A life of detours
I actually don't enjoy this part - I'm referring to staring at the row after row of numbers representing your prelim scores and trying to form a picture in my mind of what your expressions will be like when you see the same numbers later. And this is not even the worst part. The worst part comes next Feb, when I would actually have to present your O level result slips to you. I don't know what my feelings will be like then. Better not to think about it now.
Soon, you'll need to make some plans about where to venture to next. JC? Polytechnic? The choice is dazzling, even infuriatingly confusing. I don't know about you, but really it is tough to have to make such a decision which might affect your future, when you're only 16/17. Does anyone really know what he wants to do for the next 20 years of his life when he's 16? I know I didn't.
I chose to go to a JC because no one had advised me to consider the polytechnic. All my friends wanted to go to a JC. And I didn't even have a distinct clue which JC I should choose. So I picked the one where my friends were going. Up till now, I am still not sure it had been a good choice. It's an excellent JC by any standards, but I can't say it's a place that suits my personality. Ah, but it's too late to wonder about the "what if's" now, isn't it?
As for the course of study, I didn't have a clue either. So I picked the one I didn't mind - not one I was passionate about, because there wasn't anything I was passionate about then. I was an angstsy teenager, full of dissatisfaction with the world and nothing agreed with me! So it was Physics, Maths, Further Maths and Computer Science for me. Why? Because I hated Chemistry, Economics, and Biology, that's all. I didn't really enjoy my A level subjects, except for General Paper. Still, just because I didn't like the other subjects very much didn't mean I should neglect them. I was extremely competitive, didn't like to lose out to others, so I studied hard, got enough A's that I needed to make me feel good, and that was it. 2 years of JC, gone in a flash. Mostly uneventful, and quite a bore if you ask me.
I think I only knew, truly and unequivocally, what I really wanted to study after the A levels. I knew it was English, fuelled by my exposure to General Paper. So my pure Science background, and double Maths foundation notwithstanding, I plucked up my courage and finally pursued my dream at NUS. I didn't know what I could do with a degree in English (teaching wasn't in my radar then). I just knew I gotta do English. Period. It was a watershed decision for me - switching from Science to Arts but it was my shining moment! I never felt more fulfilled.
What's the point of telling you all this? Just this - don't agonise so much over what and where you're going to study next. So what if you make a detour in your life? I made a few already, and the experiences have been interesting and enriching to say the least. I am equally comfortable with Newtonian mechanics as I am with transformational grammar. Life is about giving yourself second and many more chances. Life is short, so smell the roses wherever you are.
posted by MdmSng @ 10:12 PM
18 Comments:
Yeah well, no matter what, I still get one tiny little consolation... All my grades, including my lousy prelim L1R5, is still better than my brother's... -_-" But on the other hand, ALL my older cousins have gone or are going to very good JCs (eg TJC). So my mum wants me to go JC as well (of course no need to be very good JC lar)......So much for any reassurance...
What an inspiring piece! However, still wish I'd known better when I was younger. Detours are not all bad; but you know, sometimes it is difficult to get back to the right path once you've missed the turning.. and sometimes you NEVER really get back.
Looking back, I wish I had at 16 or 17, read up or find out about the different career options; and think seriously about the kind of life I want to lead.
So you lucky youngsters out there, I do hope you'll have a chance to think about your future, and to chart out a plan (just thinking about it without taking any action is pointless). It is easy to make detours when you are young; but the opportunity cost just gets higher and higher as you grow older.
Good luck for your O's
all i ever wanted, was to take over singapore, then the world, then the universe ._.
so what course do i take to fufil this little dream of mine?
xD
okok, jokes aside, i just wanna work in the civil service, policy making, etc. i wanna be part of creating an utopia =l
Hi Misere noire..
You wanna do serious policy making in civil service, should try VERY VERY hard to get to the elite Administrative Service. Best to try and do very well in your A's with a good CCA participation record. That will help you to secure a PSC Overseas Merit Scholarship.
Of course there are other ways to become an AO (Admin Officer), but I think the above is the most straight forward.
