College Life Update

It's been a long time since my previous post, so here goes:

The past month has been half spent in college, and the other half spent back in Kuching due to holiday. You see, my college had a mid-sem break in the middle of August, and now I am having my 2 week Hari Raya break, so am having a quite 'restful' month.

I am so much well adapted to college life now. The whole environment, the schedule... I am getting used to it, even beginning to enjoy it. My friends and I are tighter than ever, and I have really gotten the opportunity to know my classmates better. I am also more 'myself' now..

I realize that what I desire the most from my college life is 'balance' and 'peace.' Balance, in the sense that I can handle my different roles well; and peace of mind and heart because the hectic-ness and the competition of college life can really get to one sometimes. And I know that as I walk the path the Lord has laid out for me, He will supply more and more of what I need and ask for into my life (Mat 7:7-11).

College life is a different season of my life and it is indeed a clean break from any way I once lived in the past. Things can get so intense at times.. It is such a peaceful assurance that the One who was the King of my past is the same King of my present.

= )

H1N1 holiday

I am back in Kuching now due to my school being temporarily closed because of H1N1. This gives me a much appreciated time to be back with my family, get some rest, reflect, recharge, and not forgetting to finish up some homework.

Life in college can be overwhelming at times, in more ways than one. Obviously, things are really different than how they used to be in Kuching. But the Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not lack.. I guess that means that even in a new environment, the Lord is still with me, and because of that, I will always be provided for.

I am also in the choir club, of which is busy preparing for our presentation of graduation day. Quite fun singing again. Despite its initial challenges, college life is very fulfilling and great fun. Being able to stay, study and play with friends takes social life to a whole new level. Being in a college which has teachers with such dedication and vision for us students is also something I can be grateful for.

Some Pictures:

Best friends: Sam and Evan

From left: Sam, Hosanna, me, Jerusha and Evan

Sam and I on our first day of college

One Month Anniversary at College

Hey everyone!

Sorry for not blogging for so long... College life has been much busier than expected.

As of today, I have been in Kolej MARA Banting for one entire month. Wow.. it feels much longer than that. Too many things have happened within the past month for me to elaborate, but in short it has been a wild ride. First came the orientation week, then classes, the IB curriculum, the teachers, the clubs, the school rules, the new friends, the new church... Phew! And not forgetting my having to adapt to this '24-hours-with-friends' kind of lifestyle. People who knew me well would know that I am a very private person, especially when it comes to after-school hours. Well, life here is definitely a change from that. I think that after this whole experience I wouldn't even mind not having a door for my room in the future. (lol!)

Classes here are really really good. KMB is supposedly one of the best IB schools in the world in terms of results. The teachers here are all really nice and dedicated. So academically, I feel like I am well provided for.

Over here my two best friends are Samuel Lis and Evan Sun. Part of the challenge of living with them is getting used to our differences.. LOL.. Maybe I'll elaborate more in the future. But it's nice to have other people for support in this new phase of my life.

All in all, I am getting more used to life here, even though I still have a long way to go. Adapting to the changes definitely takes time, especially in terms of my relationship with God in this new environment. But I feel more stable now, and I am hopeful about where God will take things from here. =)

To family, friends and church: I miss you guys! May God bless you all~

Well, it has been one month.. I wonder what God has in store next?

A New Life at KMB

Hey everyone,

I'll be leaving for KMB tomorrow. It is really a 'mixed feelings' kind of scenario... On one hand, I'm very excited about IB and the new life that God has planned for me, on the other hand, I'll be leaving behind my family, my church and my friends.

The Lord has really prepared me for this transition.. I remembered that a few months ago, I was really struggling with the idea that I would most probably have to leave home soon. I was just so attached to everything around me. But after having experienced so many things now (experiences that I believe the Lord had planned for me), I feel so much more ready to move on to the next phase of my life. My heart is so much more at peace. For that, I thank my dear God.

Accompanying my next phase of life will be new friends, teachers, church and study curriculum. I am trusting God for everything to go just well. Being busier, I guess I may not be able, or perhaps have to postpone, the posting of the blogpost 'Interview Season - Part 2'.

For everyone else going to college, good luck! Don't forget to keep your eyes on God. And for my friends, do pray for me. I need all the support I can get. =)

UK, here I come!

True to the traditions of my predecessors Daniel and Larry, I am here to announce to you all that I will be going to:


the UNITED KINGDOM!!!

Yay... praise the Lord! I thought that the Lord was through with that dream of mine, but it seems like He is resurrecting it again. I cannot even begin to tell you how perfectly God has arranged everything... From my application to UWC to my SPM results to the JPA interview and finally to the offer.. Man, this has been some journey indeed..

I will be doing my International Baccalaureate for two years, and then I will be off to UK for the subsequent 5 years to do medicine.

The truth is, I have always wanted to do the International Baccalaureate, because I wanted to do something that extended beyond the classroom. The International Baccalaureate programme is a rigorous course that demands its students to be all-rounders; I love the idea that arts and community service also play an important role in its education.

However, I thought that my dream to study the IB had to be set aside when I turned down the offer to study at UWC India. But now, with the offer to do the IB as my pre-U, that dream is alive again.

And not forgetting that suddenly the chance - no matter how small it may seem now - the chance to study at one of the top universities in the world is alive once again!

Lol! I guess you have to be part of every stage of this 'SPM - applying for scholarships - interviews - waiting - receiving the offer letter' period to fully understand how perfectly God has arranged everything... He closed one door and then opened another. He said no to this and then yes to that.

"Now to Him (Jesus) who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20, 21)

Now I understand that not everyone has got the same opportunity that I have in furthering their studies. I know that some of you may not have received any scholarship, or you are on a path that you did not expect and do not want. I just want to let you know, from the bottom of my heart, that just because our paths may not be the same, that does not mean that one path is better than the other. If you have kept your trust in God, your route is just different. Just because you did not get the same opportunity as I did does not make my path better than yours. If we trust our Father in heaven, we know that He always has the best in store for us, so no matter what we receive, we know that He is there with us and has a good plan in store for us.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5,6)

For all those who are still studying in secondary school: I say to you, buckle up!! Study on! Study hard! God is with you, and the Bible says that you are more than a conqueror. Shake off the dust, rise up, and stand to your two feet by the grace of God. Stop saying that you can't and know that God is with you and you can do all things through Him. I'm rooting for you! ;)

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8:35,37)

It is truly by the grace of God that I live and breathe... More than anyone, I know that it truly is my God who has helped in getting me to the place where I am. I know that I am not that great to be able to get here all by myself. Sure, I have lovely parents who were always there to cheer me on, as well as friends, teachers and my church who were also there to support me. But ultimately, it was indeed Jesus who had always been by my side. It was Him who had been the strength of my heart. And indeed He has blessed me, but it had always always been Him.

God is good and faithful.

My Miri Trip and the Inter-School Debate Competition

Hello!

Two weeks ago I went to Miri alone to have a four-day stay with my aunt... I managed to meet up with a few of my Miri friends, but my going somewhere without my family, with the thought of independent college life looming, made me reflect a lot on family, friendship and independence. Right now I am trusting God that when the time comes for me to go to college, the grace of God will be present to make it a very smooth transition. I hope that all of you Christians out there are claiming that same promise too.

Last week, I helped my school debate team out for the Inter-School Kuching division debate competition. I reckoned that it would be fun as I didn't need to face the fears and stress of debate, but can still somehow be immersed in the experience by passing down all that I have learned to my juniors.

This year's team consists of Sarah, Joyce, Audrey, Elvina and Caleb. They were really focused on the task at hand, and they got the job done relatively fast. It was a real 'crash course'... we had to go through all the technicalities of debate... from the script, to the POIs, to the posture to the style... But I felt that they did a good job given the time limit. I also found that it was much easier for me to debate this year compared to last year... the ideas seemed to flow more easily.

The first debate's motion:

Space Exploration is a Waste of Resources.

We got government.

There were a few highlights in this debate. For example, after we gave our definition of the motion, the Opposition Leader decided to accept our definition. This is what happened:

Opposition Leader: We accept the Government's.....
Government: POI!!
Opposition Leader: Yes, accepted..
Government: Thank you! You have accepted the Government's definition. Therefore you have agreed with us. There is no debate then!

Lol! This was a minor flaw on our part as our team was a little inexperienced. Technically, the Opposition was right to accept our definition of the motion. After all, they were just accepting our definition, not our stand. But still, it was absolutely hilarious.
Another highlight:

Opposition: So much good have come out from space exploration... Do you know that non-stick frying pans actually came as the result of space exploration?
Government: The Opposition only came out with one example of the benefits of space exploration... non-stick frying pans! The money used in space exploration could have been better spent by giving to the poor... Why, they don't even have the money to buy a non-stick frying pan!

Lol!

Anyways, we won that round.

The second round, we were up against a tough debate team. The motion was:

Schools play a more important role in moulding a child's character than the parent.

We got government.

This time, our opponents were good, especially in pointing out or flaws and mistakes. I felt that our points were more solid, but our rebuttals were poorly done and did not come across to the audience. The debate was also centered on the definition of the word 'child' (we say a child can be of any age, but our opponents said that a child had to be of a young age bracket) and whether love was necessary in the moulding of a child's character.

