G-G-G-GRADUATION

18th May 2013

After years of studying in Taylor's, we finally have a legit reason to camwhore with these gigantic letters.

I am so proud and blessed to be able to graduate with a degree y'aaall! I have a Bachelors in Science (Hon)(Architecture)! Not very glamorous but it's a pretty unbelievable achievement in my part. It's made official today that my degree has finally come to an end, and soon, if all goes as planned, I will be able to pursue a masters degree in the UK (cross your fingers, hope and pray).

Before I get to the big day, I need to explain something. For those who didn't know, I was nominated to be the valedictorian this year by Mr. Tony. It was pretty random but super nice of him to even consider me, let alone throw an architecture student into a completely new situation like this. I accepted the nomination, went for auditions and even went for many days of training.

I had to compete with other students from different courses to get the position (which was like whaaa? Caught off guard much?) but was beaten at the very last audition (which basically made me the runner-up/back-up) by a student from MassCom. It disappointed me so much to not be able to speak during our big day, because I wanted so badly to make my family proud; seeing me as valedictorian, and to have my friends and classmates cheer and laugh along with me while I deliver my speech. But alas, sometimes, things just don't go as planned, so it's okay. Just accept it.

The actual valedictorian did a great job nonetheless! She's actually very friendly, spoke well and was very cheeky! Haha. She made references to Mass Comm, which most of us didn't understand but everything else was pretty good and entertaining.

Since I didn't get to deliver my speech, I'll just leave what I wrote here on my blorg for friends to read. Try to imagine me speaking with a very serious face on stage. LOL! TRY. Haha. So here it is ...

"A very good morning to the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor, the Board of Directors, Deans, Program Directors, Lecturers, beloved parents and family members, fellow graduates, ladies and gentlemen.

Hi everyone! Welcome to your convocation, the start of a new chapter in our lives. After 3 long years of studying Architecture, (pause) well, what else can I say but … Congratulations! It has all boiled down to this.  I’m so very proud to say that, we’ve all made it.  

I, personally, will NOT miss those many sleepless nights, not being able to keep track of dates and forgetting when submission is. Nor will I miss watching the sunrise while making balsa wood models or even drawing lines on AutoCad. And how about those long nights on Photoshop and then suddenly, “Adobe Photoshop is not responding” before you could even save your work ... or worse yet, “File is corrupted”?! Aiyooo. 

After all that, we have made it. GOOD JOB GUYS.

For all of you who do not know, I’m from the School of Architecture, Building and Design here in Taylor’s. Many of you may understand architecture as only designing buildings, and I'm very sure that the first thing that will appear in your mind, when we talk about architecture, is a skyscraper.

But no, architecture's not only about buildings, it's about the passion of art and design, the growth of skills in communication, the people you meet and learn to love and respect, it's about gaining experience and most importantly, during degree, understanding your role as a devoted student - at least for me, a devoted architecture student. 

Nelson Mandela says, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. So, now that you are well armoured … what is your next move?

Each of us has experienced different things through our journey here, in my case, in “Architorture”, and though I cannot speak for everyone in my course, let me share with you my personal experience.

I was never an over-achiever when it came to studies, especially when I was in high school. I didn’t care much about my grades or of what my teachers thought of me, (pause) but somehow, that changed when I joined Taylor’s. I became very competitive, neurotic, a perfectionist when it came to my work. I tried so hard to be the best, but would easily be disappointed by my own performance when I didn’t reach my goals.

I’m sure many of you here in this very hall have experienced similar emotions.

It was frustrating, tiring and it drained all the energy out of me. I had so many emotional breakdowns that the slightest problems would make me burst out into tears. It felt like I was having a quarter life crisis. I kept asking myself, “WHYYYYY?! WHY AM I DOING THIS?! WHAT’S THE POINT?!”.  

Soon after, I realized, it wasn’t about competing or being the best. We were not in a competition. It was about learning new things, making mistakes and doing your best at what you love. If you failed, then you failed. You cry, you suck it up, you get back up on your feet, and then you learn from your mistakes. That is what I have learned from being in Taylor’s.

As the saying goes, 

“Good judgement comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgements”.

After going through harsh battles with yourself, you learn to let go of all the negativity, and then everything becomes enjoyable and fun. You realise that even when you’re stressed out, at least you have friends who are as equally stressed out with you.

My friends and I have won a couple of competitions, the best one being the PAM Exhibition Booth Competition back in 2011. To us, all of the hardships, arguments and all-nighters did not break us, because now we have memories, and also an award or two to reminisce upon later in life. This is all part of us growing as individuals.

