Dear Pre-Uni Students, Don’t Waste Your Precious Break Doing the Ordinary
An open letter to all pre-university students in Singapore.
Dear you,
Congratulations for surviving Singapore’s competitive and stressful education system and getting a place in university! For those of you who may have just survived two hellish years in JC, escaped from the seemingly never-ending research papers in IB (temporarily), scarred from the working with projects mates from hell, or just shed blood, sweat and tears serving the nation, the next few months will be the best time of your life — or as good as how you are going to make it.
We have all been there and our holiday checklist also included catching up with old friends, eating good ol’ sinful and hearty meals, travelling overseas with friends, getting a part-time job/internship, embarking on a drama marathon, and most importantly, clearing the sleep debt you accumulated over the last decade in the name of education.
While I definitely agree that these are things that should undoubtedly be on your pre-university bucket list, this long break can be more than just these conventional things. No doubt that a part-time job or an internship will be very beneficial, but remember: you will be spending your entire post-university graduation life working, thus a few months less of working will be insignificant compared to the next few decades. So work in moderation, and spend some time to improve yourself.
“How do I improve myself?” you may ask. There are many things you can start to do; from reading a book everyday to limiting your social media usage, you will be surprised at how a small step can transform your entire life.
First and foremost, get into shape:
If you have been engaging in a weekly exercise routine, good job! If not, your busy school life is no longer an excuse you can use to avoid sticking to a proper fitness regime. Regardless of whether you are already a fitspo or still a couch potato, it is always a good idea to explore new types of exercises to make this mandatory process more enjoyable — Yes it is mandatory when you turn 20 and start your countdown to your 30s, your body will thank you.
This holiday, you have the luxury to try out new activities every week and find the perfect exercise that makes it easier to convince yourself to leave the comfort of your bed. So start searching here now!
Next step, lead a mindful lifestyle:
Here for a good time and not a long time is not mutually exclusive with leading a mindful lifestyle. In fact, taking charge of your life and having a deeper understanding of the food you eat and the products you use will help you have a better life. Pamper your body and your body will reward you accordingly. That being said, I am well aware that habits are hard to change, and it will not help if you are too busy with other commitments to stay faithful to your newly-introduced lifestyle, hence making this break the ideal time to start doing so.
As you grow older, you may find yourself more susceptible to food comas and prone to lethargy when you consumer greasy or processed food. Personally, I have grown to hate the feeling of being weighed down after a heavy meal and basically become immobilised as I sink into a long afternoon nap. Don’t get me wrong, I love my naps and my 4Fingers chicken but I also love myself enough to not succumb to these indulgences on a daily basis. Cleaner food provides you cleaner fuel for your daily tasks. It doesn’t have to compromise on taste and it is certainly not expensive if you know how to prepare them yourself.
While keeping what you put inside your mouth clean, you should also be more aware of what goes into the products you use on a daily basis because it has a strong impact on how you look and how you feel. The skin is permeable and hence long duration of exposure to harmful chemicals will have a direct impact on your health.
Learn how to cleanse your internal and external system in this lifestyle workshop here.
Learn a musical instrument:
I can give you ten reasons why you should learn a musical instrument but I shan’t bore you with the details. Apart from it being a good addition to your make-believe Adele moments, learning a musical instrument allows you to express your feelings when words fail to do so and unwind after a hard day. And that is one powerful tool to gift yourself. You can search for the instrument that best fits you here.
Find a new hobby:
This is something that will come up in a lot of those self-improvement lists. A hobby not only serves as a creative outlet or a way to relax and destress, it boosts your career as well. It gives your application an edge, something that allows you to stand out to the recruiters. However, I understand that it is simply not that easy to come up with a new hobby because I face that problem too. One of the numerous ways you can find a hobby at this age would be to explore anything that interests you. This long break is the ideal time for you to go on a scavenger hunt to find out what you are passionate about and you can choose to continue the ones you are passionate about after the break as well.
Learn the art of baking traditional Italian biscotti
Happiness, calmness and focus are three words predominantly associated with baking. In the very core of baking, lies the act of sharing your baked goods and connecting with your loved ones through them. Each pastry has a higher value due to our personal involvement to it, and that makes the recipient feel even more special. Baking is also a great way to take your thoughts off problems and calm your mind because it requires full focus to get the measurements and techniques right. It is also never boring because there are always new recipes to try out! Here are some:
Revel in a therapeutic brass cuff making session
Apart from giving your application an edge and boosting your career, having a hobby easily gives you an answer to the most commonly-asked question during interviews and self-introductions: “What are your hobbies?”
Do you find yourself praying that no one would ever ask you that question, because you don’t have any great answers to share? Well, save yourself from that misery! Use this time to find a new hobby, one that you can proudly show off whenever someone asks you.
Try your hand at metal smithing to create a set of brass cuffs. You can spend your time picking up a new skill, and making something feasible!
Learn and show off this skill during your future interviews.
