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Sunday, March 18, 2012 @ 1:36 AM
Some thoughts Just have this urge to post something here after a very very long while. Especially since another YL has passed and there has been a sudden outpouring of thoughts on it by you guys here and juniors alike. Before all have to thank XiaoQi and CaiJing for making the effort to update us on this year’s YL, especially since many of us would have liked to been there but were not able to be there. Think that the way you all and the rest who attended the campfire handled the entire activity pretty damn well, so great job! Not sure about the rest, but I really wanted to attend the junior’s YL this year (but evidently the government had other plans for me). Wanted to re-experience many things which have left a mark on me, wanted to see how the new batch of juniors were like, and more importantly wanted to see how 37th did their part as instructors. In addition to these, would also have liked to share some things that I have realized since taking a tiny step out from school. The latter which I guess explains why I am writing now. I have always thought that YL is something that is very special. I am particularly impressed by how each batch’s YL experience seems so unique yet common at the same time. Unique on a personal level, when one looks around the school compound and understands that few have ever cleaned the classroom floor with their own clothes, survived hell in a classroom with 20 other people, or screamed at the top of their lungs outside the school hall; yet outstandingly common when a casual goggle search draws dozens of results from so many other batches recounting the similar shit they once went through. In this way, YL becomes a strong adhesive through the batches, an assured common topic of conversation between a 17 and 47 year old, a common experience that becomes exclusive only to a select few. This is special. The heritage of YL is quite awe-inspiring too. In the QM room lies a box which contains a box filled with YL booklets. I remember seeing a few in which the decorations were all hand-drawn, where the fonts were all of a single kind – the typewriter kind, and where the photos of participants showed them wearing the damn thick glasses. Looked through their home numbers and addresses, and wondered if they were still valid. If I don’t recall wrongly, ever read that the first few YL’s were held at Pulau Tekong before it was used for military purposes. Such interesting snippets of the illustrious history of YL just adds to its flavor. Personally, my two YLs have also etched some unforgettable moments and images into my mind. Acutely remember seeing Zheliang’s face and listening to his encouragements from the bottom of the table as I held the inclined pull-up position; the holding of push-up position outside school hall as we balanced the pole above our bags, with my sweat running down my forehead like some freaking tap (and me cursing Guenyik like hell under my breath, seriously); of smily and joyce’s “cheer up guys” during supper after the dorm recrea; waking up to commanche’s sentry and sleepwalking to guenyik’s group sentry too; quarreling over the using of shirts to clean floor. For the YL we organized, remember spending one entire day in school doing action plans from morning till night – when derrick and I planned to run in the morning naively thinking we could finish by lunch; of feeling quite depressed and guilty when the trainees fell out one after another during dorm recrea due to injury – yet comforted by the immense amounts of spirit shown by the guys during dorm cleaning; of the cold, rainy morning the day we were to set out ubin, resulting in a mad rush to pack all logs; and of us hiding upstairs during the final mroc, listening to Bingru’s temple story LOL ;) *Added in: Oh, also remember the rain during land-ex which made the whole atmosphere so down, during which we walked to heaven’s ladder by mistake under the astute guidance of Jeremy – following which he decided to wallow in self-despair by putting down his hood and walking by himself ahead of the group in the rain (while we were laughing like hell at him behind). Also recall doing the PSC psychological test immediately after FA mob, during which I just slept at every possible interval between the barrage of hundreds of MCQ questions. Went through 2 YL’s, and each gave me a different set of experience and emotions. The YL we went through as trainees can be summed up by the single word of “agony”. The whole process was just so damn painful and tough on a personal level. It was mentally tough, but I most fondly recall it by the many times I really pushed myself to my physical limits – and even now after I enter army I still think that YL was one of the few times when I really was pushed that hard. I recall that the last clearing of dorm counts was well expected by us, and we were talking about it during our height elements. Yet no amounts of preparation could have prepared me for the sheer pain holding the stupid pull-up position. The last recrea for pre-camps was also pretty much hell for me, holding the push-up stance for like ages while Guenyik just kept screaming at us to keep our back straight. Ironically the last MROC was the most slack of all, remember we had to carry jerry cans there and so on but comparatively felt that it was quite ok. The 2nd YL we organized was more of a learning experience for me. An enriching period in so many ways that really catalyzed much growth within me. The period