Saturday, December 31, 2011

The Good & Bad of 2011


I can hardly believe that 2011 is ending! Hold your horses though, because I intend to make good use of the last day of 2011.

Year 2011 is a year full of ups and downs, personally, locally and internationally.

For me, I graduated with a Diploma with Merit and an award for the Kingsmen Creatives Prize. That was the glory of my life, my pride and joy. I was at the top of the world. Then, came the task of choosing a University. I fretted over whether I am good enough to enter a local University and thought that I lost my chance. In the end, I chose NUS and am planning to major in Geography.

I wouldn't say that 2011 is good to me because it isn't. The year seems to hover between good and bad, besides, I am not entirely pleased with myself and the way things are heading. Indeed, I would say that the earlier half of the year was so much better than the later half.

If there is one regret I have for 2011, it is that I failed to fulfil my goal and dream of going to USA. All these years, I worked so hard and am going to reward myself with a bang but yet, it failed to materialise. That goal is still standing. I can only hope that I can fulfil it sooner not later.

In Singapore, this is nerve-wracking year. Toes are trod-on and fingers are pointed at. We witnessed the watershed General Election and Presidential Election. I finally realised that Singapore is not what I thought it to be. I thought that people will be more grateful and thankful for we have, alas, that was not the case. People, especially, the younger generation, have grown contemptuous and cynical. They have grown "fat" from all the coddling and protection.

2011 is a year full of disasters that one can almost say it's a disastrous year. Not only are there earthquakes, floods and tsunamis with thousands of lives lost, there is also the financial crisis that sent countries into debt and the stock markets a-tumbling. The powerhouses of the world are not so powerful after all.

The technological world lost a visionary, Steve Jobs, who redefines technology. The world, too, lost dictators such as Gaddafi and Kim Jong Il.

All in all, it's been a roller-coaster ride of a year. However, I will still miss it simply because the year is gone. The new year ahead seems daunting and tough, for the world economy and for myself. Not to mention, the supposedly end-of-the-world will arrive. I will be entering into my second semester of studies and I have to grit my teeth to bear with it.

For all the pessimism I show, I still have hopes that 2012 will be wonderful as it can be. Besides, the year 2012 is made better already with the thoughts of Sherlock season 2 in January and The Hobbit in December starring both Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in both shows. Oh, it's Christmas!