Thank you, Convocation

Haizz after convocation, it's like waking up from a sweet dream :( back to mundane life but oh well, there should always be special events in life to keep you motivated. throughout our ordinary days.

And it's not right to not pen down this very special day.

Part of me kind felt like convocation shouldn't be a big thing, afterall I have completed my studies months ago, I have already started working. Whatever that is worth celebrating is already in the past. What's the big deal of convo? The only reason why I look forward to convo was just because I get to have two days off work hahahhahahah. But oh well, as pointless as it seems, as tiring as it seems, as superficial as it seems, I am grateful of this day.

On a fine Thursday, woke up in the morning, triple-checked on my robes and invitation card, with flowers and balloons in my hand, my feet on my favorite pair of pumps, head out the house, thinking about meeting my family and friends, thinking about how to not pokai on stage, thinking about the moment. Was all smiles when I met up with my parents at the dimsum building, manage to show them around and took some photos over there. Then it's the ceremony at Nanyang Auditorium, the place where we first had our Freshman Welcome Ceremony, where we wore the academic dress as well. Time really does fly. As if the ambience wasn't enough to bring back memories, there was this graduation video that had tears welled up in my eyes. It was a girl, visiting the many places in NTU and it really struck me that I'm never gonna be sitting in those tutorial rooms anymore, I'm never gonna be listening to all the knowledge from the smart folks and I'm never gonna be hanging out at the canteens with friends. It's never going to be the same...  But oh well after that, the inevitable part of convocation comes: the certificate presentation. God will not let me have an easy day, my pumps decided to stretch its mouth at the very last minute. Was praying hard in my head that my shoes won't fall apart and I will not trip or do anything silly. And just as I imagine, that moment on stage happened in a blur. I can barely remember anything tbh. After that, sorry to my fellow graduates but I really fell asleep haha. When it's finally the end, time to make good use of technology and just grab whoever you know and snap photos.  

Being away from home, I have heavily relied on this bunch of coursemates for a lot of support, both emotionally and intellectually haha. They are the reason why everything is okay, nothing can be bad with them. From sharing tutorial answers to random chats over lunch. Thanks for all the help and company. My life would have been so damn dull without you guys. 

Really hope more good things will happen to this bunch of kind souls. 

Also grateful to have met this junior (along with others who weren't here) in university. Friendly and fun people whom you can share your thoughts with. 

another group of friends whom I had known since the beginning of university. 

The Taiwan Exchange bunch! Though we may not be the closest friends, but I truly am grateful for the memories we shared. Exchange life is something that I'll never forget. 

Winnie the FYP group mate!! Missing Bryan who is enjoying in BKK now. I thought my social circle was pretty much stagnant but these two awesome peeps came into my final year. I really appreciate the conversations that we had, especially all the 交心 ones haha. And so much funny stuff to talk about. It's amazing how we became so close,  hope for the best for both of you!

The MCKL buddy T T 

words cannot express how gamdong I am to have you here. Feel so guilty that I didn't attend yours. But what's more, is realizing how much you have put into our friendship. Thanks for always being the one to jio me out every now and then and also always tolerating with my attitude haha. And of course to Vienna who couldn't make it, thanks for sending your kind wishes! Grateful for our occasional meet-ups in SG, you guys are also support-team! 

Finally of course, the people whose love formed the very foundation of me. Even though there are times where the walls get shaky, there were also times where the walls broke down, but I never lost myself because they will always be a part of my existence. I know I have taken your love for granted. Despite putting studies, work and friends in between us, you guys never gave up to hold me tight. Thanks for staying healthy and safe, thanks for trying to take away all my worries. Studying away from home has really shown me the power of family. Love you all so so much and I cannot imagine how would I survive without you, my Daddy Mummy and Gor. 

Finally, praise the Lord for this wonderful journey. If my family was the foundation, God would probably be the music in me. You can't see it, but you can totally hear it and feel it. Thanks for listening to all my prayers and blessing all the people I care for. Thanks for always assuring me that life is good and there's nothing to fear of. When I was weak, thanks for always finding a way to tell me I'm strong and I have the power to be happy. When I was evil, thanks for encouraging me to be kind. I hope I am living the way you want me to and I promise I will try to be a better person. 

I'm a lucky girl.