It is very competitive, I assure you. But good luck! It is great to see a young man with such a clear vision!
hmm.. if u ask me, i seriously ask pple hu dun like reading books to persue education in jc.. y? simply becuz, jc is done thru books.. tonnes of books.. esp Sciences.. they r practically, books and notes.. when i was 16, i din noe wad to go for.. true, my parents did nt interfered wif whether i wan go poly or jc, but likewise, i did no get any gd advise on jc and poly.. so i blur blur ended up in jc.. nightmare to describe it for me is nt a very apt word.. it shld had been MISTAKE.. cuz i dun like memorising at all.. wads the use of noeing things when u cant understand the working concept behind them? tts me.. understanding the concepts behind how things work is more impt than memorising tonnes of meaningless words and digits.. but anyway, i wld strongly encourage those hu can go for jc 1st 3 months to get urself into a jc and try the system.. maybe u find it suits u? but for these pple, pls do take it seriously.. dun go there for the sake of playing.. crashing into diff jc just so u can see how the sch looks like and its facilities.. let me tell u, facilities and the sch's looks doesnt get u to where u wan - ur dreams if u haf any... instead, do try out the system and see if it suits u.. also, take note tt 1st 3 months may very well be the most slack part.. aft the 3months, u will find tt pace goes a WHOLE LOT faster than wad it is and on top of tt, the pace will only increase as the days draws nearer to ur A lvl.. then lastly, dun skip GP and choose KI just becuz u heard frm all pple GP is a killer.. cuz if u take KI, u will die a worse death than taking GP.. GP isnt hard if u're willing to read up and practice on argumentative, compre skills..
correction to my first like.. it shld goes " seriously ask pple hu dun like reading books not to persue education in jc.. y? "
ah well, its good to have older siblings. I have this mentality:
If my brother and sister can go through it, why can't i =)
We practically have 70% of the same genes =P
o levels are one of the worst ways to judge human intelligence. what's more, it's doing a really lousy job.
to danfan,
i went to YJ for my 1st 3 mths course. but did not continue my JC education in YJ because of the distance from my home. Do not judge the school just by their ranking. YJ is a good school with devoted teachers. I would have stayed in YJ if i am not living in the East.
Uni: Having older siblings is not much of an assurance when he barely scraped throught pri, sec AND poly.
Danfan: you want to go NAFA then GO LAR.
Dear Madam Sng,
If your surname is Sng as in Sun Yat Sen, do contact me at timsng@gmail.com.
I am starting a S.N.G.....an international network of Sngs i.e SNG Network Group.
Tim Sng
Just out of curiousity, if you receive a sms message that you're suppose to help inform everyone, are you to send only to the friends in your group, or not send to the person you dislike?
But if you don't like the person,you don't have the obligation to send it.It's common sense,right?Anyway,if there is 1 person whom nobody like,the person has to be really horrible!!!
I will only send to people whose numbers are in my phone book.
I don't have to inform the whole class (I doubt if anyone has everyone's numbers).
And if I miss someone out, then I miss someone out. Honest mistake. No one shd make a big hue and cry over it.
If something is so important that you must know (like change of date for your exam), then the person tasked with passing on the information shd try his utmost to contact everyone. Otherwise, that wuld be really irresponsible of him.
In other situations, if you happen to be missed out, there are 4 possible reasons: 1) mistake by the person passing the info which is forgiveable; 2) your number is not known to many people hence no one calls you; 3) the info is not life and death so people are not serious about passing the info; 4) you are not in any clique so no one remembers to call you.
TimSng: Are you seriously starting a SNG network?? I can't believe it! What's the purpose? Let me recruit one member for you first - Eldon Sng, my student. :)
Wow, anonymous, you're such a kind person. And here I was thinking that since its for the class good I should send to everyone regardless of whether I like that person or not or whether that person is in my clique. And anonymous, you only answered one part of my question.
Anyway, now that you've taught me, I know that I'm not suppose to send to anyone not in my clique or anyone that I dislike. Thanks.
And yes, mdm sng, I believed someone did claim that she has everyone's number... Not that every number in her list belongs to her very very very good friends, so from what I've just learnt, that is of no use eh?
Wow...xw,r u number 4?
looks that way eh "ANGEL".
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