Life as I Know It

I don't want to sound like some deprived, self-pitied, the-world-is-against-me-boo-hoo-poor-me kinda person, but if someone was to ask me "Hey Elliot *gives a smiley face*, what is life to you so far?"

My one word reply would be "Studying."

Ok, not really...I would go "Ummm, why the sudden insightfulness? You crazy ah!"

But I really think 'studying' sums up what I know life so far. And I'm certain that many (I honestly want to use 'all', but surely there's a handful that will say "what's this stupid shithead basing his assumptions on") Singaporeans will agree with me on this one.

I'm young and still schooling, so maybe I can't give an accurate answer. And I strongly believe that the people who have a clear definition on what is life to them are those who travel around the world.

You know, the kind of soulful people who embark on backpacking journeys to unknown countries that have lots of trees and mountains, and just stand on one spot to look out in a distance and soak up the awesomeness of what life really is...



3 factors on what's stopping me from travelling: I neither have the 1)freedom, nor the 2)expenses for the revelation of life. And I'm actually 3)not planning on doing that.

I mean like that's my opinion that to properly know what life is, you have to travel. And so far for me, it's, as I said, studying.

I want to hear from those who are of same age as me and think differently on the answer to the question. Like seriously, no meh? Since young you no study?

And when I say "studying", this means it is placed on top of my pirority list...followed by air, water and food.

Do you remember when you were in Primary school (and especially at primary 3 and 6 because of streaming and PSLE respectively), your mums will buy like stacks of skyscraper-tall exam papers with the names of the schools mysteriously blotted out on purchase?




Well, I do. And oh how I dreaded my mum's arrival to my room, one hand holding a brick of exams papers and the other wielding a cane, and she'll go "Okay, today you do English and Maths. Tomorrow Science. Lao Shi (teacher in Chinese) will take care of your Chinese. And if I find you dreaming, I'll cane you!"

Sadly, the efforts didn't pay off and I went to normal stream. lol.

And then in secondary school, the experience was actually refreshing. I had this new-found freedom during that period, but it came with setbacks. For example, I couldn't go "Teacher! Teacher! Zhen Liang called me stupid!" anymore. And of course, the one that everyone has to go through - 'O' levels. Not forgetting the rotten ten-year-series. What the heck, there is a TYS dedicated to each subject.

I still remember my Maths teacher telling the whole class in a matter-of-factly sort of way, "You should have completed the whole ten-year-series right before the 'O' levels."

Now do you understand why I say "studying". There's just isn't an end to the academics. I'm already catching a glimpse on what university life is as my elder brother is currently in one.

Kicking his shoes off like a bull getting ready to charge, my brother would sometimes come home, grumbling "God, seriously the people in my class need to get a life. So freaking competitive and not genuinely interested in anything other than getting As."

My brother gets so pissed off occasionally and announces to no one in particular, "I'm so going to migrate. Singapore's education is too crazy. I want my kids to go out and play. Go run in the fields, go catch balls. Everyday in Singapore just study, study, study. Why can't you play? Ohhh tomorrow got ting xie (spelling in Chinese)...." and on and on. Usually my response is no response, just the rolling of my eyes. Because it does get excessive and unnecessary at times.

You can't say he doesn't a point. I mean like I won't fault the education system or whoever or whatever is responsible, but it is the fierce competition that forces people like me to study for the sake of staying on top.

And the thing is academics and I do not mix well. My forte is never studying, doing well in exams, getting top marks for mental sums...I bet I would have suffered if I went into a Junior College. That is why I opted for Polytechnic. And now, how about you wait here while I go hang the jerk who claimed that poly life is a breeze.



Even as I write this entry, the sudden thought of a report due in 2 days is bugging me now and thus have to wrap up.

So the life as I know it, is simply studying through the years.

It's just another fact in life. And oh how my bum aches to go out and do my thing when I'm older and hopefully equipped with right skills and qualifications.

Maybe I'll return to this blog in ten years time, and write a more postive angle on the same topic.
(provided the world doesn't end in 2012)

I know I sound disgustingly intellectual, but hell, you get only one life.