You know part of me keep telling myself: "Convo oni maaaaa" "Walao everyone oso got degree larrr, daisaiii arrr" "There's nothing to be proud of." But after convo ended, I went to bed with all the playbacks in my head. It wasn't just about getting yourself a "sand paper", it was a journey that has shaped my perspectives to life and people, an important gift to my very existence. These four years have taught me how to be happy more than the previous 20 years in my life. Whatever external or internal force it may be, there has been constant knocking down of my walls and I'd learnt to pick the pieces up on my own. Building brick by brick with loads of happy and fun memories with the people I met here, decorating with interesting experiences and knowledge about the world. Totally received much more than what I asked for. I'm grateful for this opportunity, and once again, Thank God for making this happen despite the odds.

23-ed

Dedicating this post to the people who made my 23rd Birthday special.

Well I never think that friendship is only real when that person celebrates your birthday, but if they do, you do know that these people do care about you :)

To be plain honest, after four years, you kind of know who stays and who don't. I know it very well that I'm not a very nice person to deal with haha, so wasn't expecting much. On the other hand, I dread birthdays coz my parents will be asking me if there's anyone to celebrate with me and I always had a set of lies in my head to tell them or else it kills me when they start the "it's okay, you still have us" kind of talk. Grateful that I don't have to lie to them coz there's still people who do wanna make my day special woohoo. And many thanks to people who wished me even though I did not put my birth date on FB.

Living on earth for 23 years, not sure if there's any meaning to celebrate but it's a time where I really feel I've grown up. Not sure by how much, but I feel like I can finally accept the fact that I'm an independent adult. Last 2 years, I'm still like a whiney little kid, enjoying college life, outing till late night, join this join that, trying to live a happening and fulfilling life but beneath those was a fear of growing up, fear of the realistic world, fear of a life with uncertainties and the fact that I am going to be alone to face all these. But in the past year, I'm grateful that God has given me so much strength, showed me to awesome people, giving me great experiences. Of course it wasn't all smooth sailing, I've cried a few times, but the falls really do make me stronger and ultimately reminds you that nothing is too bad that you can't live with it. And to add on, I have a loving family who supports me, friends who sends their kind words and give you help when you need it. It's the last birthday in Uni, and graduation is coming soon, if there's any reason to be sad, I guess it will be saying goodbye to this bunch of friends T T Not sure if we're still gonna be as close as we are now, but I'll always treasure the memories we had, every joy you guys gave to me hehe... Thanks people!!

Early Birthday Dinner with the Wonder Girls @The East Bureau, will be doing a review with more photos soon. Great night out with the girls with Real Talk haha. 

It was a joint celebration with our prettiest mummy, who we both have the same birth month. Had a delicious Matcha Tiramisu Cake by Ma Mere Boulangarie@Marina Square. (Can't help but to notice I'm so bald)

In case you didn't notice, it's Off Shoulder kinda day. 

Few days later, this bunch surprised me again on my birthday. Thanks for spending the time to treat me coffee and cakes! Simple things to make me happy. This bunch has been with me for every birthday I had in NTU, feeling grateful to spend the last one with them too. Love you all long time. 

Followed by surprise visit from The Brow, I swear I really didn't expect you all to come (and hence the cui face). You guys must be so busy at this period. and they brought gift summore omgggg...Really appreciate it :) Great doing a short catch up with the bunch. Finals and Job Hunt jiayou arrr!!!!

The must-do, but we're missing Yeucian here :(

Also, special thanks to ShiYien and Kahhoe for the early surprise! Really got heart ler, thanks for taking the time :) Btw it's a MoonBall this year, a continuation from last two year's Pokedex Birthday Card haha. Moon Ball is for Jigglypuff LOL Kinda suit me don't you think, round and loves to sing :) 

Once again, thanks to the bunch and also people who wished me. Not sure what I can do for you guys, but I'm always hoping the best for you all. To my Uni friends especially, hope everyone prepare well for Finals and for the ones on job hunt, I really pray that everyone finds the perfect door to the future! To my granma, uncle, aunties and cousins in JB! Didn't forget you all lar, thanks for providing me a second home whenever I wanna escape Pulau NTU. Thanks for letting me Eat, Play, Sleep so well at your place haha. Really means a lot to a person who can't go home often :( 

And to my mom, it's your 受难日, thanks for tolerating this evil kid who always make you cry for 23 years. My dad, I know you don't say it, but thanks for pouring so much love and treating me like a princess through your actions. My brother, thanks for taking care of dad and mum while I'm away from home, and being the silently supportive figure on many little things, hope you realize your dreams soon! Just hope you three continue to stay healthy and be happy! 

