2AA3

'Baccalaureate'
A farewell address in the form of a sermon delivered to a graduating class

NOW I KNOW what it means.

I love ACJC because:

Teachers = Friends
Friends = Friends
Guards = Friends
Janitors = Friends
Stall vendors = Friends

I love ACJC because my class, 2AA3, is a class clean of politics, strife and badmouthing. It is just a bit on the lame side, thanks to the guys. I've actually prepared what I want to say to the class! : O Oh well, pardon me for this incoherent entry. The 'Duchess of Malfi' essay in my bag has actually been calling for me for quite some time, causing me to have an interrupted stream of thought, apart from mixed emotions that I already have about leaving school. I'll end off with something that I thought of while on the way home:

Haze, haze, go away
Come back on 'A' Level's Day

...which, by the way, is a mere 25 days away as of today.

Happy studying. Don't forget that the Literature Mock Exam is at 3pm in LT5 and that we have a timed essay on Tourism during lecture next Monday.

Death

Have you witnessed death before? Looking at someone falling short of that one silent breath that he had needed to live on for a few more seconds. Or looking at someone groaning in agony with methane overload in the guts till he left.

I have never witnessed any. When my maternal grandmother died, I was only 1 year old. When my rabbit was suffering from blocked guts due to hairballs, I was 10. My mum euthanised it by wrapping it in a bag to let it self suffocate in the dump. When my paternal grandmother died, the clock in her house stopped at the same time, at 6am. I was 12 then and I didn't witness it either. When my third aunt died last Tuesday, school had just ended and I was going to practice my Math in class.

Near eighteen years of living, and I have yet to experience all the emotions, pleasures and sufferings of life. This reminds me of the author of Ecclesiastes, who had gone through the otherwise. However, he ended up with this conclusion, that 'vanity of vanities; all is vanity'. (Eccl. 1:2)

The only TRUE substance of life is here in Eccl. 3:12-13.

'I know that there is no good in them,
but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
And also that every man should eat and drink,
and enjoy the good of all his labour,
it is the gift of God.'

Then, I thank God that my life is a simple one. : )

There is another thing that I feel strongly and cannot tell due to obligations. All I can say is that I hope people of my generation will be able to live cohesively in the love of God when the previous generation leaves. There has been lots of trouble and ungodly behaviour in the past, and more will come in the future.

God, please purge us of this sin and teach us to be righteous. Punish us to let us learn, and give us strength to resist worldly pursuits. Teach me to be more like you the Master. More of your meekness, humility, zeal to labour and the courage to be a true servant on earth. Give me the courage, wisdom and initiative to mend the fissures in our relationship with each other. Remove the roots of hatred in us, that we may live in sincerity and open-heartedness.

'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:
for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.'
Matt. 5:44-45