(This post was written more than 2 years ago and was intended for this blog, but was left in drafts and completely forgotten about. I am posting this as originally intended, I did not change the dates or information to preserve the authenticity in which this post was written)
My friends are now receiving university offers and preparing for their major A level exams. It’s nostalgic to think of all the things we went through together, and I wish them only the best in their journey ahead. Having the opportunity to be friends with all these amazing people has taught me so much, and fate willing, may I be able to cross paths with them again.
INDUCTION WEEK
The first week was a wave of euphoria and excitement of being in a new place with new people, and it passed by far too soon. The whole of the first week was called “Induction Week” where the members of the student council and a few other facilitators give us an introduction to life in college, and get to know us better through a bunch of fun activities and games that were conducted under their supervision and of the Student Services Manager. The main task that was given to us to complete throughout the week, was to identify a few seniors using only their nicknames from a sheet of paper, and getting them to sign your paper. Finding out who they are is one thing, getting them to sign it is another. Some seniors made us do tasks like ‘Dance like Drake from the Hotline Bling video, while singing it at the top of your lungs in public,’ or ‘Do the kuda kepang dance’. It was amusing to see so many people doing these ridiculous acts in public, but not so when you’re the one on the receiving end. Just kidding. You’ll have fun embarrassing yourself too don’t worry!
The seniors did an excellent job at making us feel at home – in fact, I didn’t feel at all homesick! The seniors were generally really accommodating, and are more than willing to help you if you’re willing to ask.
The students also had briefing sessions with the Academic Department and the University Relations counselor to decide on subject choices and to give us a rough idea about choosing universities. My initial subject choices before I came to KY were Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Math; but after the briefing I decided to change my choices to Physics, Economics, Math and Further Math. My decision to take Further Math was a rather difficult one: we had a class taster session where we could sit in a mock class to experience what it’s like to be in the actual class. During this session, the teachers told us about the practicality of taking further math in an 18-month course, and explained to us how difficult it would really be. In fact, according to the teacher, there was only ONE student from the previous 18-monther batch who got an A for further math. The rest got Bs. This, of course, shocked me. I was a tad hesitant in the beginning out of fear, but I chose to take it in the end to challenge myself. Besides, if all else fails, at least I’ll have learnt some mathematical skills.
Remember the signature sheet I mentioned earlier? That wasn’t the last of it! If we didn’t complete the signature sheet by the last day of induction, there would be a punishment for all the students: they call it the ‘Samurai’. All the students here are sworn to secrecy about what it is; I guess you’ll just have to find out for yourself.
Induction ended off on a very pleasant note: we the juniors felt so much closer to our seniors than before, marking the start of a wonderful semester of school with them.
SPM RESULTS
Just when we thought we were having the best time of our lives, our past came back to haunt us. For us Yayasan Khazanah scholars, we were reminded that our scholarship offer was conditional based on our SPM results, and it was undeniable that we were all afraid of the big day. Some of the students had sleepless nights of angst and back-to-back nightmares, all leading up to the big day. Some of us made jokes like “If you don’t see me on Monday it means I’m gone for good!”, but behind all the jokes and smiles, it was apparent that we all feared if we were to leave behind everything that we’ve worked for.
The results were to be announced on Thursday morning, so most of us made our way home on Wednesday evening after class. Admittedly, I was worried to bits. My heart was thumping and my head was filled with ‘what-ifs’. I thought of a bunch of back-up plans throughout the week, but there was still too much at stake. I was prepared for the worst. (By prepared for the worst, I mean all my stuff was readily packed up in luggage bags in case I was asked to leave).
The morning of the big day came, and my hands were anxiously gripping my phone, ready to send a text to check my results. Words of encouragement were thrown around groups, and a bunch of “Good Lucks” was exchanged. I am a firm believer that results from a test should not be able to determine your future, but for the 12 of us YK scholars, it was as such. I sent my details to the number at exactly 10am, and I got dressed to go back to school.
When the text came back, I was filled with crippling fear; followed shortly by a burst of joy. I was safe! I sent a message to the YK WhatsApp group: “SEE Y’ALL ON MONDAY!”
In the midst of all my joy, little did we know that among the 12 of us, 2 were to part ways. To say we were devastated is an understatement: we’ve grown to like each other’s company so much that it just crushed us that our friends would be leaving. Each of us possessed completely different qualities and personalities that made us special, that made our group feel whole. Losing 2 of those personalities felt like losing a part of ourselves. Who else would we go to for encouragement and support? Who else would crack random jokes in the WhatsApp group? We’ve spent far too much time together: from going to class together, to the after-school café meet-up sessions. We would have done anything for them to stay by our side, (we even discussed using our YK allowance to pay for them to stay in KY), but God had better plans for them.
LIVING WITH 62
I still remember how I met my roommate Sara for the very first time.
Our only real contact in the beginning was through post-it notes pasted on each other’s door. And moments where she had to open the front door for me cause I got locked outside.
