To be honest, I don't feel proud or any bit of belonging to NUS though my friends and relatives (those who never got the chance to get into NUS or other local autonomous uni) would go "WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW" whenever I told them I'm in NUS, I would be rolling my eyes whenever they made those comments. 

I've always treated NUS as a stepping stone and an essential milestone (just another chapter of my life) before embarking on a full time journey to pursue my actual dreams. I've been stuck in the SG education system for too damn long a time and I'm sad to say,I haven't gained much from years of education, maybe some good friends, bits of knowledge (would've forgotten 99% of what I've learned when I stepped out of the exam hall each finals) and maybe some good experience in terms of overseas exposure volunteering work, CCA, internships but really, I would rather go out to work and learn things from the society than in the institution where everything is so romanticised, protected and UNREAL. Pointless shit..

Still grateful towards NUS for accepting me 3 years ago but other than that, I no longer associate NUS with prestige or whatsoever, I'm just numbed from all the commitments and workloads and whatnot. Getting into NUS is my parents' wish and I'm glad to have (almost) fulfilled it, but deep in me, I know that getting a piece of degree is just a life necessity, I get it just for the sake of getting it cos you know,everyone believes that you're nothing without that piece of paper (heck care what the government says) in reality and from my VERY OWN experience, you can't even get a DECENT internship without good grades (aka first class honours) especially if you want to work in the civil service sector.

I count myself as really fortunate and I've got to thank my lucky stars for that,I'm not a religious person per se but I do believe that hard work always pay off no matter what. I'm glad that because I did not slack/chill/club/honeyoon in year 1 and 2, I managed to maintain my first class CAP and got the internship that I've always wanted within just 4 weeks of application while I have friends with second upper CAP still struggling to even get an internship offer as of now (needless to say,they got rejected from most of the civil service internships).

Frankly speaking, I went into NUS knowing absolutely nothing,I relied on my own to do all those research and joined camps even though I'm really not a camp person to prepare myself for uni life, and I'm glad that I did all those 3 years ago. To all juniors out there, uni life can be manageable only if you plan your uni path properly and by properly, I mean chart out your interests, plan all your modules, overseas programs, internships, CCAs etc for the 3 to 4 years that you will be in that uni. Even before year 1, I already had almost all my modules planned out for my 4 years in NUS, I only had to make minor changes because some modules were no longer offered, clashed with timetable and other unforeseen changes but otherwise I've been sticking to my original plan really well.

Jia you everyone! If a noob like me can survive through 3 years of NUS, I believe you guys can too, just stay focus and keep working hard, the bell curve god loves hardworking people:)

With Love,

Cheryl