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UB Fall '15 Orientation Camp

Going for my uni orientation camp turned out to NOT be the worst/best decision of my life. Ever since I received the information that there would be a camp, I was constantly hopping on either side of the fence, debating with myself about whether I should go, or just give it a miss.

Some people told me not to bother going. Deep in my heart, I really did not want to go either. I've always hated camps, ever since Secondary 1 when we were forced to go for outdoor camps every year. I hated that we had to constantly be enthusiastic and cheer, how we had to work as a team, how we were not able to bathe on time and how when we could finally bathe, it was in freezing, ice-cold water, and how the sleeping conditions were horrible.

I remember back in poly, we had a 3 days camp (not the overnight kind) and for the 2nd day, it started from 7PM to 7AM. I ended up giving that day a miss and stayed at my friend's house. It was a good thing I didn't go because ALMOST everyone that went became sick because they played water games and had an Amazing Race and it didn't help that it was in the middle of the night/early in the morning. Phew.

However, there were also some people who tried convincing me to go for the camp. They said it was the chance to make more friends, mingle and socialise. I also felt that there'd be a pro of going because then at least I'd be able to make at least one friend and not be such a lost soul when school sucks. The thought of going to a new school where you don't know anyone at all was rather daunting. Plus, it's uni. The system is so different from poly.

So. . . I ended up going for camp, rather reluctantly.

Even on the day itself, as I was registering and paying the fees, lugging my heavy bag, I still considered turning around and heading home but. . . I decided not to as my dad had already driven me there.

So, on the FIRST day, we remained in school til about 12+pm. We toured and were guided around campus, shown the important places in school, for example the food court. HAHAHAHA. There were also some talks, welcoming us to the UB Family, etc. We also had lunch (albeit a sucky one catered from Elsie's Kitchen) and played some group bonding games with our Orientation Group (OG).

Oh yeah, the theme for the camp was Might and Magic, which was basically Warriors vs the Wizards. So for the Warriors side, there was Mulan, Beowulf, Spartacus, Leonidas, etc. For Wizards, there was Gandalf, Medusa, Bellatrix, etc. So anyway, I was in OG7 - Leonidas.

So anyway, we left SIM and went to some scouts camp at Sembawang area. I felt my face drop and skin crawl the moment I saw the place. I thought to myself, "Wtf are you doing here? You made such a stupid ass decision." Plus, it was raining.

Once the rain died down, we played some games outside. There was one where we played Captain's Ball with fruits/vegetables. There was a tomato, lettuce, I can't even remember what else. We also played a game where we had to collect shampoo suds using our hair. I died. . . and also another game where we had to partner up with someone and use our body parts to squeeze out water from the sponge. The water in the bucket. . . wow. . . I really tried not to look at it. It was. . . all black.

One of the worst games was what seemed like a normal, innocent game of Dog and Bone. But no. . . the mat was filled with muddy water, soap, coffee powder and god knows what, and we had to either crawl, roll, waddle, etc so get the ball. Some girls pretended that they were having their period to get out of playing the game.

I was soooo glad when we could finally bathe. At night, we watched a horror movie and then had our night walk. Initially they said we wouldn't be having a night walk, what with it being the 7th month. LIESSSSS.

Oh ya and the sleeping arrangements. . . we had to sleep on our sleeping bags on the floor in the mess hall. And the food for the whole camp was catered from Elsie's. IT SUCKED TO THE MAX.

On the SECOND day, we had an Amazing Race around Sembawang Park. It wasn't too bad I guess. I must admit, I had fun. At night, we had to perform our skit. ALL the skits were so R18. LOL. Shows how dirty minded everyone is. Most of the skits were about rape, incest, date raping someone, sex change. . . I cannot even. We also had our campfire after that and had more. . . socialising.

On the THIRD day, and also our last day, we headed back to SIM for the final games and activities. We had the cheer competition and some Quidditch-like game. And then. . . sayonara everyone til Monday when lessons start.

Overall, I guess I'm partially thankful I attended camp. I managed to meet people I wouldn't normally talk to and I managed to make more than 1 acquaintance. Wew. Not that much regrets so it's all good.

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, by Brigid

In school work, writing

My Journey In Tertiary Education

Shall share with y'all an essay I wrote for one of my mods, ESL407. I only received a B+ for this ):

We were tasked to write an Illustration Essay and could choose between writing about our Passion or a Rite of Passage. So, I chose Rite of Passage because I honestly don't know what I'm passionate about.

