This year has been FANTASTIC for me.
Dreams came true :) even when I didn’t quite believe that they would after awhile.
In fact, I think this year has been the best year in my 23 years of existence, after a horrid 2011.
Well, I think I had a great start to the year too- watching the fireworks off Taipei 101 right outside Grand Hyatt Hotel in my pyjamas with my cousin.
So why was this year great?
This idiom sums it all: 고진감래(苦盡甘來) or 고생 끝에 낙이 온다.
The first half of the year was tough.
It was my last semester in NUS Business and at the start of it, I was still a 2nd class honours (lower).
It’s not easy pulling up your CAP ok.
From Year 1 Sem 1 - Year 2 Sem 2, I managed to increase my CAP by 0.27.
At the end of Year 3, my CAP was still the same as Year 2 Sem 2’s and I was still a 2nd lower.
By the end of Year 4 Sem 1 (end of 2011), my CAP went up by 0.05 to 3.92. So near yet so far to 4.00. Would I be able to increase my CAP by at least 0.08 in my final sem?
I was really stressed at the start of the semester, because I wanted 2nd upper, which is the minimum requirement for so many management trainee programs. At the end of each week, I reflected on my progress in my modules and calculated the possibilities of getting As in all 4 mods and my CP. But as the sem went on, life got tougher and tougher with all my deadlines around the same time with a never-ending pile of work. It got to the point where I was so tired of everything and pressuring myself to get As for everything when it wasn’t quite happening that I just gave up. Seriously. I just told myself to enjoy my last semester in school. Forgot about the As, forget about getting 2nd upper. Just give my best in whatever I do and don’t even think about the outcome. So I did just that. Process was all that mattered to me and I didn’t want to care about anything else because they only made me sad.
People around me were getting into banks’ MA programs, into the big firms, into MA programs and all.
Me? I didn’t have the grades and I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do after I graduate.
I mean I kind of knew what I wanted but I didn’t think I would get in. I didn’t have much self-esteem when I compared myself to the high-flyers I was surrounded by. In fact, I think I messed up my life in Business School and there is still so much that I don’t know and I wished that I had studied harder, that I would have a 2nd chance to make the most out of life in the Business School. And that’s why I set my eyes on the scholarship program, to do my MBA in Korea. I wanted to study business again and also learn more about the Korean business environment whether I was going to work in another company after graduation or my dad’s company.
There was just one plan for me: apply for the scholarship and if I fail, I’d find a job in the company that I had interned in. There isn’t just one fixed recruitment period for the program in the company and I could always apply for the program after the scholarship results are out.
In early May and just a few days before my graduation trip to Europe, I was done with school and the 2nd selection results were out. I didn’t get through.
I spent one day in sorrow and then I got over it. It wasn’t meant to be and I’d just find a job after I got back from Europe.
But it wasn’t fair too because I think the reason why I didn’t get through the 2nd round is because I’m not in the top 20% in school. But NUS doesn’t rank us so how was I supposed to submit my ranking?
Part of me didn’t want to give up and I spent hours analysing the past scholarship selections' announcements on the scholarship board’s website. In previous years, additional names were added to the 2nd round selection results later on but from the way the words were put across in the latest announcement, it didn’t seem plausible that there would be additional candidates this time round. Still, I had one small spark of hope left in me and I went for the medical examination that I would have been required to do if I had made it through the 2nd round. Since I was due to leave for Europe in a few days and basically wouldn’t be in Singapore for the rest of the month to settle any matter related to the scholarship IF, additional candidates would be added to the list and I were one of them, I planned out everything (collection of my medical examination results and mailing out of the necessary documents over to Korea before the deadline) and got my cousin and Dad to help me settle everything else on my behalf.
