibly doesn't matter, I can only say THAT'S NONSENSE. Maybe it does not really matter for modules with like 60% finals BUT it definitely matters for A LOT of the Marketing modules since they are 40% finals. Oh and other than working with good group mates, it's essential to take electives to pull up your GPA. Thankful for the availability of biology modules for the only A+ in my life.
Lesson 10: Take (some) advice with a pinch of salt. You are the only one in control. (Okay your groupmates are in control of your grades too)
With that, bye NTU.
P.S See you on 3rd August on convocation hehe.
P.S See you on 3rd August on convocation hehe.
