Entering the Mass Communication course was my dream come true. I've had my eyes on the course ever since I was 15. Even though the amount of workload was heavy throughout my last 2 years here, I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Year 1 didn't feel easy at all. Being thrown into a different studying environment than what you've been used to for the past 16 years - you start to panic. Especially when you've had the close guidance and strong support of your teachers for so long and this is your first time being "independent".
Luckily, I survived! With capable friends and lots of hardwork, I enjoyed myself!
From the days of learning how to direct and shoot a film,
to the day I joined a CCA (can you guess which CCA I'm in?)
to the last few days of my first semester (CELEBRATION!!!)
Then when Semester 2 arrived, we learnt about being a radio deejay…
and went around scouting for places to study during the study breaks, only to resort to Starbucks...to end up not doing so much work (haha)
Along came Year 2, which seemed pretty ok except for the hectic and tight schedule we were on. Year 2 was definitely not the year for anyone of us to slack, because we knew that our overall GPA was at stake! And if you have your eyes on a certain scholarship or university, it's time to step up your game!
So, being the hardworking students, we travelled everywhere to write stories for our Journalism modules…
Here's one picture I took while covering a story for my assignment. This was The Imaginary Story Land (by Tay Bee Aye) exhibition at The National Museum of Singapore. It had a wall of velcro and toys and pillows all around for the children to stick them on the wall. It was basically a play area where they could design and create what they want, on the wall.
Another one: This was the Night Festival 2010. I went to the Singapore Art Museum with a bunch of friends at night and were awed by the crowd. The theme that night was like a torturous carnival of some sort. You had to enslave yourself at the Slave Trader to earn Abusement Money (from the Abusement Park) and there was a cave where you could enter to try and open a treasure chest.
I also learnt how to take photos in a photography class, starting with the basics:
And we had a talk conducted by 98.7FM DJs Shan & Rozz, where we learnt more about the radio industry.
Now? I'm in my 3rd year of my polytechnic, where before I started school officially, I went overseas to take the modules: Photojournalism and the History of Chinese Culture in Wuhan and we learnt about their lifestyle, culture and some of the festivals they celebrated there. I went to Mt. Wudang, The Three Gorges and also visited Wuhan's most famous 5 bridges. And let me just say, it was magnificent.
It's the 4th week since school started and I've been attending events and movies with the purpose of writing reviews for as part of my assessment for the module Online Journalism. Oh, the perks of being an Online Journalism student - super exclusive events, meet and greets with celebrities, freebies such as gadgets/beauty products/CDs/concert tickets/restaurant vouchers for the sake of writing reviews, and have it published on The UrbanWire! Some of the past exclusive events that we've been to includes The Star Awards 2011 and movie premieres like Beastly and Priest! And for this upcoming weekend, I'll be going to Show Luo's concert!
Pictures of my one of my editors, Tan Ding Xiang, at The Star Awards with some celebrities:
In case you're wondering, the latest event I've been to is…THE BLACK STAR TOUR with AVRIL LAVIGNE.
To me, these opportunities for writing means a lot because it goes towards my portfolio. So I'm especially grateful whenever I get to go out on these events to meet wonderful musicians.
I've changed a lot in these past 2 years - in terms of my personality, work attitude, friendships and skills. And I have learnt so much in my course from my lecturers, that I cannot be more than thankful for. Without them, I would not even know half the stuff I know today. Without them, I wouldn't be inspired to work hard everytime I get struck down by obstacles. On top of that, my friends were always there for me whenever I needed them through those late nights rushing for assignments and those terrible Mondays (Monday blues!). So, have I enjoyed myself in Ngee Ann Poly? It's a definite YES!