Haizzz now wan see 背影 oso difficult...

Oh yeah, my way of celebrating 23rd hehe, uploaded a cover video for the first time! Can't say it's really a cover though, coz it's not a song that I can sing well haha, but more like just to use this song to share some motivational message to people around me. It's a song by Soda Green 苏打绿 named 你在烦恼什么 What's Trobuling You? Every line of the lyrics gave me so much motivation. I guess at 23, we are all entering a phase with lots of frustrations and challenges in life, just hope my friends can stay positive and live life with joy! 

From the song: 时间从来不回答，生命从来不喧哗, 就算只有片刻我也不害怕。

(Time passes without turning back, Life goes by without a sound. So do not fear if there's only one moment left.)

Earthlink Diaries

Decided to blog about Earthlink events separately coz there's so many of them! One year passed and looking back, it's been a busy year but at the end of day, I learned more from what I asked for.

Let's rewind to one year ago!

The academic year started with Earthlink Camp where I was tasked as a GL for my OG Kiwi hehe...I'm quite lucky to have a bunch of ON freshies. I know I'm no where close to MSA FOC's GL standard haha but it was a fun experience. The whole camp was pretty much a eco-sightseeing tour, where we went to Labrador Park and Sentosa.

Day 1 games at Labrador Park where you could see the sentosa cable car lines behind. 

LOL Playing with pink dolphins, no i mean the model only haha... while we wait for showering at the Underwater World.

Best part of this camp, sleeping with fishes and we have the whole underwater world to ourselves at night for all the fish-gazing :P

Me staring Jellyfish

Next, took part in International Coastal Clean-up where we had to pick up trash on the mangrove shores. Picking up the trash is one thing, but understanding how and where all these trash came from was another important lesson. All sorts of things you find there and you start feeling sad for the ocean for swallowing all these items :( Going down the mangrove and picking up all the styrofoam bits and plastic containers really prints out a stronger image of marine pollution in your head. I guess that was the "kick" i need to get fired up for my plans.

Just a short while after our handover, the Students Affairs Office organized the Student Leader's Night which was an event for all previous and present excos of student clubs to mingle around. I was lucky enough to be one of the participant! To me the event was more of a bonding kind of thing between me and Earthlink's excos. and I got the chance to know and chat (okay I admit I was listening most of the time haha) with some of the SAO's officers, and they were kind to give advice for my plans.

Then there's Southwest Eco Day Out! Well I forgot why did I join this LOL But still it's also quite a fun experience. It's where you get to speak and interact with all the uncles and aunties and also to teach them a lil' bit about Recycling :D Not an easy task because most of them pretty much only care for the free gift: cactus, but some of them are really funny and I love their "owhhhhhhh I see" faces when I tell them receipt can't be recycled (which many thought it can be). Besides that, there are many booths that showcases environmental friendly efforts like clothes re-purposing booth, lamp recycling companies etc

Then there's the fun Subcommittee outing at Pasir Ris Park! I guess it's my favorite subcomm outing. The games were great, nature walk was fun and beautiful, my GL Basil rocks LOL

 Chilling out at the coastline

Before I knew it, it's Sem 2 already...
And we started our busy sem with an outing. Owh yeah it was one day where we gathered but resist the urge to talk about Earthlink stuff and enjoyed the sun instead.

And there's also E-Waste campaign to begin our semester. Got to learn about electronic waste and why they should be recycled instead of just throwing them away.

Subcommittee outing again and we went to the beautiful Macritchie Reservoir Park! It's super pretty but I didn't get to do d nature walk as I was one of the game masters.

Collaborated with Heritage Club during their Heritage Week on collecting Singapore Environment Story!

Photo credits to Heritage Club

Next, the event that was almost equivalent to mission impossible. World Water Day. Yes my task was pretty much planning and typing down microplans, admin programs and stuffs but all these can choke you when you have to do them at the last minute with so many uncertainties. Of course it was never about whether the event happened or not, but it's about whether the event went well or bad, which I was really stressed for. To be honest if I can choose again, I think I wouldn't take this up. Not that I regret, but I don't think I'm suppose to take up this when I can't handle it. Big thanks to my partners and leaders who made the event possible and sorry for the mistakes. Anyhow, it's still a learning experience, one more event to my portfolio? haha

With the stage PICs. 

