MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE ➖ RYUICHI SAKAMOTO

Has easily become one of my favourite, if not favourite piano piece.
It's so so so so good.
It's sad but so beautiful at the same time.
Here's the best version of it I could find on YouTube
but I think the one on Spotify is slightly better.
Pretty sure this will accompany me throughout the week
because piano/classical music aids in studying!
Hope everyone will not hate the entire course of the next two weeks
and somehow find joy in them. :-)

A close second would be Stone Cold by Demi Lovato.
I knew she had a great voice,
but this,
damn.
This will give you chills!!!

"happy for you, know that I am,"

hello
There is a rather big part of my life that I haven't spoken about here

and that is, choir.

I wanted to talk about it once back in 2014 but felt rather inadequate to.
I suppose it's finally time, 
time to collate everything since the beginning
and bring it to a close. :-) 

I was always self-conscious about my singing (and still am)
but the ambitious 13 year old decided to take a leap of faith.
And thus began my journey with choir
which genuinely changed my life in certain ways.
From gaining the experience of being on stage which has helped with my confidence
to getting to know some amazing people,
and most importantly,
the feeling of being part of a collective.

Started from the bottom

Now we here

I wouldn't dare say we are the most harmonious choir
(neither in terms of singing ahem 
nor in terms of closeness)
but somehow when I heard the recordings of us singing together,
watched videos of us moving as one,
and saw pictures of us singing side by side.
They fill my heart,
with warmth and passion.

Passion,
the fuel which drove to school on Wednesdays and Fridays
(especially last year when school wasn't 
the most appealing thing to me)
Most know that I always skip(ped) school
but would still make it for choir!!
(not exactly something worth mentioning.....)
And honestly those two days were the best days of the week.

Arts Fest this year was definitely one of the highlights in choir!!
Performing with them was so surreal
and every bit of it was satisfying.
What made it so great was really whom I was with,
and not exactly what I was doing and where I was.
I loved it, I really did.



It's easy to prioritise technicality, academic greatness
before everything else which makes it easy to forget that
we're a part of something big,
bigger than what others have to say about us,
bigger than what results have to say about us.
To me, that was the most important.
At the end of the day,
we're not going to recall the number of distinctions we've gotten,
we're going to remember the joy of performing onstage together,
the applause given to the efforts we've put in for months and months,
and those nerve-wrecking moments where our palms were
strewn in sweat backstage.
And even if it were for the distinctions,
it would be the moments of tears and exultations
because we know our hard work has paid off.

These shared experiences are going to be what
I'll hold the closest to my heart after leaving.

Alto pride!!!!

To the people who are still a part of choir,
the lovely juniors:
thank you for every bit of effort you've put in,
for making our remaining days so enjoyable.
I apologise for ever being skeptical about you guys,
your tokens of appreciation and company this year
really proved me wrong.
Remember that even if each practice isn't as fun
and you may have to deal with unpleasant things,
I hope you'll look at the bigger picture and realise
the fruit you'll reap will make it all worth it in the end.
Passion comes from within and
the sense of belonging comes from yourself
and isn't what others make of choir for you.
Good luck for your upcoming performance at SGH
(SET CLEAR PRIORITIES AKA THE ELDERLY)
and of course your SYF next year!!
❤❤❤

awwww

Right,
I've officially stepped down from choir after 3 plus years
and I don't think it's completely hit me yet.
(Although I've had a taste of what a week without choir is like
and it was hell)
I'm honestly just too happy to be emotional right now.



Honourable mentions:

HMU, my after-choir partner

So much love for my giraffe-sloth hybrid

teh heh heh

My second favourite Weien

See u on Monday

Ivy!!!

I'll miss ya, u lil monster

My new son, Kim Jong Un

Thanks for making choir fun

"We're really proud of you"
I think what all the seniors wanted to say was...
We* love you guys

*except Glenys

Me, basking in happiness, 2016

I've once again plus'd 1 to my age,

what joy.

I know I always sound bitter in my posts but I promise this will be better!

Honestly,

at the beginning of the year,

all I felt was this mountain of responsibility loaded onto me,

there were so many more things for me to shoulder

and it was very different compared to the year before.

Most of what I heard from the worrying adults were,

"You're not a kid anymore,"
"You need to be more responsible,"
"You're all grown up now,"

All sound like noise I want to block out.

With O's coming up,

I believe life would be a lot more hectic from here on.

I'm also retiring from commitments such as choir and other fun stuff

to make time for more revision,

yay!!!!!!

can u sense my elation

Despite all the seemingly dreadful things approaching

in my sixteenth year of existence,

I found myself to be a more confident and comfortable person in general.

It feels great, actually.

Especially after the lovely birthday surprise(s) I got from my friends.

They made me feel immensely loved that day

and I'm thankful and love them for that.

❤❤❤❤