I always sit at the common room at very odd hours of the day. Sometimes sleep. Sometimes my upper body is in the common room but my lower body is in my room. Sometimes I just sit at my door and stare into the void that is the common room. One day Sara and I just sat together in the common room, and what started out as small talk ended up being hours and hours of conversation. These conversations became more frequent when the air conditioning in the common room broke down and I moved her carpet into my room. Since then we would spend almost every hour after class together in each other’s rooms having really deep conversations about everything. Some days we would just cook for each other and eat together, and once that was done we would go out to the field to wash dishes together. We’ve studied together, gossiped together, worked out together, laughed together, even gotten sad together; I knew that she always had my back. Having her as my roommate was what made KY so much more special. This post would definitely not be enough to describe all the weird and wonderful adventures we’ve had: from the junk food basket to late night outdoor dishwashing, 62 will always be close to my heart.
ESCAPE GANG
It all started with a suggestion: Ellie and I had been meaning to go jogging outside the school compound for the longest time: a change of scenery was what we needed. Unfortunately for us the school security wouldn’t allow 2 girls to go out running alone, so we had to postpone the trip. We managed to reel in some friends who were interested, and some other friends who had no idea what they signed up for.
This happened when I was in a particularly low point of my time in KY: I was going through some personal issues and running seemed to be my only remedy. Every day at 5.30pm, without fail, Ellie would throw rocks at my window to summon me out for a run. Ellie was there for me through my lows and was always there to lift me up: she had the enthusiasm of a 9-year-old girl but the strength of a mother. She always says I was there to motivate her to run farther, but little does she know that she was the one who gave me the strength to push through each day harder and to always look on the bright side of things.
Before we knew it, what seemed to be a one-time gathering ended up becoming a weekly activity group. All of us really enjoyed each other’s company, and coming together to go out and do physical activity (yay) together just made it all the more exciting. I made some of my closest friends in KY from the Escape Gang, and we still keep in touch today. The Escape Gang was definitely a highlight of my KY schooling days, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
THE KY BUCKET LIST
Before Zaris and I left KY, we made a short bucket list of ‘crazy’ things we wanted to do before leaving. His list consisted of things like sleeping on the roof, sleeping in the library post-curfew, making a music video and so on while mine consisted of things like swimming in the Saad square after a rainy day, wear a super short dress to class one day just to challenge the ridiculous dress code imposed onto female students, and wear a baju Melayu (traditional male Malay costume) to class. Zaris and I surely had a lot of fun completing the list, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the support from the batch. I would’ve been the only one wearing pyjamas to class on a Friday and have gotten into trouble if it weren’t for them. This just comes to show that power lies within the masses. I personally feel that in some ways the bucket list brought me so much closer to my batchmates; they were the main contributors to the list and were all so supportive of the fun journey in completing it. I wouldn’t have learnt how to wear a sampin if not for them, and I would never have stepped out of my comfort zone (my room) to be crazy for a few moments without them.
10/10 would recommend.
FINDING MYSELF
It’s true that there are always valuable lessons to be picked up everywhere you go, and KY was definitely a major point of my transition into adulthood (ooo so grown up now). Making subject choices certainly made me think more about what I really want in the future, how I’m going to get there, and what am I going to do after. Of course, my ultimate goal is to give back to humanity, but how do I as an individual contribute to that noble cause? How do our career choices impact the people around us, will the careers we choose still matter in the near future after we graduate from university? These were all the questions I had to answer, on top of thinking about university applications and how to go about them. KY also made me think about the things I really enjoy doing, and how I would take the initiative to continue doing them in college, given the hectic workload of A levels. I knew for a matter of fact that I wanted to continue debating, and I wanted to bring back my experience to my juniors back in high school. The effort paid off when I was selected to be the co-President of the KY Debate Union, alongside my partner Yang. It was difficult organizing for the school team to participate in tournaments because of the concerns with cost and time restraints, but with teamwork and lots of perseverance, we managed to make it through.
KY also made me reevaluate friendships and my role as a friend.
Having just graduated from a boarding school of 5 years, my friendships with my former high school mates were all put to the test. Being apart from the friends that I had lived with for 5 whole years was certainly odd at first: I would no longer wake up to my dorm mates’ familiar faces, my closest friends would no longer be just another walk away, I would no longer be having meals and long chats in the dining hall with the people who made high school worth it. Everyone chose their own separate ways, but the memories we shared will certainly hold us together for as long as time itself. Because all of us were from different states, maintaining friendships became more reliant on social media. It became difficult at first, but I truly am thankful for the friends who have made the effort to reach out and keep in touch. (I’m a very low maintenance friend, you could literally not talk to me for 4 years but if you send me a message I can maintain conversation like nothing ever happened in between).
Leaving KY was a very difficult decision, but it certainly was a necessary one. These 6 months have defined who I am as a person and my priorities, I wouldn’t have spent them any other way.
12/10 would recommend.
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