In 2011, I had four lives:
- University
- Work
- Social
- And the worse one of all “love”
 |
| Going home |
 |
| Early morning train rides to uni |
 |
| Meanwhile in Microbiology... |
 |
| Crazy Wings |
 |
| Physical Chemistry |
I started off the year
knowing nothing that was beyond the comfort of my local hometown. My first week
taking public transport wasn’t a smooth ride. I became worried that I would get
lost, sleep on the train and end up somewhere totally different. Then again,
everything was different now. Fortunately after a few mishaps, I am confident
to say that I can take the train and tram with ease and independence. Sometimes
it’d be nice to spend the journey to and from the city alone with my own
thoughts, however too much time in your own head isn’t always a healthy thing –
I’ll explain that later.
This was also the most
expensive year for me. I had new expenses to take care of such as public
transport, textbooks, the mobile phone bill, driving lessons and lunch money. I
never needed money for lunch throughout my high school life, and now with the
restaurants and fast foods thrust upon every corner of the city; the stomach
becomes weak my friend.
I grew accustomed to
the lifestyle of university lectures, laboratories, assignments and tests very
quickly. My timetable was reasonably fair with the breaks in between classes
and the lecturers were informative and helpful. In high school, we would have
90 minute lessons followed by short breaks in between for five days a week. In
uni, I would have two hour lectures followed by one – four hour breaks! The
best days are when you have no lectures at all. As the semester ended, I would
have only approximately ten hours of lectures to attend for the whole week.
There were more time to sleep, to study and to play; that’s the first year’s
life.
 |
| Resting after lab |
Of course, my
university life would never be complete without the wonderful and beautiful people
I’ve met this year. I didn’t have many male friends during high school. To be
honest, they never really interested me at all. They were weird and I didn’t
feel comfortable with them. By the end of year 12, I only had two guy friends
that I could really trust. Now out of an all - girl’s school, I knew I couldn’t
be timid forever. Over time, I’m glad to say that I’m no longer the one hiding
behind other girls when I see them. I’ve been blessed to have met guys who’ve
made me laugh, helped me with the difficulties I had and most importantly,
made me feel safe to and from uni. I wasn't scared anymore. They made it okay
for me to trust them. Whether they simply turn around to see if I've caught up
with them or they’re yelling out my name trying to find me – these are the fondest
memories I have of them. They’re an odd bunch, but I won’t ever want that to
change. They’re the people I cannot thank enough for this year: my new
brothers.
I look forward to
seeing my students every Sunday since May of this year. They’re extremely bubbly,
eager to learn and their curiosity never fails to amaze me. I've done work
experience at a kindergarten before, but I didn’t find it as interesting
compared to tutoring. Tutoring required more attention on each student enabling
me to be always busy. I would always be explaining, correcting and making sure
all the kids were safe and quiet. Sometimes I’d have to be their mother, their
friend and teacher all at the same time! I still have lots to learn when
working with children, so I’ve decided to explore more into the field of
education. I’ll just leave that pathway in VTAC’s power right now. My new found colleagues are also a reason why the workplace is such a warm and friendly
place to go to. I was welcomed very nicely and now we’ve become a very close
knitted group. I can’t wait for the many more functions to come!
I believe this year was
the most hardest on my heart. Yes I did get envious when I constantly heard how
people were falling in love, planning things for their special someone or how
happy they’ve become with someone new in their life. I’m just here wondering
how it’s all happening so fast, it seemed so easy nowadays. You meet, you talk,
you guys spend a lot of time with each and then it just takes one to grow some
and everything becomes “official”. Every month passes by and you feel as if
you’re already with each other for years. I want to go back to the years where
boys didn’t dictate my happiness. I’m trying to go back to that type of
independence and it’s so hard with all this time on your hands that you just
can’t stop thinking and wondering. In high school, we had six periods a day and
by the time we came home we were too tired to even bother about crushes etc. It
was just work and sleep. Now I have so much more time in university, my mind
becomes preoccupied with the silliest of things - things that wouldn’t matter
in 20 years time. I woke up to the same thing for 16 months (487 days)
wondering if we may ever become something much more than yesterday. I carried around
every day the senseless hope that I’ve created inside of me.
I grew numb to the idea
of waiting for nothing; it almost became an unconscious part of me which
probably explained how I could wait so long. Until l met someone new. With the
late night conversations and the tired mornings - this type was happy was
coming back to me. I thought he was going to be different, and he is. He has
the sweetest smile and is one of the most charming people I know. Too good to
be true isn’t it? Here’s the catch – He’s got the heart as black as coal. “Do you believe in the devil? I do. I’ve looked into his eyes.
The devil is real, and he’s not a little red man with horns and a tail. He can
be beautiful. Because he’s a fallen
angel and he used to be God’s favorite.” (AHS) This devil has played me too
well, leaving me heartbroken on Christmas Day. Heartbreak is one of the most
devastating pains I have felt. I’m broken for now and I won’t be okay today, but I
will be eventually. I'm leaving it all in 2011. I'm strong.
Falling in love has become overrated. Loneliness is
underrated. I don’t want to be labeled upon as someone’s girlfriend, seeing
each other or going out. Is it so selfish of me to ask if I can just be with
someone without the tags? We’re young. Let’s save all this serious stuff when
we grow up a bit more.
-
 |
| Dec Childhood Day |
 |
| Strawberry Fields |
 |
| Nov $4 Pizzas |
 |
| Sept Hungry Jacks |
 |
| Grandma & Wesley at 1000 Steps |
 |
| Aug First time at Crazy Wings |
 |
| Heavenly Delish |
 |
| July Team S & K at the Beach |
 |
| June Steph & Lan |
 |
| Sophia's puppy |
 |
| April KC reunion |
 |
| Feb Burden Festival |
 |
| Jan Ikea |
Another year to say
goodbye. The biggest change for me since 2010 is definitely the freedom. I’ve
discovered so many new places this year, and I’ve taken upon many new
challenges and responsibilities. 2010 was a learning year for me and so will
2011. I’ll never stop delving into new experiences with people and places. I
don’t feel as stressed out academically than last year. I haven’t had my annual
high fever this year…that’s a good sign! It’s probably from all the outside
people’s air I’ve been inhaling that’s built up my immune system. Everyone’s
migrated to Skype from Messenger, though a text or a call is always the fastest
way to reach me! 2011, you’ve been one big rollercoaster ride. So it’s time to
forget about what could have happened in the past, I can’t change it. I can’t
predict the future either. I’m just going to take each day as it comes. I’ve
learnt the sad truth about myself too: my memories will overlap each other and
they will ultimately fade. I can’t rely on myself anymore, so as long as I keep
writing I’ll always be able to relive a piece of yesterday whenever I want to.
Lesson learnt: I’m sexy
and I know it.
Cheers to us! Here we
come 2012!!!
 |
| Carpe Diem! |
 |
| At the end of 2011 |
