D-day for Matriculation Students (Fear of Exam Results PART 3)

Today will be the day where people who never bothered if you're dead or alive all year long will be reminded of your existence and will suddenly come out of nowhere to care about your wellbeing.Why?

20^th June 2017 is the D-day that all matriculation students of batch 2016/17 feared the most and also anticipated for.Words can’t describe how I feel right now as I not only have butterflies in my stomach but a whole zoo maybe in my stomach right now.


Prepare yourself for the upcoming storm as your phone might as well get jammed due to the uncountable number of  texts and calls that you might receive tomorrow.(TIP:turn off your read receipts and also hide your last seen  for the day so you can keep all that ‘kepochis’ at bay)

As mentioned in the picture above,people will only ask or say

"How much is your CGPA?"

"So less ah your pointer?"

"Aiyo,not 4flat ah?"

"Matrics cannot score 4flat means waste only la."

"You know my sister’s-brother in laws’s-uncle’s-grandmothers-neighbour’s-daughter was a matrics student too but got 4flat you know.Bla bla bla....."

"11 months in matriculation waste only,better if you did form 6 je."

"With this pointer all cannot get into university la."

They will just how so much to say and it might just go on forever but no matter what they say,ONLY YOU would know what you went through and the sacrifices you made.

You were away from home for almost 11 months with little breaks in between.

You had to study like a maniac in the fear of not being able to catch up.

You had to complete your tutorials,kerja kursus,etc in time and also study at the same time.

You cracked your head on projects that gave you sleepless nights.

Group projects might have caused you to have fights and in the end you might have just completed it alone.

RM250 a month was never enough that we had to ask our parents for extra money at times.

You stayed up late to study peacefully, you skipped meals to save your budget as there were many things that had to photocopied or printed.

You had to borrow your neighbour’s PSE answers as you didn’t have time to complete it on top of all the homework that you had.

You had to complete your tutorials or risk having your Pb marks to be cut.

No matter how late you slept, you had to be in class or lecture at 8 a.m.

You had to fight to use the toilet even when you had ‘cirit-birit’ cause the nasi lemak you ate didn’t agree with your stomach but then suddenly the water pipe doesn’t work.

You had to withstand the screams of your roommates whenever they were watching Kdrama and you were trying to study for the quiz that was to take place the following day.

You didn’t have mom to wake you up each morning or dad to tell you to go and do your homework.

You had to face Charlie who loved lurking around in your rooms leaving you with memorable scars.

You had to cram up so much in your head till you felt like giving up.

Unlike your other non-matriculation friends, you were confided inside the college grounds for 5 days a week until you could finally go out on outing day but then all students were barred from going for outings that particular week.

Your matric card got blocked when your got into college after 7 pm when in reality the road was so jammed.

Your clothes that were put to dry in the ‘ampaian’ got stolen, even your Maggi cup got stolen.

Well,all those things stated above was just a little rant out of the common things most matriculation students would have faced in throughout their matriculation life but it may be different for some as each of us would have experienced different things.

Those 11 months in matriculation was filled with sheds of sweat,tears and even blood at times.No matter what results is,be proud of yourself to have survived matriculation.

Results will be out in less than 8 hours so all the best everyone.
May your results open up your pathway to your next journey in life.

Saveetra Revathi

7 Things That Every Matriculation Student Must Know

The new term for this intake’s matriculation students will begin on the 5^th June 2017 and I’m pretty sure that most of them still have tons of unanswered questions on matriculation life. I had been getting numerous texts,dms and calls since the announcement of matriculation placement results itself which kinda inspired me to write this post.Well,I am supposed to be working on my university placement essay but after 3 hours of cracking my head over it, I chose to blog  to release stress for a while.

Yeah-That's me on my second last day of college.

Here, I had stated 7 important things that every matriculation has to know prior to stepping into their respective colleges.