Anyways, we lost. But it was a good try... As first-time debaters, I felt my school team did a very good job. I remembered two years ago back when I first debated.. I couldn't imagine myself debating as well as my team did as first-timers.

So to our opponents: Congratulations! You guys deserved it.

To my school team: Good try, and a job well done. Debate skills take time to develop... so it's a process to keep improving. =)


Well, that was what I was basically up to for the past two weeks... Still waiting for my JPA offer letter to come... zz....

Interview Season Part 1

The past two months have been 'interview season' for me.. I think I speak for all the past Form5-ers that interviews can be a very stressful experience, especially when the different things that you are applying for could potentially chart your life in vastly different directions, and the fact that you still have to give all of them a shot.

And interviews can also be very unique and peculiar experiences... Interviewers are there to really test you, so sometimes they can be mean and a little offensive. But when the interviews are done, you'd find that they are in fact good human beings.. lol

So it is another one of those great challenges in life that we all have to go through... And through it all, I have learned to keep my eyes on Jesus more and more as my source and my rock.

I've been involved in a few interviews lately, and I feel that now is the right time for me to share my experiences with you guys. I hope that you guys can somehow benefit from it.. ; )

Here are some excerpts of the interviews that I participated in:


The Tun Razak Leadership Camp Interview

Lol.. I honestly felt that this interview was a little bit 'cut-throat', in the sense that I felt that it was more like 'The Apprentice' than a simple 'get-to-know-you' session. If you're not careful with your words, you could get into a lot of trouble... lol

The interviewers asked us about our ambitions, Tun Razak as well as other individual questions. My most memorable moment of this interview was the final question posed to us:

Interviewer: "I'll give you a minute.. Tell me why you are better than the other person... Kill them. Sell yourself."

Lol... I was lucky because I was not the first to answer this question, so I had a few minutes to think through my answer.

Me: "This camp is looking for leaders, and I have displayed leadership abilities in the past. As you know, I have been involved in debate and public speaking competitions, as well as in choir and music.. I think that you should pick me because picking me would be an investment in the future of Malaysia."

LOL! Well, that was that.... It was a good experience, and I even got to know a few people after interview session.



UWC Interview part 1

I really really prepared for this interview... I memorized all the things that needed to be memorized, and I gathered materials about all the major world issues, with quotes from prominent leaders, just in case. The first UWC interview was a 1-on-1 interview, or should I say, 7-on-1.. Each UWC candidate was being interviewed by the 7 national committee members!

But I was gamed for it... I love a good challenge, especially when it involves speaking. So I went for the interview, feeling really nervous but quietly confident.

But my, the interview was tough! Lol! The interviewers really grilled me... After the cordial introduction, the interview took on a pretty intense pace. We talked about various areas concerning me, from my achievements to my passion in life to my career choice.

Then some came the part where I had to read an article about GM-food. GM-food can be useful, especially in impoverished communities, but it can also potentially lead to deadly consequences. They then asked me if I would release GM-food to a starving community if I was given the authority to do so. The dilemma was that if I do release the GM-food, the people may die in the long run, but if I don't, they'd still die.

Me: "I would not release the GM-food, because, I know the resilience of the human spirit... If the international community is alerted to this problem and chooses to respond, we will surely be able to overcome this problem without using GM-food; for example, through aid or other means."

Interviewers: "While you were speaking, 50 people just died. There are no other options; all the other opportunities have been exhausted... The only thing left to do is for you to release the GM-food or not."

Lol... As I continued to seek clarity of the situation, after almost every sentence, they would say that '50 people just died' while I spoke, implying that I had to make the decision fast or else more lives would be lost. The effect of those words could have stirred up a heart-attack for those who came unprepared.

I finally said, with confidence and authority: "In that case, I would release the GM-food, but I will also do all that is in my power to control the negative effects of it.."

I smiled and said, "Any how, people will die.. If I give it, people will die. If I don't, people will die.."

So it was really a question of 'short term relief, long term disaster' versus 'short term disaster, long term relief'. I felt that I addressed that issue as well as it was humanly possible to do so...

The grilling continued with them asking me about my trial exams results (which weren't exactly exellent), and about my under-achievements in sports. I had to hold my head up high and keep my composure to answer the questions as well as I could.

When the interview was over, I shook hands with all of the interviewers, and the cordiality returned while the intensity dissipated. When I left the room, I half-felt like crying; it had honestly been an exhausting experience. In fact, I flew to KL for the interview the day before the interview, had the interview the following day and then flew back that same evening. I guess I grow and learn through experiences like that. It was still, in a sense, a delightful experience.. lol