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Reflections of 2009
Thursday, December 31, 2009

This year has been indeed one of the best ever in my life. An ever so fulfilling year with friends, cca’s experiences and things that keeps me running in life. The people around me, the joyful moments I laughed, the depressed days of melancholy, the incidents where I annoyed others, times where I touched the lives of others. Having looked back, this year has brought the most change in me. Sure enough, I have had thought through many things, achieving resolutions, setting more goals and growing closer in my walk with God.

This year has been filled with an abundance of life itself.

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I hadn’t gone to a proper school for years, not that there are proper schools or such, but my ideal picture of a school. The private ones were never the same; something I couldn’t describe just made it different.

I looked forward to re-entering the world. To meet new people, to have fun with friends, be involved in activities, have a class, all those things I hear and see of people out there but could only dream about. Well, it was gonna be reality now.

But if I was going to have that of a lifestyle, I had to make some changes. I needed to be more outgoing and definitely, less of an annoyance.

Before school started, I attended a few camps, in a bid to get me comfortable around people. I wasn’t a camp sort of person, but I’m sure it would help; and it did. The first camp was the school’s freshmen camp. I had problems finding a place socially, everyone was so different and I felt intimidated. Forfeits as well, had me doing crazy things I know I’ll never ever do again.

Following it was the HMS camp, where I walked beside my primary school friend without even recognizing him. It was till I choked up at “Hi” then did we found out about our history together. A good point he noted was that the lecture hall we sat in was say, about 70% girls?

Gratz ,we just landed ourselves into a girls school.



The next few days pushed me even more to opening up. I, surprisingly, was the center of attention. Somehow, I just brought smiles to the people around me and we were having lots of fun. That feeling of being something good for others, it wrings my heart albeit with utmost satisfaction.

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Four months into the year, school started. I stepped into the classroom with much trepidation. I found myself sitting besides the guys, pairing up my classmates faces with the interesting names I remembered on the class list. First class of the day was Written Communication and we had a young, good-looking, smart and interesting chap as our lecturer who tried on many types of careers purely for interests. He believed in making life a fulfilling one.



School was pretty fun and interesting, with all the psychology modules, despite having an absolutely bad learning experience with Intro to Community Services with quite a soporific ennui inducing teacher who can’t teach for nuts. Project works were relatively fun despite working in a team I wasn’t too fond of. Ideals do get in the way of life at times.

Found myself some CCA’s, a community service cca, my old streak of badminton and an interestingly cool sign language club. Badminton was well through the semester. HI! Club was the biggest thing though. I found a new passion within the simple matter of what seemed a charade and collection of gestures for communicating.



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Over the first semester, I got myself a small group of friends. I have no idea how things first started, but it’s remarkable (for me) to see how things evolved along the way, how we somehow became good friends. It too was because of them, that I started staying up late or through the night with my computer. I never did use the computer at night and now looking back, I wonder how I managed that.



The holidays approached we had more fun chatting and such. It was quite an uplifting thing to me, considering how much I never really had friends in that degree. The times spent together were just indescribable. Months past and I grew closer to one, relieving my life in everyday chats.

It is perhaps too that because I had little social contact with people that caused to me to learn so much about people? Sometimes it seems, that the world was not made out as what stories ideally made them out to be, but even at a heartbreaking level so, I concluded that many a thing in this world worked quite superficially. But of course, I couldn’t let my perception of life get in way of the lives affecting me and others and so as a friend once said, “You don’t wait for the environment to change, you change the environment.”

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It began from when a lecturer came into the lecture hall and gave a talk on Youth Expedition Project. A talk about an overseas trip, in Vietnam, to visit various pre-schools and orphanages. I could feel that tinge in me as the word “children” was repeated. I went ahead and signed up for it, something I normally wouldn’t have done, and got selected to be one of the 30 others chosen. Preparations took place amongst the busy exam weeks.

The holidays came and the team was set to go.



Apart from doing great things for the children and people there, we too were received much in return. There, it was a place away from daily life, and there’s nothing to distract us from the fundamentals. It was a time when everyone looked out for each other, to make sure everyone is alright, both on the surface and even the inner bits. I was cared for, like the much needed affection I had always yearned.

We came as strangers, we left as family.

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School started soon after. The dream had come to an end, but I didn’t want to let go. As some people said, that I always on the run, busy with other friends and sort. An entire month passed and each day after the other made me feel more troubled and lost. I had been busy searching for a certain something which I thought I never would. It took me a month or two to settle, though things were never quite right the same after that. New people came into my life as they replaced each previous batch of people. My social circle mushroomed to the biggest I think it ever did. But through it all, I ended up losing those that were close to me and because of the way I tick, things never got better or at most stagnated.

Well despite all the turbulent times, there were good things too. Over time, my passion for hand signing grew and every day I would be signing, be it songs, random words, just anything would make my hands move. And too, I found out how much of a nice person I can be, which really added my self esteem a lot. People were beginning to compliment me in things I thought were nothing. And thus it is my purpose to being someone that will be praised by everyone but not for my fame, but to bring glory to God.

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I ended off the year quite meaningfully, with Christmas, and two camps. Christmas was really quite unexpected. I had nothing in mind and would probably just idle the day away if not for my friends calling me out for a impromptu mini gathering and it was filled with plenty of laughters, fun, and love. Definitely a most splendid Christmas spent with friends ever. Leadership camp helped bonded a few high clubbers and it was quite an insightful camp I would say. From all the leadership qualities and the much cherished bonds we made, we were all quite sad to leave.



Church camp was another big thing to end the year with. Made with an objective to bring the generations together, A four day camp integrating 500 older and younger youths was held with well, only one day of fun and games. Quite an unexpected plan. The rest was mostly filled with sermons and workshops, with insights that inspired me. The Megalifers were mind blowing with their enthusiasm and of course since my group was mostly Megalifers I got to interact with them a lot and it just reignites my fire and love of teens. The worship too was an amazing experience that brought me closer to God, with times where I never lifted my hand higher than before. There too, I found my inspiration for a new revival and to enter leadership and for a new lease in life to live a life of love.

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And so, as I end of this reflection of 2009, alone in my house only lit by my study room, I want to thank God for the life He gave me, as well as all the rest of the people in my life that made this chapter of life an exciting and thrilling one.

To those whom I knew, to those whom I forgot, to those whom I cared, to those whom I never realized were there, to those whom impacted my life, to those whom hi’s and bye’s made a difference, to those whom surround me, to those whom hearts are far, to whom I loved, to whom loved, to my Father, and to whom reads this,

I thank you from the bottom of my heart. May 2010 be a fruitful year unto your path and your hearts set right and with all fullness and blessing from the Lord my Saviour be upon your lives.

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