Friday, July 29, 2011
long live all the magic we made
I know this post is extremely overdue, and to be honest I've been putting it off for some time now, not just cos of SSPT and whatnot but also because I have no idea what to say. I have so much to say, yet I don't know what to say that will truly do justice to all the times we've had, all the memories we've made. So, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you, and I love you all sososo very much.
We will stand by your side
Filled with hope and filled with pride
We are more than we are
We are one
Striping (stripe-ing) didn't even feel like an end. Everyone was happy and calm because as much as we know that our term in Guides has come to an end, this is also a start of a new beginning, to watch our juniors take their place as the leaders of rafflesguides. During the actual ceremony itself, I was surprised to find that instead of feeling sad about having to pass my position on, I felt immense pride, and I just couldn't stop smiling to myself-even though when I looked around everyone else looked so solemn. Pride because of all the juniors who have always been so passionate and dedicated to Guides are finally rising up to their place. Pride because I know that we as seniors have been the best we could ever be, and we have left our legacy. And at those moments I knew that Guides isn't just about all those little quirky things we do, it isn't even about how awesome our batch is (although you have to admit our batch is pretty awesome), because we are more than that. It actually very hard to explain, and whenever others ask about Guides I always give a really lame sounding answer that does a big injustice to the greatness we represent. We are one giant family of girls who believe in something, and no matter where we are, what position we hold, we will strive towards it in all we do. And that is what 'once a Guide, always a Guide' means to me. Which is why it really doesn't matter that much that it is Striping. Even though we're leaving, Guides will always be us. Even though we're passing the baton on, Guides will always be Guides, as we know and love.
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives
For a reason
Ok, because I want to leave B11ATCH to the end of the post, this is to my patrol first! Thank you so much 01 Morning Glory. I love you! It's amazing how amazing each and every one of you are. When I first transferred to MG last year, I was pretty terrified. I've never been particularly good with getting to know new people, and the very first time right after Striping when they asked us to fall in in our new patrols, I felt so out of place falling y'all in and standing there as your PL. But you welcomed me so warmly, and you were all so easy to talk to, to get along with that I feel as if I really belong in 01MG. There were many times throughout the year when I felt like a giant disappoint as a PL, but now reading all your letters, hearing all that you have to say, I'm incredibly touched to know that you've never once doubted me, even when I was doubting myself. And honestly I didn't expect to feel such a close bond to a patrol that I've only been in for a year (compared to like, 3 or 4 years), but now that I'm no longer your PL, I realise how much I really love all of you ): All those awkwardly silent patrol corners were really quality time spent in excellent company, basking in each others' presence. Even though some of you are transferring, it doesn't change anything! And I trust that 01 MG 2012 will welcome the new transfers as warmly as you first received me a year ago. I'm going to miss you all so much! I promise to come back, even if it's just for one campfire a year or something. (:
We want to cry, but we know its alright
Cos I'm with you, and you're with me
Before Striping I was telling a few people that I really want to cry cos if not it doesn't feel as if the whole ceremony is complete. But during the farewell ceremony no one (or at least hardly anyone) cried! And I really felt like crying at some parts of the farewell, but when I look around and see the rest of B11ATCH smiling at the farewell performances, everything was alright. It was more like an exchange of affections between batches, and a nice closure to our term as sec 4s in Guides. But we're all still together. This doesn't mark the end of all relations or the breaking of all previous bonds formed at all. I know very well that B11ATCH is going to crash Guides sessions so much that our juniors will get sick of us. In fact the day right after Striping, wangxuan and I went down to the Guides table in the morning and we saw so many b11atchies coming down to count money/hang around at the table, and it was so comforting I felt like bursting out in laughter and tears at the same time. We're still together, and I don't think anything is ever going to change that.
There's so many wars we've fought
There's so many things we're not
But with what we have
I promise you that
We're marching on
We're marching on
All those times I just felt like giving up on Guides, on washing my hands off everything, B11ATCH is what pulled me through. To know that there are 21 other people there for me gave me the strength to keep going. If it wasn't for batch I think I might have lost my spark for Guides a long time ago. We've been through so much together, through the good times and the bad, through the AA dance chionging and the random singing and the proposal writing and the passing of clauses; for the times when I couldn't light a fire and I wanted to cry because I thought my patrol would starve during March Camp, for when I actually did cry because I found out I couldn't make it for March Camp outdoor cooking anyway; for the naicha, the hobo-ing, the batch outings, the lying on the friggin hot amphi and watching the clouds, the sushi-roll hugs, the fail sushi-roll that caused a giant tumble, the bruises that ached for days after the fail sushi-roll tumble (well I had a bruise, don't know about everyone else), and so much more that my memory capacity fails me. I love you all so much, I cannot thank every one of you enough. I had such grand plans for Striping at the start of the year. I had planned to make presents and do cards and record snippets of our journey to make a video, and give batch photos to everyone in B11ATCH, and well, none of them really happened. Except the cards. (On monday at 12am- dad: what do you have tomorrow? me: exams. dad: and you're making cards? me: yes._. dad: ok then... if you're sure of what you're doing.) But it doesn't matter because I love you anyway, we've done the best we can, and no amount of Striping presents would make my gratitude more sincere.
Long live
The walls we crashed through
I had the time of my life
With you
Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I hadn't joined Guides. And I realise that the thing about 'bless the broken road, that led me straight to you', really is true. It's kind of funny, how I ended up Guides. In sec 1, Guides wasn't on my list of CCA trials at all, but one day my classmates came back from a trial looking exhausted and I happened to be waiting in the classroom that afternoon. When I asked where they had been, they said they just went for Guides interviews. And I made an impulsive decision to try for Guides, so I signed up for the next trial even though I wasn't planning to at all, but now here I am in Guides and I am so glad I am. I can't imagine being anywhere else, with anyone else. No one was expecting anything when we entered Guides in sec one, wide-eyed and blur, but everything has just zoomed past and now we're sec 4s. We've left our mark! I know so. We have achieved so much together as a batch with bonds so strong we would win in a superglue competition. (Thank you sec 2 batch talk 2009, it opened our eyes.) We've come so far, and there's still a long way to go. But I believe that we'll get through it all, just as we have before. Together.
We standing in a light that won't fade
Tomorrow's coming but this won't change
Cos some days stay gold forever
The memory of being here with you
Is one I'm going to take my life through
Cos some days stay gold forever
♥
