Tuesday, August 14, 2007
the one about my milestone in life
I realise that I have not penned down any thoughts after almost 2 weeks in school. Revelation time! For all you interested souls, I'm taking 6 modules this semester, a total of 22 academic units, which is just ONE unit more than the recommended units given by my school.
1) Foundations of Communications Studies (CORE)
2) Media Professions & Practices (CORE)
3) Basic Media Writing (CORE)
4) Entering the Spider's Web: Web 2.0
5) Introduction to Public Administration
6) History of Singapore
NTU has this system of "all-rounded" education, somewhat similar to GEMS in SP. Methods of teaching however differ by the measures. For starters, lecture notes are not lecture's notes anymore. For all you students who take lecture notes for granted, be grateful. For most of my classes, the professors will only upload the lecture PowerPoint slides AFTER the lesson itself. In fact, I don't even have notes for one of my classes. Enter the lecture theatre and you'll see student scribbling hard on their writing pads while struggling to catch what the professor's saying. In my poly days, printing out lecture notes and noting down what the lecturer was saying was evident in certain minorities only. In fact, doing so can definitely ensure a grade B and above, provided that no other accidents occur. Not so in Uni. We have required reading materials to be savoured and digested by the individual prior to the lesson. Lecture so far has been more like a discussion session. You are allowed to interrupt the professor any time to either post a question or raise a doubt.
Uni classes are really more thought-provoking. Say for instance, my lecture on Monday discussed several issues on ideologies like democracy and nationalism, and linking them with journalism. It was interesting to just sit there and listen to people share their views. Like TODAY's slogan: We set you thinking!
Other lessons were fine too. My web module was not as treacherous as portrayed by my classmate. The professor was however, very animated during the lectures. I guess she was super excited about this new revolution of the Web.
History of Singapore was a gift from God, considering that I dropped the Chinese module, which even I could not seem to understand. Kenneth, fellow history fanatic alongside me will be proud of me. Hah! I actually took up a core module meant for those minoring in History.
I have not had any lessons from my public admin module yet. It is a core module for my minor in public administration.
But the main point of Uni life is my hall life. There's no comfort of home, no accessibility to my necessities, and there's bound to be times when you will feel lonely. Yet there are the hall mates who make your life here colourful and vibrant. There are your course mates who accompany you during class. It’s just the beginning, and there’s still a long way to go.
Now, I’m doing loads of reading and thinking everyday. I am required to think and write critically, which is not my forte. Yet I know I’m here for a purpose. God has placed me in this path for a divine reason. I am going to try the very best I can.
And of course, how can I forget the support and love I've received from my parents, and friends like Sherilyn (I put your name FIRST!), Shu Hui and Alan who helped me with my transition, encouragers like Nat who constantly remind me of God's goodness and blessing, silent supporters like CY whom I know is wishing me all the best in his corner of the island. I will definitely not let you down, I won't let God down and I won't let myself down.
And who can forget random rumblings; I want Starbucks & Subway in NTU!!!
10:55 PM