31st December 2010 Todaymarks the last day of Year 2010. A year of surprises, disappointments and also many 'first times'. The first half of 2010 was spent in the United States, in particular Georgia Institute of Technology at Atlanta. It was the first time I went USA, first time experience USA education, and first time living alone (totally no assistance from my family, unlike hostel, where I can still get my 'supplies' through my dad). Nursing a broken heart while trying to adapt to life there, getting lost on the highway, finishing an assignment overnight, cooking my own meals and doing my own grocery shopping, found a new love, numerous traveling fun, it was indeed a truly memorable experience. But what's important is going there with the right mix of people, who can compromise, accommodate and resolve any disputes we have, and who are still now my good friends. There have also been many surprises, such that getting A+ for URECA when I was on the verge of SUing it as I cannot produce a working prototype. Getting many As for my modules at Georgia Tech was also a surprise, when I was on the verge of failing for one of them. Being finally approved to start on my FYP project in Year 3 Sem 1 was also one of them, when my attempt to do IO in Year 2 summer holidays was foiled. Getting recognized for my AE3002 flight mech assignment, being awarded the ISTAT scholarship, the list goes on and on.
So my New Year Resolution for 2011? Here it goes: 1. Getting A+ for my FYP URECA 2. Getting A+ for my IO 3. Graduating with First Class Honours, with the GPA score I wanted (Secret!) 4. Commercialise and market my prototype that I've done for FYP 5. Getting good score for GRE 6. Getting a PhD Scholarship and admit into one of the Ivy League School (MIT hopefully) 7. Learning two new languages (I've planned to take Korean and French) 8. Have a strong and stable relationship and reliable friends
Happy New Year Everyone! 20th December 2010
Some inspirational chinese MV：
10th November 2010
Finally some time for me to do some blogging haha!
This clip is from the Bollywood movie '3 idiots'. The movie is an inspirational comedy, and I recommend you to spend some time to watch it.
In this movie, Phunsukh Wangdu really amazes me in that he studies just because he loves gaining more knowledge and enlightenment about the world, and not for the degree (Because he knows that his degree will eventually belongs to someone else). Even so, it does not stop him from becoming the top student of his cohort.
What can I learn? If you had spent 2 hours watching this movie, you would soon realise that there are many Chaturs (people who are nerds about books, study w/o understanding, do all out to win others, sacrificing their life just to get an A), Farhans (sacrificing their passion just to fulfil other wishes) and Rajus (live life full of fears) in our life, but not many Wangdus (someone who challenge norms, study with understanding and love what they are doing).
Challenging norms, I do have a fair share of them but limited myself so as not to get into too much trouble. In secondary school, I do not see the need to sing 'songs' for assembly if we were really loyal to our country and songs. In JC, I was reading university textbook for organic chem as the normal textbook is too boring. And in university, I was clearing modules faster than my peers in the ABP path, doing FYP in Year 3 and trying modules that seniors never did in exchange. I learnt that to be exceptional, you have to do what the average aren't doing. Which is also what makes Wangdu successful.
I've learnt that the way to do well in life is to love what you are doing, and not doing it just for the sake of getting good results and jobs and sacrificing other aspects of your life in the process. Although I very much regret my loss in direction of life when I was in Y1S1, I think it was a good learning experience to let me learn what I'm suitable for.
This movie comes at a good moment in time when I am pondering what I am supposed to do for the rest of my life. It's kinda hard to find someone to talk to, when most of my peers are more worried about their IA company than their career. But it makes me realise that I should not sacrifice money for passion, short-term gains for long-term fulfilment. Now I have a new perspective in looking at the opportunities that are available for me.
Making the Impossible Possible
