Year 2 in a glance

Helllooo alright I know this is quite late but...

My exams are over! Goodbye year 2!!

Um and sorry for anti-climax but damn I still got some work to do which I really hope to finish by tomorrow. I'm meeting up with my group to finish it! :O And sigh I already have a plan, actually about tomorrow but well c'est la vie. things happen at the wrong time, as usual, and so gotta change my plan. But no worries, I mean I'd rather finish this once and for all! Right?

Anyway yep my exams are over. Whew... The past three weeks were really scary but on Friday, everything seems to pass like a breeze. Woosh and everything was gone. All the rants and the worries and the stress. Everything seems like they never happened at all. But of course, they did happen. Just that it felt really weird that everything has ended haha.

And anyway this is my 700th post in my blog! Woohoo! Finally reaching the 700ths and more to come! So in order to celebrate this awesome 700th post, I'm going to blog about my year 2! In a glance~

---------------------------------------------Year 2 in a glance--------------------------------------------

So 2011 was the year I entered year 2. I was posted to Biomedical Research for my option together with Kai, Candy, Syazwani and Rebekah from my previous class (1B02!) and Vithya of course, who's like a member of DBS 1.5. The 6 of us are really great friends in my class. After all I'm the only guy from The B stage that goes into this option. And the 5 of them were my good friends from my year one. How can we not be close right!

Anyway we all got into a new class of 2A05 and our buddy class was the cardiac people. My class were a mix of course and I don't really know all of them except for some peeps from the 1B01 stage and my friends. And Ashley and Joanne and Jesslyn. We were quite of a strangers together and of course, having to spend a year with your friends, is no wonder that we naturally clique with our friends right?

 Taken during one of our Gem Bio prac. It was saline. Yucks!

So the first semester was alright. I would say the toughest semester in my poly life so far. Things happening at the wrong timing, tough modules, crazy schedules but at the end of the day, I pulled it off. My GPA dropped of course. But thanks to my year one my cumulative was maintained. If it were not to be cause of my year 1 I think my results would really plummet down. 

The awesome Biochem prac where Ashley and I had to collect 24h urine...

Then it was semester 2 and well this time round we are being taught in the new way of CBL - Case Based Learning. It was really... I feel an awesome way of learning. In a way it's kinda better from the traditional go-to-lecture-hall-and-learn way cause we're being directly involved in the learning process itself. Plus I like the feeling of being "small doctors" where we diagnose "patients" from their symptoms.

Even though at times... I feel a bit lost at our learning process. But all's good. Thankfully I kept a journal of the cases that we have been given. So I can refer back when I need them. But apparently, I've lost track from case 5 onwards or so :/ And oh yep we're also given our own classroom - the exchange! Really awesome to have our own class don't you think so? Where we have our seminars as well :)

 

 Our first seminar on kidney diseases! (Rebekah went off first :O)

6 seminars to be done by year 3, 4 completed! (Y). So yup semester 2 was I think better than semester 1. I really love my timetable, the new learning systems etc. I guess the most irritating part of this learning process is when you can't get what you want! Like when you're supposed to research about something but the net just doesn't have it. But with the help of your peers, you'll get it eventually.

Then in term 3 we had a group mix-up and I was grouped with Sam, Huiwen and Kai Xuan. I wasn't really that close to Sam (since she's from another stage in year 1) but at the end of the term, all of us cliqued pretty well! I like the synergy of my team :) Even though heh, we tend to do things at the 11th hour but somehow somewhat, we all pull through eventually! Yaayy. The Immuno project was definitely something really memorable about! :D

 Sam's cute characters for our Immuno project!

And yeah I guess those are the "academic" side of my year 2. Pretty much challenging but at the same time, enriching. It's a new way of learning after all right so it's pretty awesome. Really learn a lot in this year, especially about the medical field. Since we're all learning the foundation of the biomedical field, it's really awesome learning all these "deeper" side of the field! Like haematology, pathology, med micro and more. I would say med micro is my favourite haha. Cause I love bacteria and doing those identifications were really nice! :) 

  

The class (majority) @ the Exchange! Taken with my film (Y)

Moving on, let's talk about the "aesthetic" side of year 2. Let's start with band! So well yup I had our IBM29 in year 2 and it was held in SPCC. We also had our Ganbatte concert :D IBM29 was awesome! Even though oh gosh I was really struggling with studies cause it happened like 10 days before my exams. Then we also went to Korea for an exchange trip! :) One trip I'll never forget, great fun and great experience with the band :D First time to Korea and performing overseas as well!

 

El Camino Real in IBM29 - The song I once thought I can never play, played.

 

Performing at Insyeodon street in Korea! Woohoo! First overseas public performance :D

And moving on - my I would say, the highlight of my year 2! I guess you know it, yep it's my Inner Mongolia OCIP trip! Seriously the best 2 weeks of my life. My awesome GT team, the 2 weeks spent were really so memorable and sweet. It was definitely a trip of a lifetime and I've learnt so much not only about the environment but also about life itself. And yes I will definitely miss the Duolun and Inner Mongolia itself so so much. I will definitely return there one day. Definitely!

 The shot we took on the last day of digging - The sunset of the

(sad I'm not inside this scene! Heh, but glad to take this shot :D)

 My awesome GT team! Under the blue sky of Inner Mongolia

Aww man will definitely miss scenes like this. The colours of the autumn!

And in December, the (so far) highest achievement in my life... Yes! Climbing Mount Kinabalu with my awesome LEAP KK Intermediate December team! Climbing a mountain wasn't in my agenda (of my age). But it was the decision and the thought of proving myself wrong that made me go for this trip! Definitely something I'll never forget about. Seriously people, climb a mountain. You'll never know what lessons it can teach you. And to my awesome team mates - thank you so much for the help you've given to all of us (Y)

 

At Low's Peak! One of the best feelings in my life ever!

Via Ferrata baby~ Woo woo woo!

And many more, of course. Which I think I will just let the next few photos do the talking :)

 Helping out at POL-ITE canoe sprint event at Macritchie

 Welcome YP and Weiqi to the 4E109 @ SP family! :D

 Winning (consolation prize) my first ever "large scale" photography competition

 Taking part in my first ever Poly50 with my GT!

 Covering MDXXXV with Jasmine

 

Year 2 has been one epic journey. A tough one I must say but at the same time, an awesome one. It's the year I suffered the most in terms of "stress" and at the same time it's the year I learnt the most. Be it both academically and aesthetically. And also about life itself. I've always reminded myself that in life, result isn't everything. Studies would always come first to me. But I will never forget to add spice into my life.

I guess people might think "Wow you really have the time to do all those huh" and well I would answer them, without all these events that happened throughout my year 2, I will not be who I am today :)

One more year left to my poly education. It's now or never. I have to life this year to the fullest before it comes to an end. I've been accomplishing my goals throughout my 2 years. Now is the time to do EVERYTHING I've been wanting to complete. One academic year. Here we go.

But ultimately, a journey never truly ends.