Memories...
Monday, November 27, 2006
Its quite interesting how certain people reacted after reading my previous blog entry. Some have agreed with me, while some were saying that i was too harsh on the new com and need to give them more time instead of comparing. When i heard these comments, i always smile to myself. n_n Some points i wish to clarify =>
1) 1st of all, people who noe me always know that i preached the value of "judge a com when it steps down, not when it just stepped up". My blog entry on 2nd Sept 2005 one year ago reads:
"sometimes i feel so lonely about re-running dear blog, esp when suzzi left..e rest of the 25th are able to sit around the clubroom table, talking about what they are going to do after they step down..suzzi going for dance and cheerleading, mary s goin for soccer training, chonghan will settle down more with shuyi, alex will continue intensively for dragonboat,yuimin s enjoyin hall life, steven and gang will have lotsa lotsa dota sessions, the list goes on and on...
but for me,i am going to re-run. And i feel that i m stuck in a zone in between the outgoing 25th and the incoming 26th, stepping down and feeling sad, yet stepping up again in a completely new com..
i feel touched and encouraged by all the people who asked me to run for president, every single one of them, who have the faith in me and believe in me..already criticisms have been struck at me, and i realize that i cannot possible please everyone in this world.. but as long as i know there are people out there who wants me to go for it and who believe in me, i will do my best for them. I cant let the new 26th down and i will not let Arts Club down. And if people ever wants to judge us, judge us when we step down next year, not when we are stepping up. Everyone needs a chance to learn and to shine when they are in a new job and position."
2) 2nd, I feel one of the best things in life is to see your successors do even better than you. Read October 13 2005:
"........
Disturbed.
Am i pushing too hard? Pushing too much?
Am i comparing too much between then and now? Past and present?
Am i being fair?
I always want the best for others...for successors..and nothing beats having successors outdo you..
Perhaps my expectations are too high?
No..
I dun think so....
Sigh..Its going to be 4 am soon.
Disturbed."
3) I wish to reiterate my point that when u decide to run for elections, and u promise something, you are obliged to fufill your promises. And when u choose to run for mc, u shud be putting in your best. October 6 2005:
"e past few days were quite fruitful for me in terms of getting to know all the various faculty presidents, Union pres, and NUSSU Exco. On Tues all of us presidents met up, and i m glad we all managed to get along well and had a lot of laughs..Danny e union pres is a very nice and warm person, and easy to talk to. I m glad, becoz i fufilled at this point of time, part of what i promised and set out to do during the internals elections:
Fostering closer ties and friendships whenever possible with 1)Deans Office, 2)OSA, 3)OED, 4)ADCC Presidents, 5)NUSSU, and all the 6)various Faculty Presidents.
With the end of the NUSSU appreciation dinner, I have completed part 5) and 6). At least for now, external relations between me and all the 6 areas have gotten off to a very good start, and i m glad about that, becoz i m positive it ll be good for the future of the club.
I m gradually easing into the presidential job, :) but i realized that it has taken a bit of toll on my personal life, and lifestyle as well..hmm, but like what i said and anticipated, when you decide to run for this position, you have to be prepared to give your all. If not, you shouldnt even be thinking of going for it in the first place. Sacrifices i make will never end for the year ahead, but i m positive that at the end of my term, everything would have been worth it. :) "
4) My PERSONAL blog represents my PERSONAL thoughts and views. You can choose to agree or disagree, and i never ask u to read in the 1st place (unless u re my friend). It also means that what i say may not always be or give the full picture, becoz i choose to place my random and disturbing thoughts which i wish to let off. And if u re a random reader secretly surfing here, let it be known to u that i ve no obligation to explain my PERSONAL thoughts to you, unless u take e initiative to talk to me about it. October 17 2005 (my bdae btw =p ):
"There are a lot of things which i wish to blog about..but ever since i stepped up, there have been countless times when i stare at my computer screen, dunno what to type about. Either that or after i typed everything, i erased everything again and told myself to forget it. Its not the past anymore when i could blog whatever tots that were in my mind. In fact, nowadays i always have to think twice before i blog..think about the consequences of how people might view my blog entry, becoz at the end of the day, what i write in my blog may only be certain tots but not the full picture of everything.
What i write in my blog will only be my side of the story and my thoughts, and in no way, representative of the MC or Arts Club. I just want to emphasize that."
5) Welcome to the real world, where it is impossible to please everyone, but that doesnt mean u stop trying or persistently saying things like "we have our own style what". Troy fell to the Greeks becoz their king kept saying "the sun-god will save us. We have our own way" instead of being humble, looking deep within themselves, re-examining Troy's strategies, and leading by example. Sept 27 2005:
"The past month has been..hmmmm..kinda hard to put down in words. Definitely a very tough period for me to go thru, but i m glad i made it, and pulled through. Been ridiculed, criticized, slammed, doubted, judged, disappointed, looked down upon, mocked (even by my own friends)..Certain lies said about me as well. On the other hand, was loved, appreciated, encouraged, supported, admired, congratulated as well...So u see, it was a see-saw of highs and lows during this period.
I truly learnt a lot from this one month. I felt that i have become stronger, and perhaps all presidents need to go thru this phase to toughen themselves up mentally and emotionally. I rem Steven had to go thru this period last year as well.
I learnt that (and i seriously mean it) it is impossible to please everyone, and impossible that everyone knows what you are thinking or yr intentions behind your actions. Why? Becoz there is only ONE me, and billions of other people in the world.
With respect to the previous point, I learnt also not to take what others say about me too personally. Granted, this is something which is not easy for me to change, but i feel i m making quite a headway in this aspect. Esp like what i mentioned, people may not see your good intentions. Had i took everything said or thrown at me during this elections period personally, I prob wud have crumbled.
I learnt that humans, being oh well, humans, tend to easily forget the good things that u have done in the past and concentrate on the bad. Was disappointed at times when the past year of sweat, effort, tears and everything that i put in seem to have been so conveniently forgotten by some people.
I learnt that people always wont see what you are PHYSICALLY doing as well. That is another tricky part of being a President..Becoz in reality, a lot of things which Presidents do are behind the scenes.
I learnt that Presidents have to make unpopular decisions at times, a job hazard which comes along. Sometimes presidents already forsee the difficulties or problems ahead, but it is not easy conveying that across to the respective com members. "
Finally, I love the club. I gave 2 years of my life to her. I see no point in enjoying the club sliding down after years of hard work put in by previous MCs (if it really does slide down), or criticizing others just for the sake of criticizing. I dun see my previous blog entry as defamatory or overly critical. Rather, like i said, i see it as feedback from someone who cares for the club (compared to those who dun even bother bout Arts Club), and who wish to add in some feedback and ask some questions of how the club can improve.
People who know me well knows that i m the kind of person who speaks my mind. Sometimes that offend people but whats e point of always mentioning the positive aspects and resting on one's laurels? I m not saying that one shud totally neglect the positive aspect of things, but rather, it is thru looking at negative areas where one can push himself and the people around him. Look at Sir Alex Ferguson, he has won so much and achieved great success over decades, but he mentioned himself that he is always looking foward to the future, and questioning where he can improve his team and Manchester United as a whole.
Having said so much, still, i very much appreciate you coming up to me and talking to me about this. You are entitled to your views, and i am entitled to mine, but it was great talking to u. I put up this blog entry to further elaborate on some areas which i might not have time to explain to u. All e best to yr exams, and take care. =)