Throughout this journey of struggles and perseverance, I think I speak on behalf of my fellow graduates when I say, we couldn’t have done it without the love and support of our family and friends. Thank you so much for everything you have done for us! We love you very much! 

We also couldn’t have done it without the guidance of our lecturers from Taylor’s that have patiently tolerated us naughty students for 3 whole years. To lecturers who have given us opportunities to try new things and trusted us to represent the university in competitions, we thank you. We hope we have done you proud! Thank you so much for your wisdom and care.

Graduates, now, I’d like to invite you to please stand up.

To our wonderful parents, family members, beloved friends and especially the respected educators in our lives who have been there for us throughout this journey, this super loud round of applause is especially for you!

To the graduating classes of 2013, I speak on behalf of everyone here when I say, thank you for the great memories. Thank you for the life lessons. Thank you for making my years in Taylor’s wonderful. Once again, a great big CONGRATULATIONS! We have made it!

Thank you!"

SO ANYWAY, we had our convocation at Taylor's Lakeside's Grand Hall. 4 years of my life boiled down to 3 seconds of smiling on stage and accepting an red empty scroll tube thinggy. Haha! The ceremony itself was boring and I was sleepy like shit. The fun began after the ceremony, photo-taking session + eat + play + eat again with my friends and family. Hehe!

WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST LOOK AT MY PARENTS? My dad looks like such a typical professor and my mother, like such a mak datin. Hahaha. There's my sister on the right awkwardly smiling. They got me a bouquet of daisies (which my mom wanted for the house, not for me LOL) and a teddy bear whee! Hahaha. My dream of owning this bear when I graduated has come true! Haha.

The obligatory shot in front of the Taylor's Education blocks. Just to prove that I studied there (LOL). My parents tak reti senyum larh. You would think that my mother would be excited to be next to her graduated anak bongsu while holding a graduation bear. I'm sure she was, she just lacks the ability to express her emotions through her face (hahahahaha).

Since I refused to pay for the portrait packages Taylor's was providing, I used my polaroid to take a photo of myself in a robe instead. HAHA! Turned out better than I expected! Didn't think I could pull of such a decent expression. One of my favourite photos of myself thus far + favourite of fam and I (despite not having my brother there).

Here's (almost) all of us, posing for a photo in front of the library, for whart I believe to be the last time EVER. Don't we look gorgeous?! We're so colourful! 

This is a favourite of mine too! Top one is showing off our gorgeousness, bottom is just so candid that I love it! Hahaha. Pretty girls in the middle while handsome guys guard us at the sides. LOL!

"LOR". Hahaha. Thanks Mr. MC Yap for the gorgeous photos! :)

By the time it reached 4pm, we were practically dying of starvation, since many of them didn't eat the whole day/we missed lunch. We were too busy camwhoring with family and friends to realize our stomachs growling. So we went to Serai for late lunch and then headed over to Simba's place to rest; before heading to our dinner partay/round 2 of food. 

At Simba's, we had a mask/ghost party! Haha. Okay larh, we were just tired and our faces felt sticky so just felt like cleaning up a little. Hydrated our faces with FaceShop's mask sheets, because, I quote Teck Hong when I say, "I'm thirsty".

Kita hantu. Hai.

We put eyeliner on the sexy boys to see how it looked and to my surprise, they are so into it. HAHA. Aspire to be K-Pop superstars at heart! NAO IS THEIR CHANCE. They actually look very good ok. I accept! Haha.

Soon after, we headed over to Subak at Bukit Lanjan, near Simba's place. I'm so happy with this place man! I've been wanting to go her for ages, and it didn't disappoint! Such a pretty place with pretty good and affordable food. We spent a long time there talking and taking photos. Cantek!

Look at these monyets, ber-drama under the vines! Hahaha. They abused me and my phone. I have like a hundred more photos of them acting coohl. HAHA! But in all honesty, the place is so photo ready! So pretty seriously! And it was fun, exploring the restaurant and making noise (sorry to other customers, we are like a walking pasar malam when in a big group). 

This photo marked the end of our graduation day celebration. It was a really great day larh! It's always best when we get to spend lots of time together (nowadays, we either just meet for dinner or dessert and it's for like an hour or so jer. Sad). I love you guys forever!

Anyway, to my family, thank you for attending my convocation! Means a lot to me. 

And to friends and classmates, CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN! We're degree graduates! We have a BSc! Proud day for all! Good luck with your future endeavors, be it marriage, travelling, work or studies, and I wish you to have all the happiness and luck in your new adventures ahead! 

Cheers to a fresh, new journey!