this is everything i didn't say

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we're done with 13 weeks of school, done for the semester, and i am still feeling pretty overwhelmed and confused. maybe it's just me, taking a time longer than usual to adapt to changes. many events have happened, both in hall and school since we started the academic year, though i did not take part in all the activities. i felt like i was procrastinating too much before recess week, and since after the semester break, i have been feeling pretty stressed out, trying to pull up my socks for the rest of the sem. but i've been behind schedule and i'm pretty disappointed with myself now. right now, i'm done with 3 of my core mods and i am more than glad. but finals are looming round the corner i just hope i will be able to focus while studying. well, i am supposed to be studying for my finals but i am obviously not doing that right now. i have procrastinated on this post for so long that finals are finally over!!!!!!!!!!!!

in hall, i hardly see people anymore, especially when it's nearing crunch time. i tend to be in my room, trying to catch up with my work. only sometimes will i join random chit chat sessions, but i can't stay for too long either because of morning classes almost every single day. apart from meeting peishi or jingwen occasionally, i would be in my room, either trying to study or giving up and watching videos. even after the sem ends for me, i need to prepare myself for the next sem, plan my timetable and find out more about exchange before i leave for weetrip. so that gives me one week to do all that and maybe squeeze in some time for dance.

in hall, there have been various activities like welcome dinner (which i did not attend because i went to reverb), fiesta, supper hop, simpsons gathering, mid autumn festival celebration, helloween (with crespion and 6), annual general meeting, and there will be an upcoming overnight cycling which unfortunately, i won't be able to join as i will be flying off that night. there was also a dinner where we get to mix with exchange students, but it was pretty local and ended up being a mini simpsons gathering. pretty happening, if you ask me.

in school, it feels like there are way more activities. there had been reverb, dnd, weemix, halloween, homecoming, and the ever famous theme week. theme week was pretty fun and extra, especially since the rest of the school judged us on pyjamas monday. it was fun though, dressing according to the theme with your fellow school mates. even prof bo dressed to theme week as well! there will be an upcoming year end party but i will be in laos then so. yeah.

i have learnt a lot of things since i've entered uni and started staying in hall. one of them is learning to be independent. it feels a little weird to be staying in school, but at least i can save the trouble of squeezing onto public transport and avoiding train breakdowns which have occurred more frequently quite recently. but this also means i'm technically alone throughout the week stay in hall. thank God for hall friends i made during hall camp :'-) i have to settle my breakfast lunch and dinner by myself every single day, and make sure that i have all my assignments done before lecture and tutorial. it's a pretty cool experience staying in hall, especially with random supper jios and gatherings. i personally feel that my uni life has been more exciting because of the fact that i stay in hall. really really glad to have been posted to hall1 because we are right at the entrance of the school, it's at a fairly good location, and we are one of the few halls closest to extension aka supper jio and karaoke jio when the holidays come!! i'm really really grateful for the people i've met in hall since hall camp because they're the ones making hall life more happening when you're busy studying and they're the people that i feel really comfortable with.

i still feel overwhelmed being in wkw. i know that i can be quite chatty and loud when i'm with my close group of friends. but not in wkw, not even in my og. the introverted side of me just comes out whenever i'm in school, and i tend to be quiet and keep to myself. on the other hand, there are people in wkw who step out of their comfort zones, joining all the activities and everything. it overwhelms me, the number of activities, and how generally outspoken most of the weekids are. but i guess i'll just try to be myself as i try to open up my social circle when the next semester comes.

but anyway, here's how i feel  about the modules that i've taken this past sem. only five... so i most probably need to take six modules for the next semester and subsequent sems as well.... kids, be wise in choosing your mods, that's all i'm gonna say. and for core mods, put in effort because you can't su!!!!!!

