I decided that my 20th should be about giving, not getting, and the fundraiser went brilliantly. I managed to raise $2028 for World Vision in a week, because amazing, amazing lovely big-hearted friends (and people I didn't even know before this) came forward to give large amounts. I thought it was impossible to raise that amount in 8 days because my friends are mostly studying and stuff, but God is amazing. He makes all grace abound towards us for every good work. So I was really, really touched by everyone's generous gestures. Thanks so much y'all :) I'm still really amazed!
But even as I emphasized that I didn't want to receive this year, some people still went the extra mile to do awesome things. Rachel made me an awesome Toblerone cheesecake :,D Wei Liang also posted me a card - the most touching card I've ever received, really - and Derrick, in an attempt to outdo him, arrived at my doorstep at midnight with his card. I wasn't home yet, unfortunately, so he just left the card at my door. :(
Two days before my birthday I went to USS for the first time with dearest Sumay! Had a blast. The mummy ride was probably the most thrilling to me. Battlestar Galactica was very fun, but not scary in my opinion. I think I went on Cylon thrice and Human twice (?). Would've gone again, but they were closing.
And then my brother made us lunch!
Then I met Theo at Loola's for some awesome hot chocolate, and had dinner at Timbre with Francheska, my brother, Wei Liang and Derrick!
Yup, so that was my twentieth. LOL I actually nearly typed 'eighteenth'.
Twenty is a big new number. Up till 18 May I could still hide in the nineteen, but the day after my birthday when I was helping out at the Red Nose booth in church and had to state my age on the registration form, I was like, dang. There's no way out of this anymore.
I seriously don't feel twenty. Not in university yet, not ready to be all grown up and responsible and independent, still very much wanting to hide in the freedom of being insane and not caring what you're wearing and doing stupid things in shopping malls. I like 19. 19 means you're relatively mature; you're a thinking, exploring youth, but still not out of that shell of protection - whether it's your family, an institution, or the wings of society that cover you when you're young. When I was nineteen, I travelled around the UK for a month on my own - freedom, exploration, the fascination of learning - but was still 'protected' in the sense that I had people to stay with and friends to bring me around and ensure I had everything I needed. When I was nineteen, I worked as a teacher and a waitress. As a teacher in Crescent, I think I performed well, and when you're nineteen you both impress the staff and connect with the students, as a young person still in her teens. I was a terrible waitress and the Japanese are very particular about punctuality and I'm always tardy, but at the same time, I was taken care of by the other trainees; they guided and helped me and gave me good advice. See, when you're nineteen, you say "I'm capable, I'm responsible, but not all that independent and experienced yet. So forgive me, take care of me, but I'll still show you that I can impress."
Oh well. So now I'm twenty. It's time to start being more independent and responsible for myself. Time to stop being so blur and troubling other people - I didn't do a very good job when I interned at Yale-NUS's admissions office for almost half a year. Gave them a negative impression of myself (or rather, I know I'm capable of doing so much better). I'll be moving into Yale-NUS's residential college soon, and Orientation's finally beginning in a couple of weeks! I've got mixed feelings - it'll undoubtedly be a fantastic experience, but I'm just quite busy with everything that's been going on already, and I hope I can sustain myself as SOT spills into Yale-NUS and the schedule never ends.
Okay! Before Orientation begins, I'll do one more update (mainly for myself, really) on:
- KL trip with Andrew and Sam
- SOT
- Jakarta mission trip
P.S. I PASSED MY DRIVING TEST. I CAN DRIVE. I CAN DRIVE.
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