The End Of College, The Start of Adulthood

       The end of the last MCQ A Levels Paper also marked the end of my college days and I just have to say... What an adventure! Of course, like any first days to any school, the beginning of the journey is always the hardest. Here i am, on the first few days (in the middle) with some of my Orientation Group Mates of whom some went on to be great, caring friends in my two years here of whom I am extremely grateful for like Clifford (most left) and Yash (2nd from left) and Gary. These are the people who first made me comfortable and settle in. Truth was, I hated the school during orientation days. On my first day, on the way back home alone, I weeped in the train and ranted to Akshat Hans over the phone, who btw went to another college and he, reassured me that it was just the start of the year. Here's a picture of us both before we entered college. (bottom left)

The people I met in the beginning, they were different from the cool, easy going people in Dunman- they were immature, reckless, selfish, and i hated it. It was just Wan, the lone ranger against the world of strange people, although the Dunman kids helped a lot during the adjusting period too. (Picture on the right, above) I LOVE running, cycling and just any book in the world especially classic ones but apparently, these interests sets you apart. But you see, my friends, the problem was not the school or the people in it, it has always been me. I was naive. I wanted these traits in people and I was finding 'ideal' people who never probably exists anyway. A week from the beginning, I started accepting people for who they are and not what they should be and looking back, that was the start of the epicly fun two years here. Below, is the most awesomest class in the world, 07/12. It feels just like home here and i could just be who I am. It was laughter and jokes without anyone dissing and blaming other people. The people here are extremely funny and way, way cool and awesome. Spent most of my first year with these sportsmen, Isaac, Edwin and Glen and they are great fun to be with. They are the re-founders of the dwindling Ultimate Frisbee Club and sometimes regret regret not joining with them. Topics never get old and yea, they all in the end up having interesting love lives in JC hahaha. Nice people, and they were the Three musketeers of the class. Here's me and them during clay-shooting practice(below left) and my classmates  below right hahaha. 

Later on in the year, the three musketeers fell apart perhaps partly and I got to know these other three guys, Yaosen, Yi Lun and Zhang Dong who surprisingly I found to be exceptionally entertaining. Really, so amusing and sweet. I came to TJC with the thought that Id never be friends with gamers and korean pop fans but boy, these guys make it seem like I enjoy these two and I am not kidding. These guys would walk half an hour to find a halal place for me to eat, train with me pull-ups at the end of everyday and argue about practically anything in the world. Zhang Dong, being a China-born is a half-hearted patriot, well-built (and shamelessly vain) and has a very hot girlfriend and he'd always give some crappy and stupid love advice that perhaps works only for him. Yaosen, is my goodness, the most thoughtful, caring and humble person I have ever met. He has been giving me the best advices on how to react to different people and gives the best love advice. Amusingly, after a year of pestering, he came clean with us, he wasnt exactly straight and really, that gave us three whole monthful of jokes. Yilun, is this rich kid with a loyal attitude. Funny and an expert in both billiards and online games. Oh and by the way, I detest online games and we'd argue about the pros and cons of anything in the world. These guys taught me to be chill in the most absurd situations and take life the easy way. Through them, I learned how to play billiards and bridge.

        When I came to TJC, I did not plan to have any friends. All I wanted was to be nice to everyone, and just study. Well apparently, its impossible. My studies had always been terrible entering JC. NEVER passed any Science Lecture Tests before, not even once and frankly, it was always me, Abigail and Ruth at the bottom three in class. My grades borderlined the 50th percentile, in the middle and that number soon fell anyways as I started getting distracted. Regretted not taking the academic scholarships in TJC though since I was eligible but that would have been a joke with my poor academic performance throughout. I was terrible in class mostly because few of my homeworks were ever done. Maths, I was blacklisted by this wonderful Mrs Goh for not doing my homework: 11 out of 13 times. Later on, she helped me pick up and achieve the confidence I needed for my A's and I am indeed greatly indebted to her. I had 5 detentions in total- one in J1 and 4 in J2, mostly for latecoming and once for truancy. I was a really bad example. please dont follow me.

   I joined soccer (above) together with one of my greatest friend, Marzuqi. It wasn't really a choice I'd even ponder on, he asked me to come and there I was on the pitch. The guys there were vulgar and real hilarious and having Mr Tong, our famous discipline master as teacher-in-charge only made it slightly bearable. The seniors were really caring and well, funny. Signed up as a goalkeeper and the next thing I know, despite my apparent lack of dribbling skills, I was put into the A Division Team to the dismay of many more deserving players. Playing in soccer made me really tanned and everyday, I gave my best and ended up with multiple injuries. Fractured my finger, scraped knees, and my bruised hips bled after every training. Soccer made me fitter and stronger. Not a single goal went into the back of my net for my first year and I played against Victoria, St Patrick, Dunman High and the seniors. Coach was tough on us, and it terrified me at times but Mr Tong was supportive and gave me alot of help. In fact, personally I thought he doted on me and he'd often talked to me. When Marzuqi left soccer, I was stuck in a dilemma. Mr Tong guaranteed me secretly a place in next year's A Div Squad, an irresistable bribe but without Marzuqi in the team, it didnt feel the same.... I realised my purpose there was actually to spend more time with that old guy. So I hung up my boots and ended the legendary streak of No:25, Wan. I focused myself on this curious little family.. MCS.

