philos
liberté
princeps
memoria

There's this Chinese saying which goes something like: when we give x amount of effort, we get x amount of reward in return.

But Life.. Real life just isn't like that. Life is about unexpected rewards, untold futures, boundless happiness, and the excruciating taste of betrayal, hurt, and defeat. That's why life is so extraordinary, that's why we are so special. To ourselves, and to each other.

I always thought that if my friends were happy, so was I. If they cried, I'll cry too. And if they hurt, my hurting was a natural course of action. And that was that. We all hurt together, forever.

But that was the past. Now, when we swim out from that murky well of tears, and into the warm sunlight of hope, we should pull our friends out with us too. We have a resposibility to everyone around us, to lift each other up, and never ever to pull others back down that well. That's what friends are for. That might be why there are rainbows after storms. Because there is happiness after misery, and much as it sounds unbelievable, it's true.

SYF auditions have come and gone, and obviously it wasn't exactly a rewarding experience to sit in the auditioning room at all. We see people with fallen faces after realising they didn't sound as well as planned, or they hated the way their nervousness overcame them, and how their voices shook like crazy. Believe me, auditions are never ever fun. And standing there in front of Ms Loo, ready to accept the critiques and the disappointing frown, proclaiming to all my substandard performance.. not very pleasant.

But the main picture is still this: RGS choir is made up of the singing individuals, and the passion and enthusiasm at harmonising and simply making castles in the air with our voices. The little concerts and competitions do act as a way of comparison and motivation for us, but RGS choir is so much more than an SYF central judging. And we all know that.

What is SYF? A mere competition between schools, and one that we will work to get a gold. I do not mean to undermine the importance of SYF, and I am really happy for those who got in. Does it matter that some are in and some aren't? I guess it does, and it would hurt to know that fellow choir pals aren't taking part in something everyone was and is working so hard for. We cry because friends didn't get in, but we also remember to pull each other out of the well, and sing like there's no tomorrow again. Ultimately, we as a choir will stand as one choir, in spite of anything the MOE or anyone throws at us. The essence of choir is in its individuals, and that is every single one of us.

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