Taking it to the finish line

Firstly i want to announce that "major fighting" has concluded.. ok i mean the exams have almost ended, there are some "cleaning up" operations left, i.e. One more paper next week followed by a presentation of my report, which will conclude my education in university (if nothing should go wrong.. and i hope not).

I'm supposed to be elated.. haha but right now i am too tired for that, only a sense of relief.. what have i learnt in NTU? besides the fact that it's hellish? here's a list of a few lessons learnt... (with regards to studying and exams)

1) Don't judge a book by it's cover
Don't assume that ah beng-ish people are slackers and don't know thier shit, in fact some of them are so smart they can afford to slack off -> hence making them look very easy going and ah beng-ish. Some nerdy people work so hard and acheive half the A's these people get. Most of the time these people earn the title of 'Professor'. What I'm saying is, don't look down on other people or judge them by thier looks, you might need thier help one day.

2) Study with friends
I don't know about YOU but I can't do it alone. Mainly because I am not a fucking genius. So study and discuss.. and SHARE. which brings me to another point; "don't be selfish" Many students are kiasu and keep resources to themselves, chances are you will also get back something in return (in terms of expertise and advice) if you share.

3) Keep your shit together
Priority is the word here, there are no shortcuts when it comes to revision, it takes SHEER HARD WORK. You gotta know what to put FIRST on the to do list. But if you want to slack off, go ahead, just know when to start working and what to do to get back on track.

4) Beware the Snowball
This is more of a comment than an advice; One part of the system i don't like, students who fail subjects need to retake them (unlike in Poly, there's no second chance of a retest). In the first place, if someone fails a subject, I would gather that he/she isn't coping very well with the normal load -DUH. But these subjects are added on to the load of this poor student next semester. If, you're facing problems under normal loading, you are going to get crushed by a snowball of subjects if you let them accumulate... so extra effort must be put in during the next semester -> see point #3 on the importance of keeping your shit together

5) Take a Break
Have a break, have a kit kat. But don't smoke la.. wtf.. you think it looks Kool? YES it does, I agree.. It looks damn cool with a stick in between your fingers and puffing smoke like a dragon. But it dont look so Kool when they cut open ur lungs on the autopsy table. But then again if PWD runs out of TAR.. we know where to look.

6) It's not as bad as it seems
This is a tricky one, exams here are supposedly moderated.. i.e. You should be worried about the outcome if everyone is happy with the paper because the passing mark would be raised. So a minor mistake could be costly. And if everyone finds the paper a bitch... you can be sure that u r quite safe. If you find the paper a Bitch, and no one else does.. you're fucked.

7) Enjoy the journey
This applies to everything in life and not just to exams and school: Don't rush off to the end point, slow down, breathe and take in the sights along the way.

Many people do not realise that life is about the music you hear, the friends you make, the colours that take you away, the food you taste (Singaporeans can identify with this very well), the sights and the smells. Its not about material gains and possessions, its not about grades and certificates and it certainly is not about the destination. We all basically have the same final destination, where we go after this life is left to a timeless debate between different cultures, but our existence in this form usually ends with us being in a hole in the ground, a niche in a wall or scattered 10,000 ft from a plane or onto the sea. If you are into more unusual approach, you might want to have your remains ripped apart by himalayan vultures in a Tibetan sky burial. By then it will be too late to look back and say that i should have and could have...


This is about all i can think about, anymore to add?