The end of one of my many semesters..

Today marks the end of my 1st semester in NUS Medical school.. Looking back at the past few months, it seemed that time was fast-forwarded, everything went by so quickly and I was, as usual, busy with so many things to do.. After looking back at this semester, I would say that it was nothing like I expected it to be!

I thought I had everything all planned out. I will walk closely with God, be super-alert in lectures so that I waste little time during revisions; I would then use that extra time to train for my various events, give tuition, lead the kids well in church, enjoy sunday football, etc.. In essence, I have planned to have a very well-balanced life in University, seeing myself grow in all areas of my life and developing into a better person.

Well..Things turned out ok in some areas and not so ok in others. To cut the long story short, my plans failed. I could scarcely summon the discipline that saw me through VJC when I trained 6 times a week for soccer. I did not make full use of the time given to me to do things of greater value. I simply wasted time, a gift always under-estimated.

Today, during my 3hr long CA2, I was taken aback by the paper. It did not seem as friendly as CA1, it was out to kill. I felt drained (something I never felt before during exams), reading the questions 6 times to focus my mind on it. I simply did not feel like doing the damn paper. I even comprehended walking out of the examination hall, but I did not. I took the time while doing the paper to reflect on where I've gone wrong this semester. What have I done and not done leading to me feeling this way now? Perhaps it was complacency, thinking that I did well in CA1, therefore CA2 will also be another walk in the park. Indeed, I have slacken off towards the 2nd half of this semester.. I thought of all the time wasted watching movies on my laptop during revision and mugging in the build up to my paper (a grand total of 19.5 movies - 0.5 as I haven't finished watching it).

There were so many things I've identified during this short 3hrs that could be improved in the next semester. I want to improve, I want to do justice to my plan, I must succeed! Well, amidst all the negative points, there are also positive ones. One that comes right off the top of my head is training with the NUS Aquathlon team.

I used to think that people in NUS Aquathlon was proud, unfriendly and all the bad stuff (I don't know why I felt this way, but yea..). After my 1st training with them, I realised that this was a group where like-minded people come together to do things that they enjoy. They were friendly, ever so ready to help with their 2 cents worth. The team bonding is really tight and it feels like family.

Therefore, the 1st thing I thought off after my very discouraging paper was to go for training later in the day at 7pm. I wanted to whack the sets and vent my frustrations in the pool, and most importantly, to meet my family in NUS. Training today was tough, with us completing 3.9km worth of sets. The breathing drill made me feel that I was earning my right to breathe; with each breath, I covered more ground with my strokes.

I felt strong in the water today. I remembered what Nicolas always tell me, "Feel like you're a knife slicing through butter." I felt like that knife today. It is a pity that I will miss training for a week as I will be leaving for Cambodia 7hrs from now for a medical mission. Will be doing my share of running and stretch cords with Shaun though. =]

I left training feeling better about life in general. Encouragement from Aldrich was really touching and it reinforces my theory that Aquathlon is more than a CCA, it is my way of life in NUS. I look forward to the new year and the new semester for it brings hope for improvements. I thank God that He revealed so much in my life that needs to be worked on. I will do my best, with God doing the rest.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. - Hebrews 11:1