Nostalgia

Seeing lots of friends and classmates leaving one by one, furthering their studies, paving their own future, I could not help but feel nostalgic. Time does fly. Five years just swirled pass in a blink of an eye. Before you can even catch your breath, it is over. If you ask me if I miss my high school life, I will tell you I truly do. There were joyous, exhilarating, tough, glorious, exhausting and anxious moments. Mixed feelings but all were truly precious and unforgettable.

I still vividly remember the first day I stepped into Methodist Secondary School. It was not the first day of school. It was my first basketball training. The humongous compound that could swallow you whole. Full of laughter and chatter during schooling days and immediately becomes barren and lonely during school holidays. It was hard to cope with secondary life, having to adapt to a totally different set of rules and education.

 

During those times, I was still young, wild and free. My main purpose during my early years was to enjoy my high school life. I certainly did not set a goal for myself and did not think far. In form 1, I was the easy going girl just playing around in school. But then, I was amazed that my school's basketball coach wanted me to join the team. Boy, you probably did not know how reluctant I was at first. Seeing my teammates to be being state players since primary school did scared me off. However, I did join basketball team eventually. I myself was dumbfounded. Later that year, I was even asked by netball coach to join netball team. WOW!!! Amazing yeah?? I did not join their regular trainings. However, I did took part in a competition.

Lucky and blessed explains my feelings best. Can you imagine conquering and championing almost every tournament? God the almighty is really great. I was just lucky to be in a strong team. So now you know where my collections of gold medals come from. SMIRK! It was so great to be a powerhouse in my own district and to be feared by so many formidable opponents. Sooner did I realise sports slowly became a significant part of me. I who barely exercised for the past 12 years, became an athlete in high school. That was one status I needed much time to get use to. As I need to focus more on my studies, I had to choose between netball or basketball. In the end, I chose basketball. Lots of people questioned my choice, stating netball as being more suitable for a girl. BUT HEY, I CAN ONLY GO THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL ONCE! SO WHY NOT DO SOMETHING OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE?? Sure enough, I was glad with my decision.  Winning tons of gold medals, representing Sibu, making lots of new friends and being promoted to president were happenings that I never dreamed off. Wonders do happen. Things that seemed impossible may be possible.

Another great part of high school was the exposure and competitions I had taken part in. From the Shell Lalu-lintas competition to International Future Leaders Summit(IFLS) to Kuiz Pelaburan, those were indeed treasurable moments. The Lalu lintas competition was my first competition representing the school aside from sports. We emerged as champion and had the chance to represent Sibu in state level. The most amazing part was I got first prize for my individual category, which was Interactive computer in the state level competition. My heart skipped a beat when my name was announced. That was definitely a nerve-wrecking and eye-opening experience. I even learned how to march through that competition. Sometimes, I secretly wished that I can rewind time. Then years later, after our school rose to cluster school status, we had more international exposures. I definitely did squeal in excitement when I was chosen as a participant for IFLS in 2012. I nearly jumped out of my seat in class. This was an international competition held in Miri, Sarawak involving cluster schools all over Malaysia and a few foreign colleges. Can you imagine how great and unimaginable this was?? I got to converse and take part in competitions with all the geniuses and brainiac.  4 days were definitely too short. Me and my other 5 friends who went together went through lots of first times together. For example, performing a dance during cultural night, singing call me maybe, learning how to make rockets, inventing new products from  waste and giving presentations. Not to mention making friends with cluster students from different states such as Selangor, Terengganu and even friends from Brunei and Philippines. The best part was getting to bond between the 6 of us who journeyed to Miri together. Me, Christina, Siew Foong, Erika, Samuel and Jeffrey. Our friendship blossomed and we formed a strong bond. We sticked together in school pretty often after that Miri trip. Although I did not get the results I wanted, friendship was rewarded to me in return. Then, Kuiz Pelaburan was a tough nut to crack. Me, Zoe and Brian prepared ages before the competition. All those stay-back-after-school moments we endured learning commerce, economics and accounting to improve on ourselves were excruciating. The three of us had to stay back till late afternoon and we even came back to school during holidays to learn and practise. Our end result was not that rewarding as we did not win anything but the experienced made us more knowledgeable and it was worth the trouble. 

Despite being busy juggling all of my extra-curricular activities, studies was still my top priority. Form 1 was like my honeymoon year. Thinking back, now I regretted not studying harder during those times. Back then I just did not have the drive to study hard. But things did change for the better. Every year, I strived harder than the previous year, that was when I saw the rise in my position in school. This made me so thrilled and I wanted to maintain the position so the burning desire prevailed. Hard work was always rewarding. Being able to get straight A's in PMR and straight A+ in my SPM was so amazing that I still have not gotten over them yet. Especially during the release of my SPM result, the moment of truth was priceless. The most amazing part was both of my parents were there to witness that most important moment of my life. No words can describe how happy I was at the moment.

Those times when me and my studied together in class, suffer together through numerous small tests and big exams, sit through endless extra classes, rushing against time to finish our homework and projects, sharing our problems with each other, movie times after exam, consulting each other when difficulties arise and gatherings were memories that I would never forget. Although I do not have a big group of friends,  I have a few close friends who will stand by me through thick and thin, and also willing to go the extra mile to help me and by being a great source of encouragement. Now, we are BFFs for life. I was glad that quite a number of us got bursary to further our studies together. YAY.

High school was indeed an unforgettable part of life. Despite the challenges and setbacks, high school was a transition of time all of us wished to go back to. It was so magical. High school wa the place where we grew and learn, expanded our horizon, learning who we truly are, mastering different skills and being able to be lifter up by peers and to lift people up. It nurtured me well and now I am prepared to soar beyond higher skies, to reach a new height and to nail future goals.

I want to express gratitude to everyone and everything who made my high school life interesting and full of incredible memories. Those who helped me to be a better person I also want to sincerely thank. My wishes are that everyone of you can fare well in colleges and be able to achieve your future goals. 

KC