Family

(republished with permission of blog owner of www.lavished.blogspot.com) Last night was the ASEAN dance. No, it wasn't held at some big, glitzy hotel, not everyone spent >$100 on their outfits (in fact, I bet people just put together what they already had), and we didn't even pay for it (the juniors paid our share, just like how we paid for our seniors-that's how it works). It's basically an ASEAN scholars get-together, in a party-dance mood. Watched some performances by the juniors for their seniors, danced on the dance floor.(Nope, no bringing of Biology/Physics/Chemistry notes to be exchanged with scholars from other schools either). NJ dance totally rocked! Anyway, a lot of things struck me when I was watching the special dance performance by the seniors. Being an ASEAN scholar isn't a one off thing. These 2 years (or more) of your life here more or less changes your whole life. Your memories (good or bad) will stick to you for life. The trauma you went through. Yeap, the focus, grit and determination, which you learnt to get through your life here, will definitely go a long long way. Especially the people you meet here. The people you stuck so tightly to in the beginning even though you barely knew them, even when you sensed that you were total opposites of each other. The people you got to know better. And found so much about. And grew to love. And argued with. Learnt to live with. The people whom you wake up in the morning, and rush through breakfast with. The people whom you walked back from school with. Sit in lecture theatres with. Eat lunch (while exchanging gossip) with. Go out for coffee with(even when you know you really should be studying instead). Watch movies (on the laptop at the amphitheatre) with. Go out shopping (and bought REALLY expensive stuff impulsively) with. Borrow things and clothes (that never get returned) from. Dress up with. People to whom you talked, shared, and talked more (about the past 18 yrs of life they missed out on, about computer games, about Ms. Black Widow, about the dude making the announcements in the Boarding School, about your life philosophies, about teachers in school, about how to make the world a better place... just about anything) with. People whom you laid next to on the high jump mat and told ghost stories to. People you sat at the track and talk about dreams with. Laughed over stupid stories with. Complained over (always lousy) dinner to. Cried with. People whose room doors will always be open for you (to invite yourself right in). People whom you poured your heart out to. You might never truly understand or ever call any of these people your bestest best friends, but it doesn't really matter, cause they're definitely always family. :)