MSL and UFO

MSL = Malaysian Students' League, an organisation that befits its name, welcoming every Malaysian that come to NUS.

UFO = University Freshmen Orientation , MSL's flagship annual event, in its second edition this time. Not to be confused with the flying thingy you thought existed somewhere up there.

A year ago, I was like most of the people who joined this UFO: came to NUS with a few friends, but without anyone to guide me along, help me settle my stuffs and doubts. This all changed when I started to get involved in MSL through the forum, and the rest is history. I could still remember, the day when I met Kim Wong for the first time; it was him who went all the way to Tg.Pagar train station to fetch me and my friends from Kluang; we didnt even know how to go to NUS that time! Imagined all the hassle I would have gone through if it was not for him. Until today, I still thank you Kim Wong , for being the first senior to reach out to us in such a personal manner!

And also our beloved Thomas Chua aka Lame King (his throne will soon be descended by a certain someone who shall not be anmed :P). He was and still is someone I look up to, it was his enthusiasm and presence in the forum that made me look forward to meeting him.

In the UFO, I met many people with many different talents and abilities from many places all over Malaysia; my social circle wasnt just confined to my Form 6 and secondary school pals anymore. It expanded exponentially! Soon, I had my very own gang(s) of best pals in NUS: 5B gang and the Mech Eng gang; I wasnt short of friends anymore. In fact, they were the main reason I was relutant to commute back to Johor every weekend even though its so near to NUS. With their companionship, 2 semesters of ups and downs, highs and lows breezed past just like that.

Fast forward to UFO2: I am now a "senior" to many of the freshmen coming to NUS this year. Again, I would be meeting people from all over Malaysia with different talents. They say NUS is a school for Smarties (not those you can hold in your hand and taste like chocolates), I have no doubt that it is now. I looked forward to meeting my juniors, help them settle down in NUS, find their own clique of friends and at the same time widening their social circle too (I am sure this is the first time many of them met so many people from different states far and wide). I wanted to give them the chance to experience what I had did beforehand when I was a freshmen in UFO just like them.

From what I see, I had no doubt that UFO's objectives had been acheived. Many freshmen are mixing together, and from what I see from the BBQ night, this year's freshmen really have great potential; in short, the BBQ night was nothing short of marvellous, and I dare say, better (maybe XD) than the BBQ that me and friends organised for our seniors last year! You guys make a great team!

The joy I felt when I joined in the cheers on that night (although I am not a good exponent of the cheering art lol) was indescribable. You see, I have finally found a family of friends in Singapore; more precisely in MSL, where humanity, giving and friendship prevails above all things else, something hard to find in Singapore! And seeing all of the freshmen crashing in and jumping together together with the seniors, the feeling was really great; our days of preparation and 4 days of everything culminating in this very scene was worth it after all. If I was a bystander, I would surely be touched. Edward had good reason to tear that night, I could truly understand his feelings; Xander was absolutely spot-on in his blog, I feel the same way too. The images of that will always be imprinted in my mind as one of the most enduring images of the UFO, symbolic of MSL's spirit.

However, during the debrief session after the UFO, we realised that this years' UFO could be improved in many aspects, some of it due to negligence and some of it occured because we didnt even think of it. I look forward to the day to impart knowledge and experiences gained from being part of the UFO OGL to our dear freshies, so that they can do an even better job than us. I have a hunch that the next UFO will be the best! :P

p/s: sorry Group Number One (The Ones) I managed to forget our cheers even though I am the leader...zzz. Guess I was too tired that day.