Year One

In a blink of an eye, life as a freshmen has come to a close. Honestly speaking, it’s been one helluva roller-coaster ride. But much like the Battlestar Galatica at RWS, it has only drawn to a temporary halt; a brief respite from the hustle and bustle of life at SMU. While my friends at the other local varsities prepare themselves for the finals, I can’t help but realize some of them are already graduating this semester!

So while all of us sophomore wannabes start hopping onto the “It’s SUMMER!” bandwagon, the graduands have even better reasons to celebrate and cheer about. Bidding farewell to school after more than a decade (finally!), most can’t wait to ditch their textbooks; others relish the prospects of an indefinite summer vacation.

To say “I’ve been there, done that” isn’t that unfair. After all, we were all freshmen once. Everyone have had their own freshmen experience; some enjoyable, others not so. But like in life, each will have his fair share of ups and downs. Sometimes, when we feel down and out, and all seems lost, we take comfort in believing that things would only get better.

Year One is the time when we learn and grow. We learn where to set our expectations – somewhere manageable such that there are always room for improvements. We grow to be more resilient and not be easily discouraged by setbacks. Everybody enters varsity life as a freshmen, perhaps not always knowing what to expect, but eager and willing to learn.

Although my first year of university life had not been smooth-sailing, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the company of great friends. We are pilots of our destinies, and on board we carry the expectations of our family, friends, loved ones, and more importantly, our own. A little turbulence is inevitable, but ultimately, we want to land at our destination safe and sound.

We’re already cruising and a quarter way there. So, let’s enjoy the rest of this trip and see you at touchdown.