I feel a little part of me changing

First ever leisure write for the new year - 2012 has finally arrived.
Whether the world gets swallowed whole, or my brains get ripped apart, I'm bent on making this year a more fulfilled one.

"The older we get, the less risks we take"

Before the label "student" gets stripped away from my designation, I want to try something I've never done before. I want to go on more solo trips, I want to learn the workings of the world, I want to see many new places, not go shopping on travels. I want to be armed with a trusty camera, a local map, a note book and pen, loose cash and be roaming down the beautiful streets of a new country. I want to see and experience a completely new lifestyle.

That was largely the driving force for my.... application to Seoul National University as a summer programme student. If the deal falls through and my application gets welcomed by both Universities, I can call myself an "exchange student from Singapore" when I get to Seoul in June. For a whopping 6 weeks. 6 weeks doesn't seem as long as 6 months, but I take what i can get.

Fingers crossed, toes curled.

Sacrifice all my sleep tonight or wake up early to finish this paper?
I still need to gather my energy for the 2 other papers to squeeze out.....
Analysis papers... Pleaaase dont be so painful to write.

Once again, the dark exam period looms.
Brain power, coffee breaks, crumpled paper, strewn pens... It comes to be so familiar to any student.
This year end, it brings along a certain feeling of greater freedom once the exam period tides over.

Let's do this :)
& Do this perfectly.

I know where my heart is

When would this be as clear as crystal for me too? Things currently seem like a bar-top blur.

Passion builds the world for the youth. It makes all things alive and significant - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Old Old friends

Over the last weekend, something really meaningful and heartwarming happened.

My old old friend from Hongkong flew to Singapore with his mum. We last met when my friend was 4 years old and me 7.

13 years ago, we held hands, probably running and squealing through the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari - the works.

13 years later, we (first) met, albeit awkwardly saying our hellos, then fell into continuous happy banter for the next 4 days to come. We talked, enjoyed the company, & we played like before. I was ever so reluctant for them to return to Hk, wishing they could just permanently stay in Singapore. As I watched them finish up their coffees, and walk to the departure hall, I never felt as lonely. Fearing I might just bawl, they smiled as they waved to leave. At that very moment, my friend pinched my cheek and gave me a huge smile & I felt like I was being the kid here. I could still whatsapp, facebook and skype them and I could still see their faces. We wouldn't have to talk every single day but we could make an effort to strike a conversation whenever we can.

Never felt this blessed and happy, & understood how friendships should be cherished.

Made promises to visit them in Hongkong end of the year (We never seem to make true promises to visit Hk for th past few years, feeling ultimately apologetic for it) & I hope that I could make this become reality no matter what.

I love you guys, from the bottom of my heart.

For letting me understand that the world's not just about worries and pressure, but also about the friendships we've forged and the people we care so much about.

Dates on a calendar

Dates are just numbers. Some numbers are more significant than others.

Tomorrow's another date, but it is significant in its own way.

So was today, so is a day in December, so is next year.

If each day is so significant, I need to remember them all.

Do i want to?

Thoughts to engage the gear in your brain

As a little child, girls would fancy themselves a handsome, armour-clad, white-horse-riding, one heck of a prince kinda gentlemen as their one true love. This dream of ours will most definitely disintegrate into millions of tiny glass fragments never to be remolded into their pristine state. In a much less destroying situation, it'll just be embedded into the hidden depths of our subconscious mind, occasionally filtered out as daydreams and make-belief.

Finding that handsome, intelligent, wealthy, romantic and strong partner (as a Prince, duh) is probably as hard (more likely harder) as digging for a needle in a haystack, ok, make it 10 haystacks. With the standards of beauty escalating through the roof in current times, the past "handsome" might be re-labelled as "average". So how could one find that perfect 100% beauty? High nosebridge? Humongous eyes? Double eyelids? Besides as the saying beauty lies the eyes of the beholder, the definition of beauty would definitely differ for reach individual. I'm straying from my original topic of "finding Princes".

Undoubtedly, appearances do matter, and first impressions count. I cannot dissent that an unkempt and messy person would be as desirable as a well-put, elegant counterpart. But if one takes outer appearance as the criteria for searching for their lifelong partner, I cannot emphasize how shallow this person is. Besides, taking care of one's outlook reflects their personality, somewhat. Beauty will fade with time (or with the makeup cleanser), and with other more compelling issues to tackle, like life expenses, family building, being Miss Universe or Miss Solar System will not make a difference.

As cliche as this may seem, its what's inside that counts. Chew on this: beauty might reel you in, but the personality is probably what hooks you on. Exchanging continuous banter, communicating well and thoroughly connecting is what is going to help 2 people live together throughout their lives. Not just staring at how pretty/handsome the partner is & keeping silent for the next 24h, 70ys of their lives.

Of course many might oppose this and this is just a written opinion but it's definitely something worth thinking about while searching for that perfect someone