I must admit, I didn't do a great job writing this essay because I did it at the last minute and didn't think it through properly. Oh well ~

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“Rite of Passage” is different in every country, culture and religion. Every individual perceives it differently. What you might think of as a “Rite of Passage” might not be deemed as one for the next person.

However, in whichever context you view it in, it means the same thing; it is something, be it an action, process or event, whether it is deemed ordinary or ceremonial that an individual undergoes to pass from one stage of their life to the next, in most cases, to adulthood. Personally, my “Rite of Passage” was during my Tertiary Education as even though it was a difficult journey, it nurtured and prepared me for adulthood.

For me, I started my tertiary education journey at Temasek Polytechnic after completing my O’levels, where I started pursuing a Diploma in Business, at the mere age of 17. Tertiary education is extremely different from being in secondary school and it was such an initial culture shock for me. The teaching schedule in polytechnics are much more hectic than that of in secondary school. In tertiary education, you only learn subjects, or modules, that are related to the course you are taking and you learn at least 5 different modules every semester, which lasts 5 months or so. This is different from secondary school in the sense that the same subjects are taught for a whole year. You are also expected to take examinations at the end of the year for every subject taken in secondary school however in polytechnic, not all modules have examinations. Some lecturers grade you based purely on your assignments and projects.

Independence was one of the key factors and learning skill I managed to pick up during my tertiary education journey. In secondary school, I was sheltered and taken care off for everything I did. All the textbooks were provided, or rather our parents bought them for us, ‘model answers’ for questions were provided and we simply copied those answers word-for-word. It was a whole new ballpark in polytechnic. Majority of the modules had notes. However, it was up to each individual to download them and print them out yourself. For the modules without any notes, you were expected to pay attention to the lectures and create your own notes. When the lecturer goes through the tutorial questions in class, the questions are simply discussed and you were expected to come up with your own answer based on what was said during class. No model answer would be provided. It was this type of independence that I found extremely difficult to adapt to initially and I was so used to being ‘babied’, receiving everything on a silver platter and being constantly spoon-fed. Even though all my peers were facing the same problem as me, I forced myself to adapt quickly to this need for independence. After all, I had to take ownership and responsibility for my own education and grades and my future was at stake.

The polytechnic’s main function is to shape and mold all the students and prepare them with skills that will be useful for when students join the workforce. Hence, students in polytechnics are treated like young adults. The school does not seem like there are any school rules to adhere to, like in secondary school, where school rules are extremely important and enforced constantly. Any rule breaking resulted in detention, a warning letter, suspension and in some severe cases, expulsion. In polytechnic, students are somewhat expected to know the school rules and act like mature young adults. Whether you attended classes was also up to you, and occasionally there would be an attendance sheet passed around. Some students would sign the attendance for their friends who weren’t present, as it would affect your grades. Hence tenacity and honesty were extremely important factors.

As some modules are assignment based, you were forced to do projects with other people. Every individual is different and have different working and learning styles. Hence, you have to be able to adapt to them or it would be difficult and arduous to complete the project and conflict will definitely arise. I encountered my fair share of group mates who wanted to be in-charge, those who simply showed up for group meetings but did not contribute at all and those who produced haphazard work. I took all these problems in my stride and learnt how to deal with such individuals over my 3 years, as I knew it would not be easier in the working world.

One major turning point in my polytechnic education was when the school sent all the students for Student Internship Programme (SIP). We were all attached to a company for 3 to 6 months as interns. The school picked out a company for me and I was sent to the National Environment Agency (NEA) under the Schools and Youth Department where we interacted mainly with schools and youth in Singapore. We conducted events and workshops. Even though I was merely an intern, I was still given work like a full-fledged employee. There was also a certain colleague who constantly asked me to do work for him and I had no choice but to abide to him as I was merely an intern and my internship was graded. Hence having difficult and hard to handle group mates were nothing compared to difficult colleagues. However I felt that this shortcoming had really shaped me to become a better person and mature in my thinking. In the past, with my childish mindset, I would more probably have complained to my parents and they would have helped me handle the situation. However, I decided to be an adult about it and took it into my own hands.

I am really thankful I chose to take the polytechnic route rather than the junior college route as this journey has really provided me with intangible skills that can be applied in real life as well in jobs. I have also grown so much as a person and have matured and feel like I have officially transitioned from being a teenaged and entered adulthood, thanks to my tertiary education journey, despite it being extremely challenging and difficult initially. And that, was my personal rite of passage.