Viva la Vida. Live Life

So my last official day in University has already ended (that is assuming that I pass all my exams which are coming in two weeks time haha), and I've decided that this is the best time to reflect on the past few years and come up with 5 things I've learned in University - with photos of people and events which are memorable to me.

1. It's okay to not know anyone in the beginning

My first day of school was pretty intense. I was 16, received my A Level results two weeks after university has already started, submitted my results on that day, and told that I was accepted the next. Everything went on so fast and I knew absolutely no one on campus (I had a senior, but she was on semester exchange when I got accepted into NTU). I remember that I was at the MAS General office to collect all the paperworks I needed where the next thing I knew was that the guy in the office told me that I'll be having a tutorial class half an hour later. I was so shocked and unprepared. He even had to give me a pen and some blank papers so that I can take down some notes during class. But being all alone, and scared, and nervous forced me to step out of my comfort zone to socialize, and my first tutorial session was where I got to meet one of my bestest friend in NTU now.

It all started out from zero, and now, few years later, for every ten minutes I walk around campus, I get to see someone I know. And I thank God for this amazing journey. It's okay to not know anyone in the beginning.

2. Go for an exchange if you can

If your budget isn't so tight, and you are given an opportunity to do so, go for an exchange. May it be a Western or Asian country, go for one! I know that every single person is going to experience different things, and some exchanges may not be all that great, but going for an exchange somewhere outside the country will definitely open up many different perspectives and allow you to make some new friends! I've had several friends who went for exchange and had them raved on and on about how amazing their experience was, and at that point in time, I knew that I had to experience it for myself. I did. I have to tell you that my exchange experience was the most phenomenal. It was mind blowing, exciting and it made me grew up and mature so much in just such a short time. I met so many new people with so many different backgrounds, got to enjoy great food, have good company, take weekend short road trips, go wild, travel around with people I just got to know, and most of all I immersed myself in a whole different kind of culture (and I fell in love with it). I can go on and on about how in love I am with my exchange experience, but I guess I'll stop here before I end up with a 10,000 words essay. Go for an exchange if you can!

3. Don't be afraid of failing

There were many times during my University life that I felt like giving up on myself. I remember failing some of my midterms during my first year, first semester, and it felt like the whole world collapsed around me. I know that it sounds hilarious, but I was quite a perfectionist at that time (which I no longer am haha). I have never failed an exam for many many years and failure was definitely unacceptable. At that time, I felt like I couldn't cope with school and I became extremely miserable. I thought of changing school, doing stupid things to myself (don't), and cried in the phone calling home. I couldn't understand so many things the lecturers taught me. But my parents told me that they are happy as long as I know that I do my best. It's okay that I don't score amazing grades - and I slowly learned that it's okay to fail sometimes. Having failed my midterms made me so motivated to study hard for my final exams. My grades turned out okay and I remembered smiling so badly looking at them.

I've failed countless times in my journey in NTU. The biggest slap on my face was when I had only three final exams in a semester and I still failed for one of them. I remember looking at my GPA during my vacation and it ruined my whole mood. I hit rock bottom from my sky high. But the failure became a turning point. During the next semester, I was involved in two extremely time consuming CCAs. I had almost no time to study. However, because I knew I had to do better, I grabbed on tight to every single second I have. My results that semester turned out to be my best one so far in NTU. So I say: "Don't be afraid of failing. We all will fail some point in life. Make each failure a motivation to be better than you are before."

4. You can't please everyone

I used to be a "people pleaser". I wanted everyone to be happy and pleased with me. I allowed some bad people, some fake friends to lead me by the nose and harm me, just for the sake of making them happy. But I wasn't happy. I've had enough of hurting. I've cried, I've hurt, I've been depressed. I've been in shock and denial knowing that not all people have the kindest intention. I blamed myself and I tried to mend the holes. I learned it the hard way - and I learned that I don't want and don't need to please everyone.

Sometimes, it's okay to tell someone else what they do is not the right thing to do. It's okay to distance yourself from people who would take advantage of you and trash you around like something worthless. It's okay to lose contact with people who doesn't appreciate your presence and hurt you with their words and actions. Do whatever makes you happy, don't hurt people with intention, and keep those people who would appreciate you as much as you would appreciate them around you. Learn to distance yourself from people who bring negativity into your life, you don't need that extra weight to bring you down. Understand that not everyone has the kindest intention and not everyone is bad. Finally, learn that you can't please, and you don't need to please everyone.

5. Join a CCA. Or two. Or maybe three at the same time.

Joining CCAs have ought to be one of my main highlights in NTU. There were good times, sad times, tired times, bad times, and many many happy times, but all in all, I have to say that so many great things happened to me and I've met so many awesome people through the CCAs that I've joined. From ticketing subcomm, to welfare main committee in GTD 15, to ending up as dancer in ICN 2014, teaching every saturday during BP Mentoring, Top 4 GTD 16, and VP of ISCF Camp, and some other more. There were definitely many great memories that have been left behind. Being in a committee allows you to grow as an individual, and at the same time, it allows you to look and observe how other people grow and deal with different sorts of situations. You stand by each other during the hard times and give a pat on each other's shoulder when you do a good job. You learn how to be patient, how to be angry, how to stand up for yourself, and most of all, how to appreciate good people. So join a CCA, or two. Or three at the same time. Which I did once, and almost died. But I guess it was worth it.