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A level year. Song of my life following the June common tests: Iridescent by Linkin Park. Google the chorus and try to empathize with the panicky kid who just couldn't chemistry.
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Graduation year.
Sometime back, us in the Yearbook Team had this bright idea of getting everyone from the graduating batch to contribute a word that summed up their REP journey. [Soz if spoilers for Renaissance Night but it was our idea first ;)] While that plan eventually lost its way and joined the pile of rejects, I kept my word close. No prizes for guessing which word I picked but really, it was the first thing that popped up in my mind. Unwarranted lightning-fast notions sometimes come with a dubious feeling, so I mulled for almost a week trying to find a better word. Well, nothing. Therefore I had to answer to myself why I somehow felt that my REP journey was, of all things, "iridescent". Seems an unconventional allusion, but it all comes back to the definition.
Colourful should be self-explanatory. But in case it isn't... For such a small course the range of characters within it is extraordinary. Haha, and so are the things we get up to together - let's just say that the RPR lives up to its moonlight name xD [Non-REP friends, RPR stands for Renaissance Project Room and is our main classroom by day. After hours though, the 'P' stands for something else.] In Y4 we came back to an influx of unfamiliar faces, and there was definitely some initial uhh aversion (i.e. omg who are all these strangers in the RPR using the printer?!). Well, things got better! Unlike long ago, there are now too many people in the course for everyone to know everyone else's names. So it's good enough for me that I can count friends from across batches. It's something of fortune really, to be part of an environment that allows and encourages people to connect. Everyone is unique, talented in their own way, and has something to bring for the benefit of everyone else. When it matters though, we're all one REP family, one colourful community.
To create a shine, you need the light. Indeed, some of the brightest moments in my life were possible because of REP. Yea, there's that one-year exchange, heavy school support, guaranteed hall stay (this is pure gold for a pasir ris girl)... Everyone knows that. But all the promotional material in the world cannot convey the true experience of being in this course. There's something about the way we were "brought up" here, and it's a sort of environment which I think is extremely rare in tertiary education. Our relationships with one another can be attributed in part to this environment. Because we don't have to compete amongst ourselves, for grades or whatever, we have the full liberty of helping each other out and contributing in almost any way possible. People are extremely unselfish here! Just one example - where else do you get classmates who compile and share notes, and even hold revision lectures for everyone else's benefit? And the history of this goes back to Y1. All this time, I've never been denied help as long as I asked for it, both in academics and out, and I think I've been able to help others in my own ways too. Aside from the wonderful year of exchange and all the other benefits, there are many of these "small and normal" things that hold light in themselves. We are privileged.
One thing we cannot forget though, is that there cannot be shine without the shadow. Without moments of darkness, light is simply blinding/flat/2D - hard to appreciate. Everything is relative, like if you're high all the time you stop feeling so, and so that's where the tough times become essential. Working late into the night and walking back to hall in the dark is a staple of REP life. And then, there's the bigger, scarier things such as feeling lost in a foreign land. Eventually most things turn out fine, and the tougher the experience, the greater the armour and feeling of triumph. Same theory goes for people who come to give hell and teach us uncertainty - they allow us to appreciate those who are genuinely there for us, who care for us and guide us along. The best thing about going through all these though, was knowing that I was never alone. It's true that people bond through adversity, even through horrible times where the worst is always yet to come. We all have the memories to prove it. [It's also safe to say now, that all these years I've never really minded going over to the hall 8/9 side for meetings. Because at the end of crazy days, the walks back to 11 were always moments of serenity in the cool night.]
REP is challenging no doubt, but that's really what helps us grow (fast). We don't face the scary stuff alone anyway; we've got friends to walk with over all those mountains and valleys, sharing the greatest experiences and creating the best memories. It's a journey right? Well today was the end of it all, the final time we'd leave lighthearted from an exam hall as classmates to proceed with our shenanigans at the nearest malls. But those are stories for another day. When writing this post I faced a sobering transition - from today on, I can no longer write about my REP days in present tense. Please pardon any confusion this time round, it's all in the spirit of moving on.
So I guess now's a good time to zoom out and take a look back at the entire picture... That's where I see this glittering myriad of colours that makes REP iridescent, makes it beautiful.
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| End of Y2S2 (May 2014). I vaguely rmb there being this feeling of "graduating" coz we were all going our separate ways for one year. |
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| (Almost) End of Y5 (Dec 2016). Well look now, graduation's really here. |
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