this is everything i didn't say

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"hi, i'm joween and i'm from pioneer junior college-- no, it's not at pioneer, it's at choa chu kang." this is how i would introduce myself when i'm asked which school i was from the past two years and even after i graduated. but i'm afraid i won't be able to introduce my school like this anymore come 2019. in two years, my school will be merged with jurong junior college and the location will still be at the current pjc site-- despite how ulu it is on a hill behind teck whye secondary and primary school.

i must admit, i never had the intention of going to pjc. i have never heard of pjc until the release of O levels results when we got the JAE Admission Exercise booklet which provided us with a list of schools and courses to choose from. i only went to pjc because it was the best jc that i could go to without having to travel for more than an hour. visiting pjc's open house a day after the release of O level results, i was won over by the school spirit which i saw there as the students- my seniors- danced the two school dances and shouted the school cheers with pride (little did i know that most of them just ended ogl camp one week before and hence the dances and school cheers were fresh in their minds). the school was bright and lively as well, in contrast to another jc open house which i visited before that. my decision was made certain then, that i would put pjc as my first choice, even though i've never heard or seen it or known anything about it before my visit there. with an O level score of net 12, i was worried that i would not be able to get into pjc as my score was just borderline from the cut off point, but i managed to get into pjc arts stream, and that started my 2 years long journey in junior college.

with a unique subject combination of econs, history and lit for h2 subjects and h1 math, i was put in a small class of 18 people. weird, diverse, different individuals, but i guess we all had a thing for writing essays (or not). though we're a tiny class and ended up with 15 people at the end of year 2, we kinda grew closer as a class over time. no matter how annoying or noisy or dumb our class can get, i really enjoyed my time in 15a05. gp and lit lessons with ms zaleena that ended up with debates, history lessons where we learn that our class performed the poorest which wasn't surprising, snacking during math lessons, and mini matches during pe because our class is that small. but i am so glad i got to go through the two tiring years with the people who went through the same struggles as i did. guys, WE DID IT! we survived 12 years of formal education.

my cca was the ambassadors. i kinda regretted not joining dance, but ambass is fine as well, being an event-based cca. though a lot of the people here have rbf, they're genuinely nice, and i met some of my good friends in jc from here. we had the opportunity to attend workshops like communications, personal grooming and dining etiquette (can write in our testimonial ma) and there's a compulsory overseas trip to china (which i did not go). but oh well. a part of me is glad i joined ambass because of the lack of cca sessions heh. 

i know a couple of people from my school whose first choice was not pjc, some others simply there because it was close to where they lived and a handful ended in pjc just because. even though unwilling at first, i've seen that these people, me included, have enjoyed their two years in pjc, be it through cca or other activities organised by the school. for me, the highlight of my jc life was orientation-- as a newcomer and as an ogl. pjc is the first jc i know that has around 8 to 10 ogls in one og group, as compared to other jcs that have 2-3. as far as i know, there are over 200 ogls per year and this is because our principal wants to give us the opportunity to be involved and grow as a student leader. even kairos students are given the chance to be ogls. and personally, that is something about pjc that i'm very proud of, how so many are given the opportunity to serve the school whereas not as many students are given the chance in other schools. also, many students are given the opportunity to go overseas for cca/subject trips, including japan for geog trip and perth for lit trip. me being, well, me, i did not go on any overseas trip.

every school has strict teachers and in pjc from my experience, they are from the pw and econs departments. didn't bring your pw book? stand. didn't bring your econs lecture notes? copy the whole notes after lecture. but i know, this is for our own good. pw consultations dragged to as late as 9pm as my group and i desperately tried to reduce our word count. our tutor, who has a young child of her own, would stay back together with us and made sure that we did our work. the econs lecture group was split into groups so that the lecturers could teach at a pace comfortable for the students. we can even approach tutors who don't teach us for consultations. just make sure i do my work, and my tutors will be willing to hold consultation sessions. the caring teachers i've been under the teaching of are people i really appreciate since j1 and especially in j2 during the stressful period before A levels. as i was really worried and stressed out for gp and lit because i lacked so much and hadn't finish reading my texts when the exam drew near (i never finished reading it, anyway ha), my tutor who teaches me both these subjects would encourage us, telling us how much faith she had in us, even though i think i ended up disappointing her. my teachers definitely played a big part for me in my two years in pj, always encouraging me even though i was not the smartest nor the most hardworking student. following the merger, some teachers will be redeployed, and i don't know if my teachers will continue teaching in pjc. what if one day i decide to visit my alma mater, and i don't get to see my teachers anymore? my math tutor whose classes i really enjoy attending, have moved to another school. what about my other subject tutors?

despite being 17 years young this year, pjc has every reason to celebrate all its achievements so far. special mention to my cousin who was in the pioneer batch of pjc, could have went to a better school but did not, studied and currently living in the us, wan yan for designing our school crest!! the school campus moved from near the science centre to the current campus in teck whye. in 2015, we celebrated pj15 and sg50 with our first ever fiesta (bless up). in 2016 and 2017, we achieved 100% A/B for pw (thanks teachers and strict dept). our school cut off point decreases almost every year, and there are improvements for our A level grades as compared to previous years. can i also say i'm so damn proud of h2 history 2016 cohort because there are more than 90% A/B of which more than 80% got A and our whole class got 100% A/B for history!!!! there are also many stories of perseverance in our school and you can read them here: natasha amanda richmond esther. throughout the two years i was in pjc, our sports teams managed to bag a few awards, as our school's ultimate frisbee team emerged the champions in ijcu, and the basketball team clinched second place in the annual a division competition. 17 years young, but pjc has managed to gain recognition over the years because of all the outstanding pioneers, pioneer junior college, once known as a new, young jc in the west has established a name for itself, and i'm proud of it.

it is sad to know that pj will never be the same anymore. less than two decades, and a new beginning. even though i do complain a lot about the school, the timetable, the facilities, the teachers, the heat, the distance to the bus stop, literally everything, the school still holds a very special place to me. i've learnt a lot in pj in the two very short years i was there, many memories forged. having econs and history papers on your birthday? #neverforget HAHA. pj fiesta that was held only once so far. the annual walk around teck whye. being called "pioneers" which sometimes make us feel old. what will happen after the merger? new school song, new school uniform, new school name - new identity. what will happen to our school creed? what will happen to our two school dances? so many questions.

the past two years in pj have been an experience for me, and they're all memories good or bad. if there's something i can remember from pjc, it's our motto, a phrase repeated in our school song and creed, and will hold it to heart: