In a blink of an eye, my one month in Singapore is now drawing to a close.. In 4 hours' time, SQ227 will be departing from the gates of the Terminal 3. It's been a.... Interesting? holidays I must say. In many ways it felt rather different from my previous vacations. Quite a lot of things went through my mind, especially with the change in mindset over some issues over the course of the previous few months away. Much as I don't agree with certain values/beliefs/trends that are prevalent in the society today, that's just the way it is. Get on with it. I shall not elaborate on it due to the potentially sensitive issues that I might raise, but a couple of you may understand what I'm hitting at.
It's inevitable that I find myself asking myself, with the benefit of hindsight and given the choice, would I still choose overseas studies or local Big-3? Even till now, I can't really say. Both have its merits and drawbacks. The obvious downside being missing out on everything that's happening back home. It's easy to overlook what we could miss out on as most of these things are really things which you would take for granted. Simple little things like being able to walk to Parkway Parade in Tshirt, Berms and Slippers.. spending time with Family... taking a walk at ECP in the wee hours and soaking in the breeze and sounds of the tides...Obviously, one shouldn't keep thinking of the "what ifs" and "what nots" and I am making the effort to make the most out of my overseas experience. But perhaps more significantly is that, realising what I'm missing out on makes me treasure and cherish these moments even more. And this is something which can be overlooked very easily if I'm too caught up in the rat race in Singapore. 所谓，当局者迷，旁观者清。
On a side note, saw a prominent article in the Sports section in 联合早报 a couple of days ago that this year-end marks the graduation of the final batch of Sports Class students in AHS, drawing to a close the 14-year programme which I believe was initiated by our dear Mr Moo. On one hand, I was a little saddened by the news as this programme had served as a major differentiating factor from the other competing schools and that it had effectively formed part of a tradition of AHS. And I'm sure the Sports Class students will feel even more so as I do believe this programme had enabled the Sports players to forge a close bond with one another.
But the local sporting scene had changed much since 1994 and the days when we were still in 圣中. Back in those days, while we only had 3 main sports, Badminton, Table-tennis and Basketball, we were regular medal-winners in the East Zone. Getting 4th place would be considered a poor result. I remember there was at least one occasion when we swept 12 golds for all 3 sports and we had a Half-Day off. People could instantly relate AHS to having very strong Badminton, TT and BBall teams. Those were the days. The establishment of the Singapore Sports School, helmed by who else, Mr Moo, always meant that the Sports Class programme in AHS would be compromised and adversely affected to a certain degree and hence it is not a big surprise that they are ending it. Further, as Mr Hoo (Remember him? 何生) noted in the interview, the cessation of the Sports Class initiative will enhance and strengthen the interaction and friendship between Sports and non-Sports students. Of course, everything was put in a diplomatic manner but having spent 4 years in AHS, I would certainly feel that the SC programme implicitly drew a line that separated 'us' from 'them'. They are the Sports players with their own special identity.. the "H" classes.. own T-shirts..and rightfully, they would naturally be proud of their identity and togetherness. On the flipside however, is that lack of interaction with the rest of the cohort and it does bring about another problem which 何生 also mentioned. The level of support for the school at competitions. Because the Sports students are all grouped together already, it makes it difficult to a degree for non-sports students to show interest and support for the school in competitions. Somehow, they will not relate to the sports as much as if there were sports players amongst them to stir up the interest and garner support. Nonetheless, it marks the end of an era for AHS..
Who's that behind huh. . . .
