Last post (for a while)

School is starting today, so I don't think I'll be blogging for quite some time anymore.

I'll like to reiterate Yingzhen's call for more writers here. So basically this year I was more free than I was in the past, so I've been writing quite a bit for the past like, 8 months. But now that I'm starting school I won't have time anymore, and other writers also are busy with school and their lives. Even if I find time to write, I won't really have much to write about, since I've already written almost all that I can write on my personal experiences applying for college and scholarships. So I'll like to put in an appeal for more people to come up and start writing, since from the hit counter CollegeTalk has quite a decent number of writers, and it'll be quite sad if no one writes, and eventually no one visits anymore. Even if you are year one (you can write about apply to NUS High, PSLE etc) or year six, we want you. Right now CollegeTalk's writers are all in Year 6 or are alumni, and the further we get from the school, the less relevant things we write will get, since things change quickly. We need current students to help write to ensure the information on CollegeTalk remains up to date on what is happening in the school now.

I'll put up one last post here -- The essay I wrote for my 2009 US Common Application.

The Best Choice

“Go away!”

I screamed. I ran frantically from my cane-wielding mother on my short little legs. I hated the piano. To my five year old eyes, it was this big black bulky beast looming over me, solid and eternal.

Have you heard Einstein’s description of Relativity? One hour with a beautiful girl seems a minute; but a minute sitting on a hot stove feels like an hour. The clock never moved so slowly during my daily hour of forced practice. My parents frightened me with accounts of people who regretted dropping the piano, so I never did give up. I eventually took it up to ABRSM Grade 8 as I didn’t want to stop halfway. I never enjoyed it though. After I walked out of my final examinations, I kept thinking “At least I won’t have to put my fingers on those blocks of wood again if I don’t want to!”

I’ll likely have gone on hating music if I hadn’t joined the Chinese Orchestra in secondary school. It was completely by chance that I signed up; I had been thinking about the library club until a friend told me the Chinese Orchestra was more exciting. I had never even heard of the erhu then – I simply picked it because I thought it looked interesting and sounded nice. The erhu’s a Chinese instrument analogous to the violin, with two strings on pegs for tuning, a long neck and a small soundbox.

Mr Zhang was the erhu instructor. He was one of the most renowned in Singapore, and knew it. He was always saying to students, “When I first started teaching in a music school, all the senior teachers bullied me. I got the worst students to teach. At the end of the year, I got the last laugh as the worst became the best. You’re very lucky to learn from me, so you better listen closely!”

Then, he proceeded to play a piece. Without even tuning, he began, turning the pegs as he went along. He was so eager to touch the instrument he couldn’t even wait to tune up, and had to do it while performing! It was a simple piece, but he played it with so much emotional involvement that I was captivated.

We were then told to pay $550 for an instrument of our own. “I’m giving you an excellent rate as I’m friends with the manufacturers”, he said.

I balked initially. $550 was a lot of money. My parents weren’t happy either. “Given the dismal way you’ve been playing the piano, I bet you’ll drop it within three months! But all right, I’ll get you something”, my father said. He went out and bought the cheapest erhu available. It was very hard to tune and sounded downright bad. I didn’t object. My tumultuous history with the piano showed that I was a dunce at music.

But Mr Zhang was an exceptional teacher who knew all the tricks to his trade. He used a combination of threats and praise to keep us on our toes, and weekly “solo performances” for the novices in front of the orchestra for us to show off or be humiliated accordingly. Initially, I played so badly people said I sounded like I was killing chickens! But I got better after lots of practice, so my parents ended up shelling out that $550.

Eventually, I became Concert Master of the NUS High School Chinese Orchestra. From there, I got many opportunities to perform solo. I got to the point where music exams didn’t unnerve me, and I have already received my diploma. When you’ve faced a crowded concert hall; a single examiner just isn’t scary anymore. The audience was usually very encouraging, which also helped. I’ve performed many times in old folks’ homes as well; I like to think it brightens up their day. Guess it really helps when you can choose what you want to do!