Just the day after, we attended the Watermark Awards Ceremony which is an appreciation event for WWD supporters. It was a night with many influential figures who supports WWD.  

Final event before exams, the Earth Hour Outreach program. It's my second year joining but I still feel nervous when I knock on doors. Part of me was secretly praying no one answers but feels sad when really there's no one who answers.

We had a workshop before doing our outreach. I guess I was trying to be Panda, which I don't really need to try i guess? judging at the diameter of my dark circles.

Owh there's also Recycling drive, which I don't really have a photo. Anyways it's an event where we did door to door collection of recyclable items like papers and plastic bottles. Usually many students would like to get rid of them at the end of the semester and that's why we're doing this to prevent all the recyclable items going into waste. 

Yeap that's pretty much all the Earthlink events that I joined last year. It's a lot? not really, Earthlink has much more events on the calendar and I missed many interesting ones. It's too little? Certainly not, I guess I fulfilled the subcomm requirement as well. haha

Okay now moving on to the next part of the post: 

Being a Director in Earthlink...

As I'm thinking about what the previous year was about, it's a lot to talk about and one thing is for sure. I really learned a lot from being a director in Earthlink. Really gotta thank this club that offers so many opportunities. Some of them were unexpected ones and though I'm not sure whether I welcomed them, they are still chances to learn. 

Some of you might ask, why did I choose to stay in Earthlink. 

Earthlink director has its perks, that's undeniable hehe...

Get to organize events where you could meet the minister.

I think I've met Dr. Vivien for 3 times on separate events. The lady in the photo is Ms. Grace Fu btw, Second Minister of Environment and Water Resources in Singapore.

 Hehe have your face on a website :D

Have your own name card (ok not just my name tho) and your a t-shirt with your name. 

Indulge in great sights of Singapore's Nature Parks.  

Involve in the design of a eco-friendly mobile app!

POWERZ - an app that awards you points when you do eco-friendly actions

Attend an event with awesome dinner served :D

Working with people from other universities and organizations

Collaborating with a club for an event and treated as GOH. Sorry I have to brag on this haha, never have I dream of sitting on the front row of an event. 

Photo credits to Heritage Club

and of course, work hard and play hard with my committee!

 Really wanna thank this bunch of ppl!

Plan your own event

Lots of perks huh? But that's not it. 

At my very first year, I kind of knew that Earthlink is a place for me to do things that I never expect myself will do. When I was in year 1, I had to choose between joining a club that I'm interested or joining a club that will allow me to experience new things. Trust me I never knew anything about environment and in Malaysia, particularly my school, environmental club was not a major one and I was surprised by how Earthlink is a Tier 1 club in NTU. Then as year 1 starts, there were many events and most of them had me hesitated for a while before I sign up. 

Knocking on stranger's door and telling them about climate change. 

Bending down to pick up bits of rubbish in the muddy mangrove area. 

Talking to uncle aunty, who probably have been used to throwing their garbage straight into the dumpster for their whole life, about recycling.

Telling the younger generation that they should forget about using disposables and should make a bold change of bringing their own food container and cutlery all the time. 

Leading a group of subcommittees to create a roadshow from scratch

These are not things that I could immediately say YES to. Which is exactly why, at the end of the day, the best part of joining Earthlink was really about stepping out of your comfort zone, doing things that you don't feel like doing. But once you've done it, the sense of achievement is really overwhelming and the fact that you did something meaningful that will benefit the environment really makes it better! Our environment really needs help but not many of us are seeing the problem, why not take the first step and be an example to others?

I'm glad that I'm part of Earthlink and until this very day, I am still learning how to change people's mindset, including myself. It's a challenging task and it will change the way you think. 

Just to clarify here, this post is purely an opinion from me and has nothing to do with Earthlink's standpoint.  

Btw, would like to share Ecoventure's video here. Well compared to them, I dare not say I have totally stepped out of my comfort zone. This group of people really committed themselves into something meaningful. Salute them. 

All photos in this post belongs to Earthlink NTU unless otherwise stated.