On Commencement

It's official. I have graduated.

To me, it signifies not just the end of an university education, but the closure of my life as a student. Other than the intermittent 2 years in national service, I spent the majority of my life in school (from kindergarten to university) and it has been a major contributor to who I am today.

I used to hold very simplistic view of education when I was young, thinking that the sole purpose of it was to ensure that I could get a decent job in the future. It could have been shaped by my parent's expectations unconsciously, since I am probably the first graduate in the family.

In the past, I worked hard to meet my parents expectations, just like how a kid will work hard for a good reward, I did it for attention when my parents were too busy working. Life was difficult for my parents, since they had to take care of many children and didn't really had the opportunity to study in the past. But things still have to carry on no matter what.

I briefly remembered how depressed I was when I first failed to achieved what I wanted (to get into the triple science stream). It was a hard struggle, because I have realized that not everything goes according to pure effort.

It has been my dream to be a scientist (kids almost have the same dreams) so when that particular door closed I was particularly sad. But new doors opened for me and I worked hard to re-chart my course (by going to JC). I thought it would give me another opportunity to decide my future aspirations.

And that was when I realize the value of education. I have to thank my literature teacher in PJ, Mr Eddie Koh (strangely I have an affinity with the name "eddie") for this. It was the first time I took up literature after secondary 2 and it was vastly different from then. I was amazed by what literature had to offer - a new perspective in seeing and I voraciously seek out new knowledge.

By the time I reached NUS, I was empowered with a new vision of education. The very act of pursuing new knowledge captivated me. Being a pragmatic person, I was still interested in getting good grades, but I started deriving more satisfaction from the process.

In this case, I particularly have to highlight Dr Eddie Tong for the inspiration. I understood that the process of knowledge creation requires the hard work of many and appreciated it. Education is more than just having a paper qualification. It has become a lifestyle for me.

Now that my time as a student is over, it is my turn to be an active contributor of education. I am committed to applying the skills I have learnt into the work I will do professionally in the future. "While I live, I learn" was the motto in JC and remained apt even till now.

It has been a great 4 years and I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to learn.