Picture of some Hwa Chong students

Aw man, I gotta get me out of these pants, they are killing me!

Dear Juniors,

As our year ends, you might ask, 'Why do we eat our childhood snacks, listen to old songs, and see a senior from 10 years back?'

Food- music- people- and now nostalgia connects us. The present always seems grim and shaded by work, while the future is so bright for all of you that it is hard to see ahead. But what does the past mean to you, being 17?

While we cannot travel back in time, we can recreate the past like we did in class today. I know you might not remember when you were 7 ten years ago - but I do remember when I was 17.

And this is what I remember. I remember being soaked in the sweat of daily work and fun, a sea of deadlines and wave after wave of events in Hwa Chong. Friends. Absorbing and absorbed by us alike, they accompany you deeper.

Each day left you spent and spinning.

So today I hope these words from above the water come clear to you.

Carve out your life plan, your mission statement and what you want to achieve in life. Let everything you do flow through that mission. Plan this early because time is really like the sea. As you swim and think you move forward, it is ultimately meaningless to the sea itself. You only advance when you have a goal. A shore to find. If you have a mission grand enough to sustain, when your body falters, your loved ones are equally adrift, and you find your spirit drowning - that goal of yours will not fade. Carve it on solid rock now.

In a short life, how then do you decide as to what is a worthy goal? To me, it is as simple as it is difficult. Give to others. Principles will never fail you. We are never perfect, but our ideals always must be.

Well, that is all I dare say before my words get lost in the echoes and deep end of where you are submerged.

Having looked through all I have written above, I feel that I might have been too rough in describing time. Here, at this moment, she has allowed me to wading gently into her waters, and briefly, I hope I have swum back to help pull you into the future. But I have not been able to be with you all long; just a short year. 2010 went by too quickly. Writing this, I also know the dangers of memory, and of swimming too far into it. Luckily I have my rock to return to - Teaching! And thus I have these words for you today.

Hwa Chong's tsunami will flood you all next year and time will just flash by. But do not fear. We always think of the many waves crashing towards us - but do we count the number that recede? Find your mission's rock and after it all, you will still be standing.

The sea goes nowhere even though it is unrelentless. But we - we can decide.

All the best, cos you all are. Thank you.

Once your Civics Tutor, but always your Senior, :P
Mr. Mark Tan