How many times have you heard your friends or people around you saying that your 1st year in undergrad is a “honey moon year”?

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I am aware that this statement is very common place, but I am not one of those who would buy into such nonsensical statements.

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True be that the 1st year is often the discovery year, and people often advise to use the 1st Year to discover yourself, make good friends, find a partner (cough! cough!), join clubs etc, so that you get to experience the epitome of the student life experience!

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Heck, there’s even a saying that its not surprising if you find yourself feeling that you’re not in the right course!

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As stated in the beginning, I won't touch on what subjects to take, nor recommend you which subjects to take. I’m not in any position to say myself, even if I've gotten a 1st Class award.

 

How I got into my choice of study was taking a good hard look at my past, look at what I was interested in, and considered if my college subjects would enable me to pursue the topic in Undergrad level. (Education level: Kindies -> Primary -> Secondary (high school) -> pre-tertiary (college, matriculation, Form 6 etc) -> Undergrad -> Post-Grad …)

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And knowing the course I chose wasn’t going to be easy, I was ready to take things quite seriously, and all this “honey moon year” statements were just BS.

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So unfortunately (or fortunately) for me, I started focusing on my modules right off the bat. Thankfully my results were sufficient enough to warrant me a year overseas in the UK for my 2nd Year of Undergrad studies, and it was truly a wonderful and positive experience.

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There were a total of 7 of us eligible for the exchange program, and we were brought together into a closer knit than we could ever have compared to when we were still in our local campus.

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I think its kinda natural, given that if you’re a minority in a foreign country, you would rely on any contacts from similar places of origins to get your around bearings.

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So other than them, I also had great pleasure of meeting other people in a really nice church near my accommodation. I already had intentions of looking for one in the UK, but I didn’t join them immediately, and I can't quite recall why…

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But nonetheless, joining those really genuine people really made the difference to my experience being overseas, and I’d honestly love to turn back time and join them again…

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And speaking of memorable people, there is one REALLY unexpected person that allowed me to fulfil one of my long standing wishes…

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You see… More often than not, it is the random acts of kindness of random people that really touches us, and it often inspires us to do more good and treat others with kindness.

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In this case, a janitor made my wish come true: my wish to play on a Steinway Grand Piano...

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FYI, The campus I was in had a Music Department, and within the department, was the treasure among all other available pianos…

 

The Moon amongst the stars if you may…

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An 8 feet Steinway Grand Piano.

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It was often locked away in the auditorium, and was only used during rehearsals or saved for special occasions. And non-music students weren’t allowed to touch it (so said a staff when I asked if I could have a booking with it…)

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Also back then in Autumn/Winter when I started my 2nd Year, I always woke up early to be the first to reach the music department, which opens at 8am, to practice my pieces.

 

And more often than not, it was the kind janitor that always opened up the doors for me to enter before 8am or if I arrived earlier like 7.45am or before.

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Even though we didn’t talk much, our short exchanges in the mornings we met kinda made us know each other, and I’d recognize her even if she wasn’t at the music department.

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So towards the end of the year on one fine day, I decided to try my luck to be able to play on the Steinway.

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Alas when I arrived that day, the hall was closed…

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And guess who helped me out to get the auditorium opened and piano unlocked, together with all the stage lights?

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It was the janitor. The very same janitor.

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I had asked if it was possible to use the Steinway, and she waved a hand and simply said:

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"Oh absolutely! Let me have it opened up for you!"

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And off she took the keys from the office, and had everything ready.

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I had only seen the piano in the dark, and couldn’t really see its magnificence, but under the gentle and warm yellow lights, it was one of the most beautiful pianos I had ever seen.

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After that, I spent about 2 hours within the auditorium and got a few videos recorded, and just had an amazing time having the hall all to myself…

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So what has all these stories about having friends and having a janitor help me out gotta do with all the mumbo jumbo I mentioned at the start of the series?

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Looking back, the 2nd Year was a very precious year. Not only did the exchange program to the UK allowed me to experience things that weren’t simply possible back at home, it also brought together some relationships that wouldn’t have been otherwise possible… and replaced what I had lost back then in college:

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"Connections and memories."

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Remember how I said I lost all contacts from college and The Flat?

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Throughout my 2nd Year, experiencing the events that I’ve shared and beyond, I’ve made more friends than I could have hoped for compared to when I was in college, and I certainly made many great memories that year…

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Travelling with friends, organizing the trip itinerary, experiencing real snow for the first time…

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Those memories were more than enough to exorcise whatever remaining bad spells that haunted me through my lowest times in college…

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Honestly, things would have been really different had I not fought for the exchange program, which funny enough, turned out to be some sort of a recovery pilgrimage for me （笑）

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And one that I would always treasure and regard as one of THE best years I’ve had….

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And thanks to the people I’ve met along the way… I’ve learnt a valuable lesson, and one that I will share with you:

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Just because you had bad experience with people, doesn’t mean you deserve any less to meet good people.

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I could have easily just gotten through 2nd year without much bother about other people, but being around positive people gave me the courage to learn to pick myself up better and learned to trust people more.

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But more importantly, they allowed me to experience the bonds of what it really means to have a group of friends around you… and have fun together.

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And being with them for an extended period of time, the wounds from the past were tended to more efficiently, new memories replaced old and redundant ones, and eventually… they were no longer visible.

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Today, its been 2 years since I came back from the UK… and boy do I miss the time when I was there…

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So to sum up this entire yappin’ session, I could drop some real lame single liners, or probably say something awesome, but then again… I’m not into clichés, so I’ll leave you with this:

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We all have our own ways to get over bad memories and experiences, just like I have my own ways of coping with pain and disappointment. But ultimately… the best way to do so is to:

 

"Be with positive people and pay it forward by being kind to others."

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And who knows… You might just be the one to make a difference to someone you meet...

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So till then, I hope you would be able to belong to a group of friends, that won’t just be friends, but a group that will truly

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"Make a difference to your being."

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Thanks for reading till the end, and I’ll see you in the next Chapter, buddy!

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