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JOLENE
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2016
Thursday 5 January 2017
2016 was a trying year for me - I've experienced so much throughout the 366 days (yknow, since 2016 was a leap year) and I felt that I've grown just a bit. JANUARY I landed a job at IRAS with Si Yun, one of my greatest friends since Secondary school. We were at the frontline of the call centres: meaning, we had to pick up calls and answer any potential questions related to tax. We had a two week training prior to being on the line and I remember learning so much about how taxes work. It was eye opening and I've honestly felt I've benefitted so much! Schools don't teach you how to file your taxes; the society expects you to magically know how to do adult things like filing your taxes and paying bills. The work experience at IRAS also made me realise how competitive things can get in the office with politics (and KPI). FEBRUARY I was still working in the office but with newly forged friendships! More people were joining IRAS and I was able to make new friends with the later batches. To be honest, February wasn't much for me seeing that I was just making trips to and fro between home and office. It was just like the usual mundane work life of adults... which will be happening to me in just a few years' time. Gulp. MARCH ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISE! Oh boy, I waited for that trip for what seemed like forever. It was kind of like a congratulatory trip for me to celebrate the end of A Levels, and my beginning in Uni. The food was so delicious and the steak I had there was honestly the best steak I've ever eaten in my entire life (yes, I am aware that I haven't eaten much steak but still)! Also, I think March was the month when I was the heaviest - seeing that I didn't do much exercise but ate a lot. March was also the month of the release of my A Level results. I didn't expect much, to be honest. In fact, I was afraid that I'd score very badly for subjects such as Physics and Mathematics since those were my downfalls. In the start of 2015 in J2, my results were horrendous. It got to the point where I was about to give up entirely on myself and just resort to taking private A levels. But with the motivation and encouragement from An, I didn't let that hinder me and instead worked doubly hard in the later part of 2015 - and I got rewarded. My A Level results were not bad and I was genuinely very proud of myself. A part of me was so very afraid that history would repeat itself (read: O Levels, PSLE) and my results would fall short of my expectations. In fact, I'd braced myself for the worst when it was revealed that the average rank points for my class didn't even manage to hit the average rank points of the cohort. But thankfully, I pulled through together with An and we did well. APRIL 18 April felt like the best day for me - because it was the last day of work! Work was getting incredibly stressful because it was the tax filing season and the calls were blowing up. We had calls ranging from "Can you help me to file my taxes?" which would last us approximately 30 minutes, to "Can you help me check if you have received my filing?" or "Please expedite my request for..." going on non-stop, back-to-back, for the entire day (aka, 8 hours of work). I wrote a blogpost about work life and had a discussion in the comments section with Ter (lol). April was also the month where I've completely changed up my blogskin! I'm really proud of the overall design and how clean it is - so yes, I'll be keeping this one for a while more :) MAY UNIVERSAL STUDIOS SINGAPORE. That was my mantra and that was where I went every week, without fail. It was an amazing time! I felt like my friendships were getting gradually stronger with the friends I've been with and the whole period felt magical. USS is the main reason why Jia Yi and I got closer - seeing that it was the reason why we met up every other week to take Cylon and sing horribly with each other! This month was probably my favourite month of the year because it was relatively stress free (other than you know, Uni applications and interviews) and I felt that I could properly relax. JUNE I can't remember what exactly happened in June, but it was probably more USS. I believe I was still thinking really hard about Uni apps because I wrote a post about my struggle with choosing my subjects because I was unsure whether I should follow what society would like me to do, versus what I truly enjoy. JULY Cough, cough. I had chosen my Uni and my course (Nanyang Technological University, Business!), and had signed up for camps and applied for hall stay. It was another period where I was a tad bit stressed because I simply had no idea what I was doing. Uni is (yes, present tense) very new to me, and I didn't know what to expect. Nothing is spoonfed: either you search for what you want, or not get it at all. It made me understand and realise the sheer importance of initiative and I felt that I've learned a bit more. AUGUST The beginning of Uni! I attended the NBS FOC and had a blast. Made new friends, got introduced to the school compound (which is massive, by the way) and school was in session. Classes were interesting because I felt that I'm actually learning things that are helpful and that I like. It felt like a dream come true because I no longer hated what I was studying. SEPTEMBER Uni was getting progressively intense. Suddenly classes were teaching two to three topics per week and the online lectures were getting longer and longer. Mid terms for one of my mods was also fast approaching, and I had to start studying for it. Furthermore, I've also signed up for many other things in hall like JCRC Subcomm, and TSS! Uni life was beginning to turn into a busy mess. Thankfully, I've made some good friends in hall (read: Jimmy, Ivan, Jeremy) whom I'm so grateful for because they make hall stay so much better. My roomie isn't in 80-90% of the time, so dinners, study sessions and card sessions were always with them. OCTOBER I had my first exam in NTU, with my mid terms for, arguably, my worst mod. It was nerve wracking and so stressful, but I pulled through. The end of October was also the end of my relationship. I'm not sure if I didn't make it clear previously, but An and I broke up. We both posted on instagram with vague captions (lol) hinting that we were no longer a couple, but I guess it was way to vague that not many knew. The time I had with An was amazing. I grew so much and I feel like he's taught me and moulded me to become a better person. My general knowledge was also challenged and I feel that it wasn't a wrong relationship. It just... wasn't a right relationship. NOVEMBER FINALS. Enough said. Also, I made a rash decision and did something incredibly reckless at the end of the month - which resulted in extraordinary results. I'm thankful that I made that decision and I think being spontaneous and reckless sometimes is okay, now. DECEMBER Finals was over and it was time for a holiday! In Singapore, at least. Dance practices began and I got into better shape. I also had my first supper ever (!!!) on 31 December. December was a hell of a rollercoaster ride. I went out a lot more and made many new friends throughout the way - I think that's a small price to pay for invaluable friendships :) Also, I received my GPA for the semester and while it wasn't that bad, it wasn't something I had hoped for. Either way, damage has been done and I can only work harder for my next sem. With that, I conclude this summary of 2016. 2017, bring it on. 0 comment[s] |
