A Missed Day

There, my first missed daily post only 3 days after the rebirth. Well, it was a Most Unproductive Day (MUD) so it can't be helped. I slept from the time I reached home till 1 hour before school, so I didn't manage to do anything at all. =(

A Day of Accomplishments
Yesterday was a day of accomplishments. Accomplishments not for me, but for a bunch of young adults, who have just completed probably their last period of extended education of their lives. It is ironic that for a day where I accomplished nothing, I was witness to the accomplishments of many. In case you haven't figured it out, I attended the commencement ceremony of my brother, who until recently is studying in NUS. I saw some of the brightest minds in Singapore, professors whose nationalities include British, Indian and Singaporean. The graduates were mostly Singaporean, with a number of overseas scholars. I spotted a number of China scholars, and only a few Vietnamese, Thai, Indian and Middle Eastern ones. The atmosphere at the place is vibrant, that of people enjoying the fruits of their success. Some people study for knowledge, some study as it is their interest, and yet some study for the achievement and accomplishment of it, and they all look forward to this day, the day of their triumph.

In such a large and competitive world, a degree with honors does not do much to distinguish you from the few millions of people with degrees out there, but it still has its uses. It will certainly help you in job applications, as not all of the few million people are applying for that one job, and it may help you get a partner, assuming your partner is particular about such qualifications. But then again, it is just a piece of paper, easily forged by the countless forgers of our time. What matters is the knowledge that the piece of paper signifies, it represents that the person has spent more than 5% of their lives studying. The road to a proper education is long and seems hard, but I have just been witness to a close relative of mine completing it with apparent ease. When respect is due, respect shall be given. Though his accomplishments may seem mediocre compared with the best minds of society, I am proud of my brother being a graduate with second upper honors. Congratulations.

Olympics
Speaking of achievements, the Olympics are around the corner. What do you think when you watch the Olympics on the television? To attempt to sound formal and eloquent, which I am not, here is what I think. When I watch the Olympics on tv, I feel a sense of awe as these people represent the limit of the human spirit. The boundaries of the human body are tested every four years, at the gathering of the best from around the world. To know that you are watching the best, seeing history as it is being written in front of your eyes, isn’t that a bit inspiring? Anyways, the articles on the Olympics in the newspaper are interesting and informative. For those that follow those articles, the one about pressure a few days ago is especially inspiring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kPNjkGf4vM go see this video, the spectacular dive in the middle of the video is the one RIGHT after the dive shown at the start. And if you follow the first link in related videos to the face smash video, the most awesome comment below is “no blood no foul”. No blood… no foul. Simple. If you were wondering, he had stitches for his head wound, and he’s gay, and he’s HIV positive. Yea.

Short note: I spoke to an old friend on the MRT recently, and I realize though some things change, some things will not. Connections and friendships made in the period of one’s younger days can last the test of several years of time. Well I noticed, the top students from each class in year 5… a lot of them come from a certain year 4 class last year. My low-average score of 32 would place me around the bottom of everyone in that year 4 class. I should be ashamed of my marks.

“The time taken for diamond to turn into graphite can be compared to the time taken for an army of snails to march to the Beijing Olympic Games from Singapore.” – quoted very loosely from a figure of authority on chemistry