Spend more time with your family:
It goes without saying that this should be at the top of your priority but how many of us truly set aside time to spend time with your family on a regular basis? While we are all excited to go on new adventures and try out new things with our other half or circle of friends, we often neglect to think of interesting activities you can participate with your family. Ditch the usual dinner and shopping plans and try some of these family-friendly activities!
Create meaningful jewellery to commemorate special moments
When you make something yourself, you form a personal connection to it and hence it will have higher sentimental value. In other words, we follow the IKEA effect and love whatever we build (even if they are ugly). Making an accessory together with your family to commemorate a special occasion will seal the special memories of the process along with the significance of the event into the ring. You can find a lesson on handcrafting UV-resin jewellery here.
Join your Mom in her favourite Zumba workout
While you have a long break now, your parents are likely to be busy with work. Instead of waiting for them to have an off day, why not join them on their weekly activities or set a day to bond with them weekly? Zumba may be a workout associated to marginally in-shape moms but it is actually really fun to exercise following the rhythm, it is almost like a party! Sign up with your mom on Zumba classes here and have fun together!
Check out other unique family-friendly activities that your family may be interested in here.
Pick up an interesting skill:
I trust that you have heard about the story of a calligraphy class inspiring Steve Jobs to incorporate different fonts into Mac. This is the ideal anecdote of how a seemingly unassuming skill can help you in the most unexpected way. Your university degree will only land you your first job, you depends on your skillsets and experience thereafter. Picking up an interesting skill is not only fun, it can also help expand your existing skill set. Just like in the game plays, there is no such thing as having too many skills in life because you never know when you can use them. Try watercolour or miniature sculpturing, you never know when they comes in handy and they also serve as great recreational activities!
Get in touch with your roots:
Your roots form a huge part of who you are and a deeper understanding of your own culture and heritage will allow you to have a stronger sense of belonging and security. The knowledge of your family history will also allow you to understand your parents better and improve your relationship with them. Most importantly, it helps you to be proud of where you come from and gives you the liberation of being comfortable in your own skin.
Get your hands on your mom’s secret recipes!
We all love the home-cooked meals prepared by our moms and grandmas and we take it for granted that they will always be there to prepare our favourite dishes for us when we ask for them. Sadly, this is not the case in reality and it’s duly time to learn their secret recipes from them. Take this opportunity to spend some quality time with them as well! If they are unwilling to let you step into the kitchen in fear of you wrecking havoc, you may want to go to some classes and prove yourself worthy of entering the sacred kitchen first. If your mom is like mine who cooks based on her mood and have no proper recipe, getting culinary classes may be a good idea as well! Try these out:
Appreciate local cuisine
Food trends come and go in Singapore but hawker food will always be the heart and soul of Singapore’s food scene. It’s a major plus point when hawker food are so much more affordable than restaurants and taste so much better! Despite the heartening news of more young hawkers emerging in the local hawker scene, this unique Singapore heritage still faces a huge risk of becoming obsolete. Take some time to learn some common local hawker food and learn how to appreciate the time and effort placed to serve each of those mouthwatering dishes.
Hainanese Chicken Rice, Ondeh Ondeh, Chilli Crab
Enjoy being out of your comfort zone:
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. It should come no surprise to you that stepping out of your comfort zone is pretty tough because everyone would have told you by now that it is in fact pretty darn hard. Not to worry, I am here to shine some silver lining for you: it can be fun and exciting as well! Your attitude will determine how the experience goes for you. Treat the venture out of your comfort zone as an exhilarating adventure where you will discover priceless treasures. Now, you will be more enticed to start on that adventure if there are unicorns waiting for you instead of wild boars right? The same logic applies here; try out challenging activities that are more interesting and that will ease you into getting used to being out of your comfort zone.
Gallop out of your comfort zone
It’s not going to be easy to convince a living and kicking animal, one which is more than ten times heavier than you, to walk around with you on its back under the bright sun when it will most likely prefer to scratch its itch under the shade. The beauty of horse-riding lies exactly within the way you pushes the boundaries of your comfort zone as you tackle your difficulty in connecting with the horse. In return, you get to enjoy the therapeutic way the horse’s ear bob rhythmically as you embark on your adventure together as a team. Horse-riding is no longer an atas activity exclusive to country clubs, you can find it available here open to public.
Or you can go for a more slow-paced and relaxed activity with a singing bowl session, to calm your mind and body that have been stretched so much over the last 10 or 11 years you spent studying non-stop.
This long break is when you have full control over your own time; you don’t owe homework or assignments to anyone and you don’t have any deadlines to meet. However, don’t let history repeats itself and waste this holiday like how you did for all of those short breaks you had in the past decade. Other than the usual things like getting a job and travelling, here are some special things that you may want to look into exploring while you still have the reign over time to yourself.
“I regretted having a fruitful long break.” — says no one ever.
Warmest regards,
A university student who had been there, done that.
