SYF

SYF's over! yesterday was one of the most fulfilling and happy days of my life! i guess some of you wont understand, since we only got a silver. not a gold, not gold with honours. but yesterday i genuinely realised how much life is so not about the destination, but about the journey.

the day began with econs tut which was a total bummer. hard as i tried to concentrate on the lesson (had a test today! : O), i ended up striking my tuning fork against my elbow and mentally rehearsing song without words 2. :D couldn't stop thinking about choir the whole time either.

left class and went for choir PT afterwards. we ran a couple of rounds for warm-ups, which really helped. then we got to take a shower! (rmb she's the man? HAHA :D) that was followed by an inspiring and motivational session where we just sat down and reflected about what was ahead of us. we talked about how far we've come since PAE days, how much we've changed, grown and gotten to know each other. awww man im gonna miss the J2s like crazy when they're gone!!! ))) :

then we had lunch, got our make-up on, sang through the songs once, changed into our gear, then boarded the bus for VCH. the bus rude was quiet, did lotsa mental preparation and psyching.

when we got there, it surprised me, the way i wasn't as nervous as i anticipated. maybe it was the company? maybe it was still too early to be nervous? maybe it was because we were prepared? maybe it was because the result didn't really matter?

VJ performed before us. heard them singing while we were waiting in the side hallway. they sounded good, duh, but that got me thinking. just like what the seniors had said earlier, this is not a competition with other choirs. it was about showing everyone how much we could do and how far we've come! :D did a little pre-performance breathing exercise then some final hugs of encouragement, and we were ready!

i stepped onto stage with a thumping heart but also with an eager desire to do my best. :D the first song was song without words 2, shan't comment about that. next was laudate dominum! i really love that song! i threw myself into the whole song, and after singing i felt literally hot. my body was burning and on fire, i felt like i was perspiring but i wasn't. haha, weird huh? luk luk lumbu was totally fun! :D after the final triumphant HOYA at the end, i couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear! :D :D :D walked off the stage with ZERO ZILCH regrets and with happiness bursting within me. it was such an adrenaline rush, and while making our way to the main hall we couldn't help but hug each other and inwardly scream at our accomplishment. :D

we'd given our all and if our all wasn't enough to get us a gold, it didn't matter. what mattered was that we'd done the bestest best that we could and that we showed everyone what saints chorale could be. :D we'd put in our utmost effort and we sang our hearts out. what more could we have done? nothing. no regrets. (:

we heard the subsequent choirs and they were good. had a sinking feeling in me that we might get a bronze.. squeezed into a chair with chanxi and did some stupid stuff with them while waiting for the results. tension was quite high, but we tried to eliminate nervousness by taking pictures and coming up with crazy hand signs for expressions like "Wasting My Life" :D haha! after more than a few false alarms, including the water guy : O, the judges finally came on stage.

CHOIR #14, Saint Andrew's Junior College, SILVER.

we held hands, then let out a scream of relief. :D and knowing that this year's SYF standards are way high, a silver's good :D at least it wasn't a bronze, too. though i admit i was a teeny tiny bit disappointed, as the rest of the day came, i found myself forgetting that we got a silver and simply remembering how amazing the entire experience was. like how the weeks leading up to SYF were a roller coaster. rehearsals were as much as 4 times a week at a certain point, and i remember the times when we sang (or at least tried to) song without words 2 to the point that we wanted to tear it up and burn it to pieces. crazy as it sounds, now i wanna frame it up and display it on my wall for keepsakes. i remember all those flat and sharp notes, wrong entries, inappropriate dynamics, half-hearted actions and unsupported singing that were all gone on SYF day. it's amazing how much we've grown (:

we went for dinner afterwards, 8 of us. there was me, steffie, chanxi, clara, melmel, TTTT (haha), kenneth and kenny. we caught a quick flight to NEW YORK! :D had a fulfilling dinner and had so many laughs!!! :D almost POPed from all the laughing coz i was so full! we had tons of food, appetisers, main courses, drinks and desserts! free cotton candy toooo! ;D poor stuffie was getting food-deprived. awwwwwww. so it was a GREAT day all in all.

I LOVE SAINTS CHORALE!

rawr sore throat! : O