By Matthew Chiu
The transition from primary to secondary school was a very uncertain one for me. I had chosen ACS(I) as my secondary school, but it was a half-hearted decision; I liked the other schools almost equally. As I chose to enter secondary school via direct school admission (DSA) and not by my PSLE score, I had to decide on my school earlier than most of my friends. This meant that I could not choose a school based on what my friends chose, as their results were not out yet.
The reason why I wasn’t very excited about going to ACS was because the school was very far away, and none of my friends were going there, hence I felt very lonely and down. Despite the encouragement from others, I felt a bit of regret over my choice for some time after the submission of my school choice.
Though I had already secured a place in a secondary school through DSA, I still worked hard for my actual PSLE paper. Before each paper, I would pray to God, asking Him for wisdom to do my paper, have good time management, and know how to answer the questions. God answered my prayer, and gave me very good results.
Unexpectedly, on the day of the PSLE results, one of my friends told me that a friend from my P1 class had also managed to enter ACS(I) via DSA Badminton. I was overjoyed when I heard the news. Finally, I knew someone going to the same school as me. My mother even arranged a car-pooling arrangement with his mother as he also had siblings going to Tao Nan School.
In the blink of an eye, the new year had started and my new school term was about to begin. On the first day, I felt very nervous: How would it be like in my new school? Would I make any friends? Are the people there nice? To cheer me up, my mother decided to take the public transport with me to school that day.
As I entered the school, I realised that my fears were unfounded. There were many prefects that guided us to the classrooms, and they were very warm and welcoming. During the orientation period, the prefects were also very helpful and courteous; they brought us around the school, explaining every part in detail. They even helped us to refill our bottles during the Sports Bazaar!
During recess, they even went the extra mile to entertain those who were eating in class by playing hangman and other games, and taught us the ACS cheers. Overall, they made the orientation camp very enjoyable. I also managed to make several new friends through it.
Through all this, I thank God for providing me with such a marvellous and beautiful school with such nice people. I am also very grateful that I managed to secure a place in the school even before PSLE. Otherwise, I would have felt a lot more uncertainty and anxiety during the PSLE period and maybe not do as well as I eventually did.
This whole experience has taught me to acknowledge God as my master, to trust Him and let Him direct our paths. Even as we go through uncertainties in life, we can take comfort in the fact that God’s ways are the best.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
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