And so another year has passed in the blink of two-and-a-half flea eyes. Today, being the last day and all, would be an excellent time to do some reflection and looking ahead (followed by further hacking away at EE).

Lets start with a milestone of sorts – I just did 9 chin-ups today, not a bad improvement from the 6 when the holidays started. Quite satisfying.

Well, reflecting on music first. A year ago, I’d hardly have dared to wonder at playing the clarinet seriously after graduation; now, it’s become a feasible consideration. I guess much changed after the International Music Camp trip was, well, sprung upon me. I hadn’t even dreamed of setting foot in the US until after NS, and suddenly I was going there with my clarinet, for free, in the middle of school term. One month was hardly enough to prepare myself, but I went there, open my eyes and ears, met a few amazing musicians, tasted cookie sandwiches, and came back a better, more intuitive player.
In the meantime, the Wind Ensemble brought back our first SYF award, a Gold – not the best, but an excellent start, considering the circumstances. I think that over the course of this year, we’ve overcome the difficulties of laying the foundations for the first time, becoming great friends and growing into a solid, confident group, with a uniquely ineffable identity. Frankly, I’m not too sure how we did it, but of one thing I’m certain – I’m proud of these people, and I’m proud to be leading this group. Overseas next year, guys! We’ll sweep the floor with them.
And then there was the guitar. Last December, I had only an acoustic guitar, on which I knew a few tunes. Then, somewhere in the first term, I suddenly obtained an electric guitar, and’ve been wielding it in Evangel since June’s church camp. I also helped start a band (albeit a slightly inactive one so far) some months back. Some things I wouldn’t have expected to happen so soon, having even picked the instrument up only last March-ish. No regrets there, definitely.

What also happened to pass this year was the first year of IB for my batch. It was, of course, tough, but I think that was to be expected. I somehow managed to pull through with quite an adequate 40 points for final exams. What wasn’t expected was the rapidity with which the school year now seems to have passed – IOP is over, as are some other IAs and much of CAS. In about one day we’ll be thrown into the final year of tertiary education, but interestingly enough, I feel neither optimism nor pessimism about it. I guess its mostly a feeling of “do your best and God will do the rest” – no point worrying or anything.
I’ve left relationships to the end, for no particular reason really. Band buddies I’ve talked about already, not just the old ones, but also a few new ones, like Matthew, Darryl, and the girls, who’ve contributed to the identity in their own ways; great people that I’m privileged to have met this year. The new class, too, has been an interesting bunch to get to know – and there was no better way to do that than the WOW trip to Vietnam, in which we used the hotel gym at unearthly hours, toured Hanoi, lived on a boat for half a week, planted mangroves, and showered in the cold night air at the back of a boat with tourist boats not far off. Novel and highly effective ways to get to know your classmates, and I’m looking forward to another year with them. Old friends were always present around the level, ready for a chat and a game of cards, and a few dinners out here and there. Well, we’ll all be graduating next year, but till then, and even after, I’ll be fortunate enough to have all of these people’s acquaintance and friendship.

It’s time to wrap up this long-ish write by listing some important things that’ll be happening next year: baptism, overseas band competition to Beijing/Japan, completion of IB Diploma, and graduation. I guess I should leave some empty space for surprises too, for they’ll always be there, lurking pleasantly/unpleasantly around the corner:

(empty)

Happy New Year’s Eve!
Yours Ineffably.