Storms rock. There's the sunshine afterward to look forward to.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Writing
All I can say is, it's finally paid off. Last year, besides the pain of prelims, the stupidly large lot of schoolwork and the final stretch at O levels, I thought I had left my whole past behind. But I had forgotten.
What of my portfolio? The one I submitted to the school in hopes of winning the Goh Sin Tub Literary Award? I had committed so much to it. I had stretched my vocabulary to its fullest, called upon every literary device I was familiar with, and then some. Adapting writing styles I deemed good for my own personal use, albeit modified to make it uniquely me. Entering competition after competition, doing what I loved best, besides reading. That is, writing. I accumulated a modest pile of writings, compiled them into a file, and released it into the unknown that was the tables of the SJI English Department. Long I waited, past the prelims, past the O levels, past the December holidays. Of course, I did not expect for the results to come immediately after the O levels.
But wait I did, and they never came.
Until I totally forgot about it in late January, as the pressures of JC life threw themselves on me.
But while I had forgotten it, it had not forgotten me.
Just yesterday, as following my daily routine, I ventured into the deep maze of metal that is Dunman Hostel's mailbox area. I bravely held my mailbox key in front of me, ready to fend off any assault of junk mail. I inserted the key, turned it, and lo and behold, there lay an innocent-looking letter embossed with the SJI crest I had grown to know so well and love so deeply.
It looked innocent enough on the inside.
"Dear Matthew Yee, you are invited to the Founder's Day Ceremony on Monday, 7th April, at 8.00 am. Should you wish to attend, you may contact Ms. Joanna Tan at *insert email here* or call the school office at *insert number here* during working hours to confirm your attendance."
And then I saw it. In deep black Times New Roman letters of font size 11.
"I am pleased to inform you that you have achieved the Goh Sin Tub Literary Merit Award. Should you attend the ceremony, you will receive your prize. If not, it will be mailed to your home address."
What else could I do? I screamed with joy, vaulted my way up to the 7th floor, offered a silent thanks to God, my inspiration, and confirmed my attendance at SJI Founder's Day Ceremony 2008.
