3 July 2011
I’m sorry coz I have not really written my experiences in Haryana. After writing down my experiences in my travel diary, I don’t really feel like writing it on my blog. Hahaha. I’ll try after writing this post, k?
The title is something that comes to my mind most of the times these few weeks. Partly because I have realized that I’m year 4 (not GOING to year 4 anymore). Another factor is two days ago was my mom’s birthday and I know commencement is a BIG thing for her.
I think I’ve written here before that my dad has bought a batik shirt for my commencement next year. For me, 1 year will be a short year, time will fly and I’m kinda looking forward to my commencement. It’s not that I want get out of NUS as soon as possible or that I’m sick of school, but I’ve realized that this will be an important occasion for me and my parents. It seems that there are three things that my mom is looking forward: first, my sweet seventeen (which was 4 years ago, duhhh....), second, my commencement, and third, my wedding (duhh, this one not so soon :P, but I can feel her joy when she’s talking about wedding).
People say commencement is boring, you’re just sitting there and waiting for your name to be called. Some people even feel lazy to attend their commencement. Well, how important an occasion is really differs between two people, but what I tell my friends who don’t feel that commencement is important is, “Ask your parents first if you don’t feel like going to your commencement. It might be an important thing for them.”
I try to hypothesize why my parents are waiting for my commencement. I don’t think it’s because of NUS degree (my dad initially didn’t allow me to go to NUS even though I was accepted, thanks to my mom who has changed his mind). I think it might be because there’s a sense of accomplishment that I can experience something that they couldn’t experience in their era (grrr, tears always hang in my eyes everytime I’m talking about commencement and my parents). There will be a sense of pride even though they do not understand what CAP means, what honours degree is, what modules I have taken, and so on and so forth. Even though my mom encourages me to take clinical degree, when we talk about job, she never thinks that a psychology graduate MUST be a psychologist. Interesting, right?
Wahh.. now I hope my grandma can come for my commencement too. Hahahaha. I’m not sure if she’ll be able to come, she doesn’t have passport and she will be very tired in Singapore. Anyway, for my grandma, I think commencement means there will just be another few years before I come back to Indonesia for good. I remember the night before I left for Singapore in my first year, she thought I will never come back till 7 years later (4 years + 3 years bond).
Commencement reminds me of my dad’s cute remark in my first semester. When I told him that I got B for my essay, he replied, “B is good or bad?” In another semester last year, I told him that the project that WE did together (coz my dad was the one who brought me to Baduy village) got 80 out of 100, he replied in two words, “Ok. Good.” Commencement also reminds me that the sleepless night because of final exam will be over. There was one time I had a midterm in week 13. Can you imagine??? MIDterm exam in week 13, ONE week before reading week. I called her and talked very desperately, “I can’t do this.. there are lots of things to be remembered.. I must remember what baby can do at particular age.. bla bla bla..” And my mom, knowing that it’s ‘already’ 11pm that time (‘already’, coz in Sg, 11pm is ‘still’), said, “Ohhh just go to bed now and pray that what you’ve studied will come up in the exam.” She really has a great faith.
Commencement reminds me of my conversation with my brother and two cousins. I told them, “I’ll buy my commencement robe, so we can wait for Chika’s commencement (the youngest cousin, 6 years younger than me) then four of us will take picture together.” Commencement reminds me of those days working as usher during commencement last year and the previous year, how I felt bored during valedictorian speech and how I told myself, “If I were a valedictorian, I would not give a long speech coz I knew how bored the graduands and the parents would be.” Too bad, I won’t be a valedictorian. Hahahaha. So next year I must be listening to speech with patience. Hahaha.
One more year.
This feeling...hmmm.. I can’t explain this feeling. Coming to NUS for the first time still feels like something that just happened yesterday. Coming to NUS was a miracle for me and it IS still a miracle for me. I remember how I kept sneezing during Singapore Scholarship test, how I forgot what the English translation of “karet” (rubber) when I answered geography question and I wrote “substance of gum”, how only one day before entrance exam I went to my friend’s house to learn what “e” equals to (some maths thingy, I already forgot), how I met Ci Mila (my neighbor back in Indo) on the first day at Nanyang Supermarket, how I had stomachache a few days before I left Indonesia, how I was wandering around Eusoff Foyer and found by Tony, fellow Indo-Eusoffian and my rag journey began there, how me and Payoga was sooo happy when we could take MRT alone for the first time to our moms’ inn at Sommerset, how Jit Vern helped me to use transponder on the day I arrived at Eusoff, and how Lloyd found me at Matriculation Fair and gave me Miraculous Medal, and so on and so forth. In my first year, when the seniors introduced themselves and said, “I’m year 4,”, without any shame I replied, “Wahh..so old.” Luckily my birthday would be a few weeks after week 0, so if freshies said that I’m old, I can proudly reply that “Well, I’m not yet 21.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHA..
Last semester, Eusoff Choir sang “Do I make you proud?” for MDIS Commencement and I also had teary eyes when I sang that song in choir. I hope I will NEVER EVER disappoint my parents and will make them proud despite all my crazy dreams and wishes. I told myself, I would like to prepare invitation card for my friends to come to my commencement, to introduce my beloved parents that have raised me up and I would like to introduce my beloved friends that have accompanied me in 4 years journey in NUS to my parents. I love you, Mama, Papa. J
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