I was born in Singapore 14 years ago, on the 28th day of January. When I was young, I was brought up by my grandparents and I lived in their house in Telok Blangah with my 2 elder cousins. This was because my parents were very busy and had no time to look after me.
My grandparents took care of me very well when I was young. They fed me with good food, gave me good clothing and taught me some basic English and Chinese languages. However, my 2 elder cousins were avid computer gamers. Therefore, under their influence, I too became an avid gamer at the young age of 4. I also hanged out with my cousins’ friends, and they too were a bad influence to me. We went to LAN shops almost every day, and we could play for up to 4 hours each time.
From the time when I was 4 to 6 years old, my life revolved around gaming. No matter how much my parents and grandparents tried to spark up my interest in learning Mathematics, English and Chinese, it was all useless. All I cared about was playing computer games. My parents felt very frustrated, and they decided that they would have to enroll me into a good primary school, so as to make sure I had a conducive learning environment.
When I was 7, I was enrolled into Tao Nan School. I no longer lived with my grandparents, but instead I stayed with my parents, who decided that they would need to spend more time with me in order to make sure that I was serious in my studies and stop being a gaming addict. My parents also made me take up Wushu as my CCA signed me up for piano and swimming lessons too. This was to make sure I did not have too much free time, or I would be spending all my time playing computer games. I enjoyed practicing Wushu , playing the piano and learning survival swimming course. Thus, I spent more time on these activities than on the computer.
At the age of 11, I was recruited into the Singapore’s Wushu national team. We had to train 6 times per week, and each training session lasted for two-and-a-half hours. There were selection trials after trials to shortlist and select the athletes to represent Singapore for the 2nd World Junior Wushu championships held in Bali in December 2008. Training increased from 6 times per week to 12 times per week for the selected athletes. It was a first time experience and an eye opener for me to participate in this event. At the same time it was a learning experience for me to juggle both study and sport. I was glad that my hard work paid off and I won a silver medal in the competition.
The following year, I had to cope with my national team training and my preparation for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). My parents told me that if I was unable to cope with my studies, I would have to quit the national team. However, I decided that I would persevere and try my best to cope with both my academics and my passion for Wushu. Fortunately, I was selected to represent Singapore again for the 5th Asian Wushu Championship in June that year and I won a gold medal. Due to the limited time I had for my August prelim, my results were below expectation. With less than one and a half month to go before PSLE, I had to be extremely disciplined and revised my work diligently. Fortunately, my result was good enough for admission to all Integrated Program schools in Singapore. Although I was satisfied with my results , my parents felt that I could have done better. It made me wondered if parents always have such high expectation of their children. I had also become the role model for the MOE’s Junior Sport Academy and was awarded the Meritorious Award by the Singapore National Olympic Council.
Just end of last year, the 3rd World Junior Wushu Championship was held in Singapore. I had to train much harder than the previous 2 years as I was promoted to an older age group. It was not a good year for my health as I kept getting injuries. I trained extremely hard every day despite the injuries and in the end, I managed to win a gold medal for Singapore.
Being a HCI student and a member of the Singapore Wushu national team, I lead a busy life and have a packed schedule. The competition is intense and everyone has to be constantly improving in order to keep up with the fast-paced life in Singapore. Although I find it tiring to train every day, I do not mind as I enjoy Wushu and see it as a relaxation from studying all the time for me. I really enjoy going to school to learn and socialize with my friends. In Singapore, parents always want us to be the best among the best. Having a bit of stress is inevitable, thus we should try our best to find time to relax once in a while. I hope that I can continue to win medals for Singapore and do well in both academics and in sports.
Etienne, this is very nicely written, and it is interesting to learn about your young life, but this was not the assignment you were given. Rather than recounting your childhood, you were supposed to write a short story: a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end, and a plot that carries your character(s) through.
ReplyDeleteThat said, don't completely scrap what you have here. You can take elements of your own childhood and present them in a fictional way, as happening to a fictional protagonist. Again, you need to tell it in scenes, and let your reader experience the story as your main character does. It will mean a substantial rewrite, but you have enough raw material here that you could turn it into an interesting story.