    Before I delve into MCS or malay cultural society, Id like to talk about the great teachers I had in TJC. There was Mrs Ivy Lim, my economics and form teacher who thought I was Malaysian and kept on referring me as the Malaysian till nearing the A levels hahaha. She is a really sweet teacher and asked how I was from time to time. Mr Desai, bonded so well with us, learning physics was so fun, he often made us laughing hard with his timely jokes and insults all the time. Mrs Goh, is my admiration and helpline. She knew whenever I had any problems and would spend hours just listening to me. I worked very hard for her eventually for my A Levels. Mr Foo, former chemistry teacher of whom once threw me out of class for eating bread. He told me I had an attitude of a mat and had a huge ego. Of course, no one will know if he is joking when he said that. Mrs Low, despite me failing every single test, always said I would do well eventually and beside the zero marks is always some words of encouragement. Mr Lee, this funny man, thought i was a Don Juan, always flirting with the girls and funnily, he caught me hundreds of times alone with some girl. 

     I loved this school a lot no doubt. Frankly, I never got a single letter from anyone back in secondary school but in JC, the fan mails are pouring like crazy. These are barely half of the letters I kept from people I treasure a lot. And here I found the greatest of all friendships just by being myself.

       And these people deserves special recognition. To Dini, my junior and senior at the same time, who kept me company at times when no one bothered to, who goes to the Stories of the Prophets lecture with me every Friday night, who knows my past and my feelings- the ultimate jigsaw puzzler. Who laughed at my jokes when no one thought it was funny, (That was pathetic laughter right?) of whom kept me connected to the family of MCS of which I felt outcasted and despised in my earlier years. To Divya, my dance partner and confidante. Who has special Thursdays with me at our secret corner of the school, where we'd rant about anything that moved and of whom has a million and one love tragedies to tell. Who abandoned me in my earlier days but of course, unable to resist my irresistable charm (heh heh heh), stood by me during my long days of studying and accompanied me in school till it was dark. Sometimes I wonder if my presence could suppress the party animal in her, this city girl. To Siyu, a strange lady for me, who never fails to distract me in class with her necessary stretching... cant be helped with those killer curves on her body. Who'd call me in the dead of the night to check how i was. Who'd willingly spend the entire day going out shopping, which is something I somehow like, watch movies, and cycle with me despite her many friends. Who'd taught me that no matter how different someone is, they have feelings.... and the yearn to belong somewhere. When you see someone in the eyes, sometimes you know the hell they have gone through. To Marzuqi, it would take hours to write this one but boy, all my stories somehow have you in the byline. You had always been my hero, a capable and deserving man. i am forever indebted to the joys you have brought and the epic sagas you have put into the chapters of my life. Remember to plan properly for our next meeting... dont wanna get lost all the time hahaha. To Ashwin, who taught me the path of the great. To lead me on. To remind me of the errors I have made in my past. To this future president, thank you for leading me to the right path-only you would understand this. To Humaira, well, that one my dear girl, you can bug me for a long list which you'd probably force me to anyways but oh wells, id have another post reserved for you.

    And finally, to the greatest of all families: The MCS family.

        This is the family I have grown to love and I miss all of them really badly. When i had everything I needed in TJC, I actually hated MCS and they were more foreign to me than the PRCs in my class. Always hanging out together, lepaking one corner, and basically very much... dull. The coldness... and bitterness I had felt during my first year in MCS, it scared me clean and I stayed away as much as possible. I left with an aching heart after every meeting, disappointed and heartbroken. I asked for a group study many times with the MCS people from the very start, it was something i had envisioned would befall the Malay Community in TJC but always it ended up to be mere idealistic aims. In the end, i fled to the welcoming arms of my China friends who could study and have fun at the same time. When all i saw was sadness in the eyes of the people of my race, I have never felt more useless and helpless... Being a treasurer in MCS was life changing for me. When I quit soccer finally, with much hesitation, Marzuqi invited me back in with welcoming arms and we worked together in many areas for our Semarak Event. That was when I slowly finally got to know the other ExCos. And I found them to be weird but nice people with really, really messed up but yet, wonderful stories. Eventually, after the priviledges of being a soccer boy got stripped, I was finally reliving the Malay part of me, playing kompang, performing silat, dikir barat... And I enjoyed myself. The people in MCS was wonderful and fun. It gave me happiness, sadness, anger, frustrations, disappointment but it gave me such an enriching experience. Through MCS, I went for the Student Congress and it helped me i guess, to be a facilitator for Orientation (below)

    

And basically more or less it capped one of the most entertaining two years in my life. Somehow, some people finds it a prison and truth be told, I loved the school a lot and it was never near a prison at all. When the juniors came in, and I got to know them... it became a mission for me to make them love this school and hopefully join the best CCA in the world, MCS- a refuge in this study hell. And I loved all the juniors so much. Looking back, if on my first day, I had chosen to find friends who shared the passion of running, cycling or reading, and rejected the avid gamers, dance enthusiasts, zealots and the likes... I guess nothing would ever be the same. Hopefully my next few years would be equally epic if not more.