1) CS0201 Foundations of Communication Studies (Ger-Core)
there's a lot of things to do for the mod, but the good thing is that there's no finals!!!! there are 2 1.5hour lectures a week, and the lectures are actually really interesting because which lecturer will include a gameshow in lecture almost every week? unfortunately, a lot of people always pon his lectures. :( bo's a really nice lecturer though really!!! go support him by being present for his lectures. so we have weekly readings to do but i.. uh, kinda did not read after the first or second lecture (lol signs that i'm giving up on uni already). there's weekly online tutorials and quizzes as well and based on whichever group you are in which he assigns, you have to post a weekly response/reaction online. you'll also have to be part of the panel in one of the weeks which will contribute to your class participation points. there's a 30% open book midterm test, but where lies the bulk of your grade for this course is the little bits project. it's tiring. we have to use little bits to invent some things and it's gonna cost you a lot of your time and money throughout the sem it gives everyone a headache. but you'll survive. basically you'll spend the whole semester with your little bits group doing little bits.

2) CS0204 Basic Media Writing (Ger-Core)
one of the reasons why people don't attend his lectures is probably because it's on 10am every monday........ .. ... . .. it's 1.5 hour lecture and 1.5 hour tutorial weekly, with one news writing individual assignment, one blog-making (sorry idk how to phrase this) group assignment, as well as finals but finals contribute less than 50% of your final grade if i'm not wrong. there's also class participation for tutorials. for this mod you really have to pray you get a good tutor because of some stories i've heard so ya, pray hard. i think this mod is quite manageable but it would be good if you have a wide range of vocabulary i guess? and that's something that i lack. yet i still want to specialise in journalism. what a joke.

3) CS0209 Media Law, Ethics and Policy (Ger-Core)
3 hours lecture a week. rip. honestly i died for this mod. a lot of people really liked this mod but to me, it was a bit boring and i usually lose focus or fall asleep during lectures. sorry cenite. this explains my grades. i think the name of this mod was a turn off for me so i went in with the mindset that this mod is gonna be boring and all, but starting week 10 i woke up my idea and paid attention during lecture and realised that the content was actually pretty interesting???? so i really regretted not paying attention from the start especially when revising for my tests. 10% of the grade comes from class participation during panel as well as attendance from weekly quizzes. the remaining 90% are split into 2 45% tests, one for midterms and the other on the last week of school. it's really stressful if you ask me. the questions are all mcq so you gotta know the details of this penal code and whatnot. i died sorry mark.

4) CS2005 Speech and Argumentation (Core)
i would say this is a pretty fun mod, though it can get a bit stressful. there are 5 components in this mod altogether - class participation and attendance, impromptu speech test, written persuasive speech, theory test and a final persuasive speech. it's pretty obvious who the prof likes, so if she likes you, it's literally half the battle won. the other half would probably go to the topic of your speech. if she likes it, easy A. yup. we got to try speaking in a tv and radio studio which was pretty cool if you ask me. and if you're going to the tv studio which she will announce the week before, BRING A JACKET it's freezing cold inside. most of the time during tutorials, it would involve you speaking because, duh speech. try to avoid all the singlish-y stuff. she Hates it. i had to capitalise that. there was once i accidentally replied her a "HUH" and she gave me a super long talk about not putting proper english into practice and ye ded.

5) EE8086 Astronomy - Stars, Galaxies and Cosmology (GERPE-STS)
3 hours lecture a week. lesser and lesser people attend the lectures as the weeks go by. content content content. there are 2 lecturers for this mod - a singaporean one and a foreign one. i used to think the singaporean lecturer was boring but after watching the recorded lectures he is actually quite funny. as for the other lecturer which takes over after the sem break, i couldn't understand what he was saying even though i tried to turn over a new leaf and pay attention in lecture. :( content wise, it is actually quite interesting though i must say it is really really very heavy, and i only realised that when i was revising for my tests. there are 2 20% tests and a 60% finals, where all the questions are in mcq. i thought it would be really cool taking astronomy, but be prepared to see physics and chemistry anD biology inside. i died. i really did. also if you want to take this mod, be prepared to cram content into your head like what's the hottest part of the sun. ok kidding this one don't need to memorise it actually makes sense.but ye be wise in choosing your mods because i'm gonna su this.

so that is it for year1 sem1!!!!!! i shouldn't be too happy cos i have to think about how to save my gpa now with my terrible grades................. .. .. .. . . .. also i have to stop falling sick cos i'm flying to laos next friday! i'm a little bit excited for that! another visit to another SEA country!

till next time x