A PDS Alumni

First of all, some of you might have noticed that my tagboard has turned into some sort of a battlefield over the last few days. I'm sorry about that, but a certain 'mr. anonymous' kind of went overboard...


Anywaysssss


A few days ago I was flattered after being asked to write an article about my graduation ceremony last year. So before the school publishes it (thats if, they even do!), I thought I might as well let my beloved *cough* readers a first hand look at it. And I KNOW it sucks, it was done in the midst of my 'homework' season so I just scribbled any words that came to mind haha.


P/S: To the PDS '07 Seniors Batch, have a good read and I hope this will make you relive a great night for all of us. I miss last year sigh

PDS Graduation Day 2007

Last year’s graduation ceremony certainly doesn’t feel as if it was a good eight months ago. In fact, I can hardly believe that I’m actually old enough to be entitled to write an article under the ‘PDS Alumni’ section of the school’s magazine.


All kidding and sarcasm aside, my graduation day is a day that will be embedded in my memory forever. The two-week gap between my last examination and the graduation date was filled with outings with friends. Albeit all the excitement that was felt during the last few days, there was also an aura of sadness amongst the graduates, knowing that graduation will be the last chance for the vast majority of us to see each other for a long, long time, if not forever. PDS School is a relatively small school and as a consequence, everyone knew everyone rather well. Saying goodbye was not easy for me, especially to my Form4 and 5 classmates whom I spent my two most memorable years to date with.


My memory of the graduation day is rather vague, like a jigsaw puzzle with some missing pieces. I guess that was why they had the whole ceremony recorded. I remember entering through the back entrance and walking towards the designated hallway where we were supposed put on our togas. The area was loaded with joy and laughter coming from teachers, students and their proud parents. The hallway was illuminated with the endless camera flashes and my cheeks were aching, courtesy of the endless group photos I had to keep up with. We had our last shot in bullying our teachers by making them fix our togas for us but unfortunately, they were more than happy to do so.


After the arrival of the guest-of-honour, we entered the main hall where we were given a grand entrance accompanied with a standing ovation from teachers and parents that were beaming with pride. Personally for me, it really was a touching scene. It was only after we settled in our designated seats that the show began. We were spoiled with amazing performances stretching from goose bump-inducing modern dances, classical dances as well as choir performances. Together with all the cheering from us graduates, the night began to feel more like a concert rather than a graduation ceremony, which was a good thing.


To be given the privilege of being one of the three nominees for the ‘Student of The Year’ Award was a very flattering experience for me. The fact that being a ‘nominee’ was as far as I would go, I wasn’t disappointed at all. I was particularly amazed and touched at the support given by my fellow graduates.


The ceremony culminated with us on our feet, listening to the graduation song being sung by fellow graduates on stage. All of a sudden it seemed that everyone caught flu, with half of the audience sniffing. Quite a number of the graduates shed their tears as well. My mind started to reminisce all the memories of the past 5 years and I inevitably shed a tear or two as well.


After the ceremony ended, the endless camera flashes erupted once again as we all took this last opportunity to take pictures with friends and teachers. I also personally met some of the teachers to ask for forgiveness for my wrongdoings. Some of the teachers wished me more than the customary ‘good luck’ and those words mean a lot to me till this very day.


I would love to give some advice to the juniors, but I have nothing else to say besides the usual ‘work hard and do your best’ line. Make the most of your last year in secondary school and make your studies part of the enjoyment as the next step in the academic ladder is only going to get exponentially tougher.


-Yusof Fadli Bin Hj Sidek