school

The golden words emblazoned on the wall of the building read: 'S.M.K. Chung Hua Miri'. Memories that carved into my mind reminded me of the secondary school life I have been through for the 6 years of my life.There would be thousands of pages to be crammed with my hoarded feelings and reminiscence towards my school. My school means more than just nurturing me to become an educated person, it has been a friend accompanying my teenage life.

Squinting through my school from a bird's-eye view now, once again I am awestruck by the majesty of our school's large green field. Little did I know it is a place where talented athletes realise their inner potential and strength. My friends and I were used to running on the tracks, shifting all our internal gears into full blast such that at the end, we smiled wearily yet satisfyingly, despite the sheen of sweat and dirty trousers caked with dirt and pebbles.

Then, I trot my way to the classrooms where some scholarly looking people chatter and laugh at the top of their voices. The scene has accentuated a familiar academic atmosphere. It reminded me of the last year of my secondary school life. My classroom had always been highly charged especially when big examination approached. Besides waging a war with weariness and drowsiness, my fellow friends had to strain all their efforts on tonnes of books. My friends and I would always talk ourselves through our dreams and the reasons we put our best foot forward in the pursuit of our dreams. We vouched unanimously that we would be on guard with every difficulty that might wall up against us. My school was once a place where dreams began their journey after we had thrown off the bowlines and sailed away from the safe harbours. The so-called 'Chung Hua spirit' gave us powerful strength and persistent determination to catch the trade winds in our sails, to explore, to dream and to discover.

Canteen is, and always will be the hotspot to every student, particularly to skive the boring lessons. The wondrous time with my friends flashed through my head, took me aback by the silly things we had done. Once in a lifetime did we sow the oats and conjure crazy stuff out of our frenetic passion. Besides joking around and laughing serious matters off, we would bury our heads on their offered shoulders, snug as a bug in a rug, in order to chase the vehement emotions and blues away.

The first time I sang my school anthem, God, it was a really funny song. Singing it several times would actually bore you. However, the school anthem may conjure up the memories and the spirit of a Chung Hua student. It would be a great difference singing at the time you are in school and by the time you are not in school anymore. I think the greatest difference is the feeling because it may well up tears in your glassy eyes and whirl emotions like vortexes in your belly.

Time passed, people change; yet, memories remained.

Probing deeper into my secondary school life, I am struck by the pang of stupefaction and realisation that I spared most of the time on my study. It would be stupid to always be in the class from the absolute day one until my graduation. What if I tried once in a lifetime bunking off exhaustively boring classes? What if I sneak out of class to eye the back of my school hall where the popular fallacy of ghost stories spread amongst the students? What if I have been the school prefect and experienced the new things I have never been before?
The what-if session will not change the past and the fact that I had been graduated.

Along the way out of my school, I could not help glancing back at the building of whitewashed wall before I mouthed a silent 'goodbye' to my school.