I remember disliking the book Things Fall Apart when I knew that I had to read and study it for Literature. The book was far too simple for me: the language was straightforward, the setting was the past and the plot did not interest me. I dreaded reading it once I saw its cover - a chicken being hung. But everything changed as I attended more literature lessons. Ms Adri deciphered the true meaning of the entire text; it was eye-opening.
Suddenly the whole story had so much depth. Okonkwo was a character with many, many facets - and every single one of them had a part to play on his eventual downfall. The Ultimate Crumble, Ms Adri told us to label the chapter. The simple words relayed so much more meaning. The themes started to appear: Tradition, Religion, Family, Pride, Gender and so much more. Ekwefi became someone who I felt so much for, and Nwoye and Ezinma became characters I cared about. Ikemefuna made me feel so devastated that I had to stop reading the book for a while because of how tragic his situation was. The book was more than just a story. It became so real.
That was when I started to do well for Literature. At the end of Secondary 2 when we were choosing our subjects, I chose Literature as my Humanities as opposed to Geography because of how well I did in EOY. I got a whopping 23/25 because I spotted the poem which was coming out correctly and my short term memory served me well - I regurgitated whatever I could remember. I had little to no passion for Literature then (perhaps it was because of the Lit text in Sec. 2, where we had a play and my group absolutely killed it - by failing it miserably in the lecture theatre, in front of five classes. I remember I scored horribly for that one.) and I had no idea what the hell was literature. It was just poems and some long-winded comprehension.. right?
Wrong.
It was so much more and I failed to see it until I took Lit in upper sec. And can I say that up till now, that has been the best decision I have ever made. I looked forward to Lit lessons so much because of how easy the subject was for me (okay, really not trying to brag) and it was just so damn enjoyable. The homework I had to do was reading which, if you know me, was a godsend because I just love reading so damn much. Writing as well, but I love writing too. So hell, that was the best class to take.
Fast forward to JC. There came the problem of subject allocation again. I wanted to take Physics and Chemistry because I originally wanted to be a Computer Engineer or a Software Engineer. I thought I had what it takes (lol). Math was a given, so I had the last slot of Humanities. I was pondering and sweating so much over this choice because I love Lit so much, yet I really wanted to give Economics a try. I took the leap of faith and chose Econs. Econs was a blast, too. The concepts (mostly) came easily to me, and I struggled a lot lesser as compared to other subjects (read: Physics and Math). Econs became my best subject, and I loved it so much more in J2 when my teacher was the best teacher I've ever had in JC. Mdm Poh, you're on fire. Love you. After receiving my A Level results, I wondered if I should have chosen Literature instead of some stupid science-y subject like Physics or Chemistry. I never enjoyed either, and took it just because "science stream is good" and it was a social stigma that if you take science, you're smarter than those who choose arts. My mom still cringes when she hears "arts" because she thinks it means drawing and painting (ugh). Bottomline?
I regret.
I regret not choosing Literature instead. I regret falling under the pressure of the perception that "science is better". I regret not treasuring the time I had in Lit classes. I regret not doing something I love.
I remember disliking the book Things Fall Apart when I knew that I had to read and study it for Literature. The book was far too simple for me: the language was straightforward, the setting was the past and the plot did not interest me. I dreaded reading it once I saw its cover - a chicken being hung. But everything changed as I attended more literature lessons. Ms Adri deciphered the true meaning of the entire text; it was eye-opening.
Suddenly the whole story had so much depth. Okonkwo was a character with many, many facets - and every single one of them had a part to play on his eventual downfall. The Ultimate Crumble, Ms Adri told us to label the chapter. The simple words relayed so much more meaning. The themes started to appear: Tradition, Religion, Family, Pride, Gender and so much more. Ekwefi became someone who I felt so much for, and Nwoye and Ezinma became characters I cared about. Ikemefuna made me feel so devastated that I had to stop reading the book for a while because of how tragic his situation was. The book was more than just a story. It became so real.
That was when I started to do well for Literature. At the end of Secondary 2 when we were choosing our subjects, I chose Literature as my Humanities as opposed to Geography because of how well I did in EOY. I got a whopping 23/25 because I spotted the poem which was coming out correctly and my short term memory served me well - I regurgitated whatever I could remember. I had little to no passion for Literature then (perhaps it was because of the Lit text in Sec. 2, where we had a play and my group absolutely killed it - by failing it miserably in the lecture theatre, in front of five classes. I remember I scored horribly for that one.) and I had no idea what the hell was literature. It was just poems and some long-winded comprehension.. right?
Wrong.
It was so much more and I failed to see it until I took Lit in upper sec. And can I say that up till now, that has been the best decision I have ever made. I looked forward to Lit lessons so much because of how easy the subject was for me (okay, really not trying to brag) and it was just so damn enjoyable. The homework I had to do was reading which, if you know me, was a godsend because I just love reading so damn much. Writing as well, but I love writing too. So hell, that was the best class to take.
Fast forward to JC. There came the problem of subject allocation again. I wanted to take Physics and Chemistry because I originally wanted to be a Computer Engineer or a Software Engineer. I thought I had what it takes (lol). Math was a given, so I had the last slot of Humanities. I was pondering and sweating so much over this choice because I love Lit so much, yet I really wanted to give Economics a try. I took the leap of faith and chose Econs. Econs was a blast, too. The concepts (mostly) came easily to me, and I struggled a lot lesser as compared to other subjects (read: Physics and Math). Econs became my best subject, and I loved it so much more in J2 when my teacher was the best teacher I've ever had in JC. Mdm Poh, you're on fire. Love you. After receiving my A Level results, I wondered if I should have chosen Literature instead of some stupid science-y subject like Physics or Chemistry. I never enjoyed either, and took it just because "science stream is good" and it was a social stigma that if you take science, you're smarter than those who choose arts. My mom still cringes when she hears "arts" because she thinks it means drawing and painting (ugh). Bottomline?
I regret.
I regret not choosing Literature instead. I regret falling under the pressure of the perception that "science is better". I regret not treasuring the time I had in Lit classes. I regret not doing something I love.
Situated in the sunny island of Singapore, Jolene recently (is 2 years considered recent?) graduated from university and is now working in a job she never expected herself to hold. Besides having frequent quarter-life crises, she also indulges in video games, anime, and aesthetic korean girls documenting their life in vlogs.
Although not as eloquent with words, she still aims to try her best to bring across her thoughts to the Internet.
