Gold With Honours

Dear SE,

I would like to say that gold with honours is still possible for us.

Mku, the seniors, even the alumni, have placed their hopes in us. Would we want to disappoint them after they have put in that much effort to practice with us, coach us, guide us? As quoted from Jiemin, "Would you want to be the batch that failed to get the honours?". Think, what would you say to that?

It's not simply a matter of letting people down, we will let ourselves down in the process, wasting our own efforts, our time, our feelings. After which, how would we go on? Would we just go on with life? Or would we be devastated and regret until who knows when? Trust me, falling from the top to rock bottom is never bearable, most would cry nonstop and the feeling would last for a few days, months, years, and you'd think, 'We could've done better...'.

So what if it's less than a week to SYF? There is still time, and it is better late than never to practice even harder than before to perfect the areas problems always arise in. Would you want to give it all up and say, "I can't be bothered"? After all, you've got nothing to lose if you practice, but you have everything to lose if you don't practice. If you are fine with losing all we've worked hard for, I've got nothing to say.

Oh yes, please, don't give excuses like "I have a project to do", "My lessons end late", "I got XX competition training", a lot of us face this too, and we still come for extra practices, plus, you don't see us complaining at all. Some of us are so busy with homework and the like, that we only sleep 2h, but we still want to practice, and we don't mind staying back to practice until 10pm. It all boils down to what you aim for SE and how much do you want it.

I think many are familiar with this: "Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people."

Don't we all want Gold With Honours very badly? So much so that once we hear part of our pieces during lessons we can only concentrate on continuing the piece and nothing else? Then what are we doing? Just promise me one thing, that you'll give your best for these last few days.

On that day, when we step onto the stage, have no regrets, think of it as a platform to showcase all the blood and sweat we've gone through. Look at Mku, she will be a source of comfort, give your desk partners encouraging looks, smiles, what not, lighten the mood, it will all relieve the anxiety in you. Let the music guide you, let your emotions overflow, let the music come naturally and touch the hearts of everyone sitting in the hall. Don't just play for the honours, play for yourself, have fun, we'll go through this together :)

For now, believe we can do it; meditate before you sleep, run through the programme of SYF and go through the possible emotions you'll feel (calm yourself if you know you'd be a bunch of nerves on that day); make the most of practices, listen to Mku, cooperate with her; make the most of time outside practices and perfect your playing; prepare whatever you'll need before that day (heat packs, charms, extra strings etc.)

...and before you know it, we will achieve gold with honours.

Yours sincerely,
Ng Cheryl