I just recieved the official letter of my unsuccessful application to AJC. Clara and Kwung Teng didn't made it through either. Oh well. I guess I don't have to actually type out how I feel about it since I already made a post on that a few days ago, as seen from above.
It was one rocking great one even though it was very plain and all - no drinks, no food, not even a proper environment with air-conditions. All that didn't seem to change that it was still going to be a sacred and important ceremony that would only be held once a year.
I start off the whole ceremony by presenting my speech. Going to share with you all since I thought it was pretty well written and recieved quite a nice response from the floor. Junyan commented that the grammar in the first draft had little problems and Leonard thought it was fine. Yes, although it is just 'fine', it is still an improvement for me; as it meant that I'm getting better!
The future depends on what we do in the present. - Mahatma Gandhi
A good day to all - comrades, teachers, juniors, guys, girls, gays and lesbians. Many of you here would probably know me by different names; be it Clarence, Chinzilla, Chinchilla, etc, etc. However, the least that matters today would actually be my name. Taking, hopefully, at the most 10 minutes of your precious time, I shall make this humble inspirational speech.
To all my juniors:
First of all, I would like to share with everyone present here a little story. The story begins like this …
There was once a young handsome looking man, that with the wink of an eye, he could make girls around him swoon and fantasize about him in their dreams.
The end.
You may laugh, but that is exactly my point. Many times in life, you will find obstacles that will obstruct you from progressing further or that you would lose yourself in a haze. In fact, the greatest obstacle that you can possibly face in your future trials and tribulations is you, yourself.
I hope that every one of you here have realized that it is impossible to survive alone in this world. Teamwork and people relations; these are necessary in even the simplest daily routines. But above all, these are things that are valued greatly in choir.
“One voice, one choir.” We sing as one choir, train as one choir, laugh as one choir, and suffer as one choir. I do hope that the above quote would reach your ears and be carefully remembered.
I do hope that most of you here have made your purchase of the SYF photo, even more so if you bought the size 8R photo. I am sure that should you decide to stick it somewhere near your study table, it will work like a charm help you stay awake whilst you are revising daily, because there is my face on it.
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." ~Henry David Thoreau
To the Sec3s:
Leadership is not about being elected or appointed to (an office) the committee. The committee does not teach someone how to be a leader. Leadership is an attitude cultivated over time.
Are you one to stand up for what you believe in and 'face the music' even when that music happens to be unpleasant? Do you have a goal and promise to work hard in order to achieve it? Do you have a vision? These are all questions that true leaders answer in the affirmative.
However, how do you become a leader?
Every small decision you make takes you one-step closer to your goal. Keep in mind that the goal is not to achieve power, but to achieve your vision and fulfil you promise. Leaders without visions can be likened to driving in a strange town without a road map; you are going to wind up somewhere; it just might not be in the best part of town.
To my comrades for 4 years, and perhaps more:
It has come down to this very day and it seems as though it was only yesterday when we first came together to strive for a common interest. We have come to the end of this section of our journey. However, do not slacken, for the journey has yet to truly end.
What lie ahead of us is not just the upcoming prelims, nor our O levels, but a life of full of obstacles. However, do not fear should you face any problem. Recall the times spent, stuck in the choir room with me, and tell yourself that you have overcome the greatest horror. What lie ahead of your journey cannot possibly be more challenging than it has been to sit in the same room with a jester for over 4 years.
I do hope that all of you here would miss me, miss my jokes, my humour, my silly and perhaps some witty remarks. I do hope that these will remain etched in your memory. To refresh your memory, you can remember me as the founder of the Choir blog, the joker - and horror - of choir, the prankster who made every one in choir look like a fool on April Fools day this year.
Regardless which aspect of me you remember, my image shall always haunt you. If by some mysterious reason you do not, may the flies of a thousand camels attack your armpits.
To the teachers:
I thank you for making my life in choir so meaningful, if not, memorable. The choir is what it is today, because of your effort and hard work; they will not be taken for granted. Once again, I thank you all for everything that you have given us.
So that is my pretty lengthy speech. Though I had remind myself not to laugh at my own jokes, I could barely hold my laughter towards the end as the laughter from the crowd was just overwhelmingly contagious. Especially when you have Cheanpin shouting in response, it makes it even hard to control your laughter.
I trembled pretty much through the whole speech; in the beginning of the speech it was my arms that were shaking in fear, alternating between my left and right, after awhile I noticed both hands were shaking violently. Then after it stopped for awhile, my legs started to tremble. So darn scary I guess. I had to trying to hold my script while my hands were trembling. However, when I asked Leonard if he could see my hands trembling, he said no. I wonder why though, coz to me, it should really violently.
I thank the juniors for all their gifts, and the cup that reads "You are a gentlemen" or something like that, from Ms Seah. Thank you so much for making the ceremony today meaningful and memorable.
Supposedly Marvina took a picture of me, but she refuses to show me the photo - I wonder why. I had promised that I wouldn't delete it but she still wouldn't budge. However she said that she would put it up on her blog. Now, the only question lies is when would she put it up; she barely comes online so it is pretty hard to determine when will I get to see it. Oh well.
My gastric act up after I made my speech and it hurt through out the whole rest of the ceremony. So while we were taking photos and all, I was like struggling to bare with the pain. The reason behind my gastric pain was that I had not at anything for the past 7-8 hours and the stress that I felt from the speech recital made it worst I guess. If not, usually it wouldn't hurt so bad.
I am pretty jealous that Sharon could face the choir when she spoke to them to give her share of words without flinching one bit. I guess that is one great difference between her and me that I have gotta pick up. I wonder when would I be able to stand infront of a crowd and give a speech without trembling or flinching at all.
After lunching at McDonalds, Westmall, with the company of Zheng Yang and Shaun, the guys, Yi Jun, Marvina, Adalia, Suchi and I went to a sheltered basketball court for very far from the school to play. The Sec2s had bought me a basketball, so sweet eh. If I am not mistaken, it is the most expensive gift out of all the other gifts they got for William, Leonard and Roy. HA! I beat them to that. Just joking!
I was doing my Physics and Chemistry Paper 1 while they were playing as I wanted to finish the 2 papers before I have my fair bit of fun for the day. I had brought them over in the thought that I might actually be able to do them while it was not my time to perform during the rehearsals early this morning. Turns out the free time was short and thus we (the Sec4s) couldn't do any homework that we brought.
After all the fun today, adding on to the lack of sleep, I believe that there is no way that I could possibly do any other homework tonight. Argh.. I'm feeling guilty of not completing my work now. Still have quite a lot of homework to do you see. I think I would have to stay at home for the whole of tomorrow and make sure I wake up earlier tomorrow to start on my homework early.
That would be all for today. Till my next post.
Ja-na!