was quite a tough time for me personally, mostly because in addition to the heavy CCA commitments which took up the weekdays and weekends (triathlon and bike rally remember?), also had stupid H3 which really left me grasping for straws. Also because a batch-strength of 13 minus quite a few due to many other reasons left us with a working strength of a single digit, and there was just so many things to be done and thought through. Lol time and manpower were in such paucity we had to just edit the previous year’s banner, speaking of which brings up another memory of a few of us mixing the colours and trying to edit the banner without making it look cheapskate. To be honest, in the immediate aftermath of our YL I didn’t really feel that we were suddenly bonded together more strongly as a batch. The YL we organized gave me the impression of one that was presented well, despite some undercurrents in the preparation of it. I thought that workload of the preparation was very unevenly distributed and fell upon a few shoulders only, though everyone did play their part. Which is why I feel that while YL has really led to much growth on a personal level, that of the batch has to be attributed to other aspects like bike hike etc. After the YL we organized, I was really more concerned over how our juniors saw it. I really hoped it would be as enriching, if not unforgettable, for them as it had for me, and that it has served its purpose as a meaningful rite of passage into OAC. Hoped that they could accomplish as a batch what we have achieved and more, and have effectively bonded them together. Biggest source of comfort was really seeing that more than anything, that they enjoyed themselves despite the hell that it was. The 2 YLs have really affected me, but more than that I would like to extrapolate to how my experience in OAC has had an effect on me in more ways than one. The realization of the things I have gained come not as a result of an active searching of it, but it has really come by itself subtly as I make my natural progression out of school into many other things. For one, the practical skills learnt in OAC has been more useful to say the very least. I think for the females it may not be exactly true, (especially since my sis says that she has about discarded all knowledge of knots since graduating), yet I do strongly feel so. Taking upon the job as instructor for InnoTrek meant that skills like belaying, outdoor cooking, campfire preparation and emceeing, leading groups for land and sea expeditions – keeping spirits high while ensuring safety become very relevant. It is really due to prior experiences in all this that made my time there as smooth-sailing and enjoyable as it was. More significantly, it was very heartening to realize that much of what we have learnt have practical usage in the real world. Aside from my temp job, my short time in army has also made me realize how much OAC has aided me. This was especially relevant during field camp where we had to set up basha tents, do outdoor cooking, powder bath etc, things that you approach with familiarity when it is very much to the contrary for others. Standards enforced in YL like standing in file, keeping dorms clean, punctuality, helping others, uniformity, things which are essentially similar as what is enforced in the army. It is also the experience one has had cleaning dorms that leads to the raising of an eye lid when your bunk mates claim that the bunk is clean after a casual sweep of the floor. And then there is SIT test (test to determine eligibility for command school) where a sound knowledge of basic knots immediately places you at a position to lead the team. So many things I did and lessons learnt during my time in OAC which I were not conscious of during my term, that only comes pouring back after I have departed school. This I must thank OAC greatly for, and it is with this I also urge any junior reading this to appreciate the lessons you are going through right now, like seriously right now. Aside from practical skills, also gained so many other intangible things. The experience of organizing so many events and things profoundly affected the way I plan for things now, while the intense period of BikeHike + H3 + Academics + Personal Issues also led to my conscious planning of my very limited amounts of time, a skill which came in useful when later preparing for my As. More than anything, gained 12 very good mates, countless batches of seniors, and 2 (for now) batches of great juniors. And I read the junior’s blog about how the commitment to keep in touch dilutes with time, and it is certainly weird knowing the sad fact of such, while experiencing it first-hand now. On a personal level, I do want us to keep in touch, probably more so than others because my form class isn’t exactly the most bonded given the odd mix of nationalities and boy-to-girl ration and so many other factors. Yet at the same time we are all advancing in different directions, and I am quite sure that each of us feels awkward at proposing anything to keep in touch, fearing it would inconvenience our individual pursuits. At least for me it is the case la. So many different paths we are undertaking: 3 bald heads, 2 in Malaysia, more than a few working, while the rest are probably tied up with applying for Uni or whatsoever. Yet this awkwardness will only intensify with time wouldn’t it, exemplified by a short trip back into our senior batches’ blogs. Speaking of which it has been almost a month since we met. Meet next week, onz? Sze Yuan |
