Brother Paul, in a farewell note to the school wrote in September 1997, “It was an exciting time to be in SJI. I shall not miss those steaming hot curries or the occasional chilli, but will miss the warmth of the boys, the staff, the former students, the many friends I have made. It was the greatest decision I ever made when I accepted the invitation to come to Singapore in 1992. I never regretted it.”
Brother Paul’s words beautifully summed up in 63 words, 271 characters, 4 lines and 4 sentences memories that have also characterized the 4 years of my life in SJI. When I say this, I speak of the laughter, the moments of silence in the sanctuary, of pockets of loneliness and quiet, of heartfelt emotion at graduation, of stress and pent-up frustration when the exams draw near, and also of the qualities of resilience and humility fencing training have taught me.
I still recall the time when I first stepped into the school campus on the first day of school. 6.30. The structures were still bathed in surreal, early morning light, with the only light sources being the canteen and the administration block. Back then, as a blur kid fresh from PSLE education wearing my shorts high high, I was overcome with doubts, fear, uncertainty of what my secondary school life would bring. I had stepped into a totally different environment. At the tender age of 12, it was my first experience of life in a boys school.
Here was a mission school which had strong faith, with teachers, and with other boys, some who were my age, others older than me. In primary school, we were the big bosses and the big brothers, and other smaller fries looked up to us. Now the tide has turned once again in the ever-changing world order. We are the small ones now, and there were the new bigger fish we looked up to.
4 years on, I look back and realize what a fruitful 4 years this has been. In terms of intellect and the powers of reasoning, I am now definitely more seasoned, hardened by the grueling years of exam preparation that make up the greatest nightmare of a student. In terms of grades, I am sure that rest of my batch also has done equally well for the Os; Kuenny must have been delighted to hear the news that SJI obtained 100% distinctions for art.
Yes we all did well, but looking beyond the grades at graduation shows so much more. I have since gotten used to living in a boys’ school, so much so that I think that being a boys school has become part of our heritage. The bonds we forged through the 4 years have made us stick together thru thick and thin, keeping each of us going. In fact my friends were sometimes the only reason I came to school for. They were the ones who gave new meaning to school life and without them, life to me would have been just like a black and white film. Of course there would always be a bunch who r the hypocrites, good for nothing, stab u in the back assholes. But in light of all the good things that I have experienced in the course of the 4 years, I am willing to overlook this. My policy is to forgive but not forget. Life is anyways not always perfect, but if u just treasure the good, uplifting moments and always look on the bright side of life, u’ll never feel down.
Then there are the OBS camps, ACE camps, SJFA camps, LLTC, not forgetting the saturday trainings, fencing competitions. I shall not even forget the simple stuff like the recesses and what happens between classes(always different; sometimes there are people playing soccer, sometimes there are a particular species who change their boxers in class.)
Preparing for SJFA camp was quite and experience, and OBS really tested the boundaries of my physical activitites at Ubin (I was mobile). Fencing competitions were the scene of my greatest setbacks, struggles, triumphs and tyco-shots. One match:3 mins-2 sessions of training per week-1 point-1 shot-1 kill-1 winner.
Now at NJ, I truly miss the trainings I had back then. It was a way to keep fit and also an outlet to vent the week’s anger and frustration at your opponent. Dam cool. The feeling after a match is better than the high u get when see chiobu walking past.
Sadly, despite given many opportunities, SJI wasn’t a place where I honed my leadership skills. Not that I had any anyway. Maybe I’m a late developer and leadership skills come/will come late in my life…at 60 perhaps, where I shall join opposition party and become the next chee soon juan haha.
I also salute those teachers who really tried their best to teach us and make us understand abstract concepts like permutations and molecular structure. Kudos to Foo Lee hua, Hsu Chau To, Tan Sia Hui, Uma Chong, Mrs Tan Choy Ping, Lee Siew Lian, Mrs Tan Lai Kuen who helped class 409 to get thru the prelims and the o level paper. U teachers rock.
And not to forget my spiritual life at SJI. The first thing that came to my mind were the morning prayers in the chapel were I supplied the musical tinklings on the organ every Thursday and Friday, and sometimes on Monday. It was thru all these that I really grew to understand what it was like to lead a Christian life. (Christian as in Christ-like, not Christian which nowadays can mean those new age cell groups and denominations that have proliferated of late.) The Catholic in me still lives on of course, but somehow it seems different now after leaving SJI.
Yep that more or less sum up the 4 years of what this boy has experienced. Being a Josephian is not just abt aceing the grades, wearing a uniform or even enjoying SJI canteen food. Its all these plus the friendships u’ve gained, leaving u wif memories u’ll never leave behind. Its almost like a lifestyle, if u noe what I mean. Looking back, there is of course that feeling of sadness and nostalgia for something long gone and I guess I didn’t really treasure the moments I had there when I was still there, so I suppose we should learn to be optimistic and forward-looking. Cherish the moment. U only live once, but if u do it right, once is enough.
