Writer Extroadinaire? Well...

I just love labels, no, i do not mean things like LV, Ck, Hermes, Bally, DKNY, Chanel, well the list goes on...

What i certainly meant was being labelled; like, Vernon is an undergraduate, a writer, a former dragonboater, a debater, a public speaker, a student associate of the Economic Society of Singapore, a worship leader, a volunteer, well the list goes on...and I guess you get the drift.

To date, as far as i am concern, and as well as my elephantine memory serves me, i have been labelled or more euphimistically put, known as, someone who is well spoken, hence, i have been dubbed by peers to be a good public speaker, though i think i still need more polishing in that area.

Additionally, i am in the executive committee of the Biz Club ( Competitions and Career Development Club) with the position of dep. Human Resource manager. I am also student spokesperson for my university, though i have yet to speak on anything concerning school matters. And all through my school life, i have been deeply involved in emceeing activities, hence, Vernon is also known as an emcee!...yes, yet another feather (label) to my hat.

But the one label that i am most proud of has to be the fact that 'Vernon is a regular Straits Times Forum Contributor'... Why? Well, out of 4 articles i sent to the Straits Times, 3 were deemed news-worthy enough for publicaton, hence, i was able to read my writings in the papers!

In my humble opinion, this is indeed an achievement, given the fact that according to the good people of the Straits Times, who have to excercise their editorial judgement on a daily basis, they receive on average 70 articles a day, and only about 20 odd articles get published each time, and my writings have been published 3 out of 4 times, what are the odds?

What label am i "labelled" with this time? Writer Extrordinaire? Well, not quite, i still have a long way more to go, incidentally, on top of being a banker or foreign service officer; the 2 career aspirations i have, i would probably moonlight as a writer.

Till then... supper? I want Chicken Mcnuggets from Macs and to have it under the moonlit and starry night at West Coast Park!

On top of the World

Reflections of an undergrad:
Given the choice; I’d rather be busy

If you’d asked, I would tell you the best time of my life has to be my undergraduate days.

It is this particular time in my life that I am given many opportunities to do what I have always liked to do, to emcee, write and just simply be involved in the buzz of student life etc. It is also a time that I have achieved much. Putting lectures, tutorials, notes and texts aside, the things that truly characterised university life has to be the extra curricular activities both in and out of school that I have found myself busy with. It is through such activities that I find myself picking up valuable life skills.

The following is a snapshot of what I currently do at school; I emcee for school-based events, and am heavily involved in two business clubs. I am also an executive-committee member of one of the business clubs. In addition, I get to pick up effective communications and leadership skills by being part of my school’s leadership programme. I was also briefly in my school’s dragon boat team, but have moved on as I wanted to be engaged in new things. It is the quest to learn new things that have led me to be involved in a multitude of activities.

After my exams in May, I would be embarking on an internship. Additionally, I applied and am fortunate to have received a letter of offer from the London School of Economics; hence I would be heading to London this July for a highly intensive summer school programme. It has always been my dream to be able to study at one of the finest institutions in the world, alas that has come true. It will be a challenging time, but I am all game for the rich learning environment I would be in.

Outside of school, I responded to the National Library’s call to write about the library experience, and was among 80 out of over 4000, whose entries have been selected for publication in the book, ‘Celebrating Libraries’. One thing led to the other, not before long, I found myself being interviewed live in the studio of ‘Good Morning, Singapore’ for my views on library usage in the Lion City. It was indeed a positive experience to be featured both on television and in a book. The experiences enhanced my communications skills and imbued in me a greater sense of confidence.
I even found time to volunteer under the Yellow Ribbon Project last Christmas, where together with my church; we brought festive cheer in the form of a skit and caroling to the inmates at Kaki Bukit Prison. On the sporting front, I volunteered as route marshal for the Singapore marathon after missing out on the registration. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful experience where I was truly inspired to be more active in sports; especially running which incidentally is my forte.

Additionally, I also found the time to write to the Straits Times Forum where two of my articles were published. Call me an activist? I write mainly on socio-political issues- the type of issues that are close to my heart. Political Science happens to be my first love; however, giving into the demands of Singapore society, I have chosen to pursue a more practical discipline such as Business, instead.

Friends have often remarked that it’s amazing that I could be so busy, and yet remain on top of my studies. I like to tell them that there is always a time for everything, and time is what you make of it, in fact, as I am typing this, I am in the midst of studying for my exams, well, I am taking a break, and writing provides an avenue for me to release some pressure from hitting the books.

Such is the whirlwind nature of my undergraduate days, one that is rich and holistic in experience. It has caused me to blossom into what I am today, an individual that is confident, articulate and has the zest for life.
Being engaged in university life has surely prepared me to a great extent for what I foresee to be a very competitive workforce. Nevertheless, I’d rather be enriched through being busy then to have all the time in the world and not know what I want out of life.

I like to end by leaving you guys with a parting shot; we are young only once, be engaged in life as much as possible and get the most out of it.

Cheers!

Note:
Thanks teddy bear (u know who) for being such a faithful patron of my blog and to many others too. Regrettably, i have not been able to update you guys as much as i like, nevertheless, i will try my best, yar? hUGgiez