I left for Europe and a few days later, I received an email from the Korean embassy that I had made it through the 2nd round and was one of the additional candidates. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the email and gave a loud squeal in the computer room in the hostel in Sorrento when I read it. That day, I had spent a wonderful day in Capri island and had bought a beautiful Prada bag on my dad’s credit card, thinking to myself that I would pay him back once I get a job after my grad trip. And it turned out that I wouldn’t be entering the workforce anytime soon. Oops. The 3rd and final round in the scholarship process was to be accepted by at least 1 university. I had selected 3 universities: KU’s marketing masters, YU and SKKU’s Global MBA programs. Within the next few days, I received KU’s offer to it’s masters program for Marketing and then I received 2 emails for interviews with YU and SKKU. I can still remember how I did my interviews…the interview with YU was done in the bathroom in our hotel in Nice at 8am when my friend and bro were still asleep. I got up early, did my makeup and everything and rushed into the bathroom to Skype the selection officers. The interview with SKKU was done in our hotel in Paris and somehow, the internet connection was really bad so we only had a Skype interview for a few minutes before switching to a voice call for the rest of the interview. I was actually worried about my interviews because I was on a holiday and didn’t have much time or internet access to prepare for them. But I just gave my best, I was myself and I think I did pretty well :) When I was in Edinburgh, I received my offer from Yonsei. On my last night in London, just before all of us slept, we received our SMSes from NUS with our results. I GOT MY 2ND UPPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unbelievable :) I managed to increase my CAP by 1.0. And then on the day I returned to Singapore, I received my offer from Sung Kyun Kwan :)
May turned out to be a really really wonderful month. I had the best time of my life in Europe with my brother and my friends. We were blessed with good weather on most days, (luxury) shopping was brilliant (but we didn’t have enough time to shop in London), I met up with my dearest friends (Mattia who drove 3 hours from Italy to Monaco to meet us and Adie, my blog-reader-turned-friend in London) and we went to so many beautiful and scenic places. We managed to meet my parents in Paris too and took the cruise on River Seine together < 3
I only managed to do up 1 blog entry of my Europe trip. You can read it here: http://eunjinclara.blogspot.kr/2012/07/sorrento-capri-positano-amalfi-coast.html
From June to end August, it was about spending time with my family and friends before I came to Korea. I had my graduation ceremony and also spent time with Vanity Trove. Thank you for sharing the love with me!
YJ also came over for 2 weeks and he stayed with us.
Alright, wow, I actually spent a long time writing the first half of this entry. All the memories came gushing back!
I won’t write anymore about the 4 months+ that I spent here in Korea because you can read all about it in my previous entries! Initially, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to life here in Busan because I only had 1 friend here while everyone else I know are up in Seoul. But I’m loving life here now, surrounded by the people I love and my dear friends. I can’t imagine life without most of them next year when I move up to Seoul.
This year passed very quickly, especially the last 4 months. Writing this entry made me reflect on many things and that’s why I took so long to finish writing this. I realised that I actually took many things for granted, like my life now. Reflecting on how much it took to make it back here on a scholarship made me realise how lucky I am and how I should give thanks to those who have helped me in one way or another and how I should be spending the rest of my stay here in Korea. To make the most out of what God has given me. Especially my 2nd chance back in the Business School! I’ll make the most of 2013. 2012 was a year of big changes, as I had predicted. I had to move to Korea. And in 2013, I’ll be making another move, but within Korea. Whatever it is, I’ll make it a blast.
Here’s to a wonderful 2013 for all of us :)
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The school treated us scholars to pizza and coke after class today :)
In the afternoon, we went to the cafe in the dorm to catch the last sunset of the year but the trees blocked my view :(
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| Spying on Daniel with a girl hahaha |
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| Helping me with my homework |
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| Bye December, one of my favourite months of the year |
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| Slippery |
It’s where he first brought me to for pasta back in September :)
Beautiful ambience with very reasonable pricing. Bread, salad and vongole for about 10,000원. You’ll never get this in Singapore! You can’t compare this to Pastamania because the portion serving in this eatery is bigger and it’s more delicious too.
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| Finished everything except for the garlic |
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| Back in school |
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