Scholarships.
If you mentioned
that word to me two years ago, I would be amazed if you achieved it, really be happy
for you and chuckle a bit as I think to myself how impossible it would be for
me to achieve such a thing. I would say to myself, “hey, that seems a little
impossible to me, so I won’t even bother trying”. Common people like me (as I
like to think myself as one) simply do not go around talking about scholarships
as often as one talk about food. No! Scholarships were just a grant that smart,
intellectual people (or really talented people) could dream about.
But you say to me,
are you not living that dream now?
My scholarship! :) |
*
A year ago, I was
wearing my SIS uniform, roaming around the tiny school halls as anyone did. I
went to class, sat down, did my assignments, half did my homework (as Mr
Milberg was crazy with homework, assigning every single question of the
chapter) and socialized with friends. By this time, I was sort of like you,
reading other people’s writings (though not necessarily modern writings, as you
should know by now that I indulge reading of the distant past) and playing
DotA. Who would’ve thought that I would actually achieve more than 92% in all
my subjects and earn the highest mark in English? In fact, my parents were
nagging at me as they only saw me playing DotA after school (I did functions in
my second semester of Grade 10, so it was a rather chilled semester for me).
This caused my parents to be so shocked when I showed them the certificate. To
commemorate the event, we went out to have my favourite Japanese dish in KLGCC…
But
I did not stop there. During the first assembly of my last semester in SIS, it
came to my attention that there was a scholarship available for SIS students
applying to CIMP. This example was emphasized by Mr. Futa explaining the
emergence of the first two SIS full scholars who achieved a 95% average. This made
me want to calculate my average mark thus far and I noticed that I wasn’t that
far off from a scholarship! So, I started to focus on my strong subjects to
attempt the 95% average score.
When
I received my final report card, I was taken aback. It was so high! However, I
was short of a few marks… This did not put me off, however, as I still had an
approximate average of 94%. So, I went to apply for the scholarship!
Sunway
College got back to me and they gave me RM8000. I was really happy that I was
dropping tears as I told my father over the phone. To actually be able to help
my family save on expensive tuition fee really made my day. I mean, who wouldn’t
want to be rewarded for putting in late nights and early mornings just to study
for a test or perfect an assignment (I actually did perfect my English essay) or to finish reading Frankenstein?
All
in all, I’m really grateful for this ability to fulfill an unspoken dream of
mine. As I embark on a new semester in CIMP this year, I hope that I will be
able to achieve another 90% or above
average mark so that I can be eligible for scholarships that are not limited to
Sunway only, but open to the whole, wide, world.
Carpe
Diem!
P/S: This post does not really feature my additional commentary as I am struggling to overcome flu, cough and a sore throat that plagues most of us at the most unnecessary time.
P/SS: My birthday is on Sunday!
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