1. MATRICULATION LIFE IS NOT SIMILAR TO SCHOOL LIFE

Bear in mind that matriculation is a far cry from school life as matriculation is similar to pre-u.It is the same level as Form 6 but basically it takes a shorter period and is more compact. We no longer have teachers, they are called as lecturers. Don’t worry, you can still address them as Cikgu.During school days, you can commute to and fro daily from home but in matriculation, you gotta stay in a hostel. It won’t be a problem for those who had studied in MRSM, SBP, etc. but to the normal school goers, it might be a challenge in the start but you'll get used to it eventually. Staying in a hostel requires you to be more independent as you're not gonna have your dad nagging you to go and study or mom to wake you up every day. Not forgetting that you got to do the laundry by yourself, iron your clothes and do many more things independently.

2. What are the subjects that are offered?

Basically, there’s two streams in matriculation, namely science stream and accounts stream. There is a vast difference in both streams but there are a few basic subjects taken by students of both streams.

Here’s a rough skim through of the subjects that you will learn

MATA PELAJARAN TERAS

To be taken by all students

1. English
2.Kemahiran Dinamika (only 1 semester)
3.Pendidikan Islam/Moral (only 1 semester)
4.Kokurikukum (only 1 semester)

You will learn English in both semesters but for the other 3 subjects it will be slightly different. There can be two scenarios.

A. Kemahiran Dinamika and Pendidikan Islam/Moral in Semester 1, Kokurikulum in Semester 2

Or

B.Kokurikulum in Semester 1,Kemahiran dinamika and Pendidikan Islam/Moral in Semester 2.

ALIRAN PERAKAUANAN

1. Mathematics
2.Pengurusan Perniagaan
3.Ekonomi
4.Perakauanan

*Only Mathematics is taught in English while the other 3 is taught in Bahasa Malaysia.

ALIRAN SAINS

Module 1
1.Mathematics
2.Biology
3.Chemistry
4.Physics

Module 2
1.Mathematics
2.Physics
3.Chemistry
4.Computer Science

Module 3
1.Mathematics
2.Chemistry
3.Biology
4.Computer Science

*All science subjects are taught in English.

3. What to wear?

This is the most basic question as basically there is no more standard uniform for all in matriculation but there is a dress code that must be adhered to. For classes, you need be dressed formally so for the guys it’s gonna be the basic collared shirt, trousers/slacks and tie (compulsory) all the time but there’s an exception where Baju Melayu can be worn on Fridays only (Thursdays for Kedah, Kelantan and Johor as Friday is a holiday in those states).Meanwhile for the ladies, you gotta be in baju kurung, baju kebaya on most days while jubah is only allowed on Fridays. The rules might be slightly different as some colleges do allow female students to wear Punjabi suits, shirt and slacks so better check back with your respective colleges to be sure of it.

4. Some important terms

There will be a lot of new terms that will be alien to you all so I’ll share a few common ones

Kuliah-Basically, it means lecture but you will have your own lecture group (usually 100+ students per group)

Praktikum-This is break down from kuliah to a smaller group, more like a class

Tutoran-Sometimes a praktikum is broken into 2 smaller groups to form separate classes

Module-This is for science stream students as there is 3 modules namely Module 1, Module 2 and Module 3 while for accounts stream there is no module.

PST-Program Satu Tahun, only 2 semesters

PDT-Program Dua Tahun, you will learn of this after your PSPM 1 results where students who don’t achieve the required CGPA will be transferred to PDT which takes up 4 semesters.

Blok kediaman/Komsas/Asrama-They all have the same meaning tho, basically your hostel where you’re gonna stay.

Tutorial-The term sounds cool but it’s actually refers to homework

PSE-Past year examination, usually questions which you gotta do

PSPM-Peperiksaan Semester Program Matrikulasi

HEP-Hal Ehwal Pelajar

JPP-Jawatankuasa Perwakilan Pelajar(there will be an election process to elect student representatives so if you feel that you have what it takes to be one, give it a shot)

KJPP-Ketua Jabatan Pengurusan Pelajar, the higher official for students’ affairs

Mentor-more like a guardian (will be a lecturer) and each student will be assigned to a mentor by the college officials (usually a mentor will have about 5 mentees or more)

Felo-Term used warden, each block will usually have at least 2 felos and one might just live in a house adjacent to the hostel

There are more but this are the basic ones you should know for the start.

5. Is there Wi-Fi in college?

Imagine a day without internet, sounds impossible right? Without Internet connection, you won’t even be reading this.HAHAHA... There is WiFi in most colleges especially in the library, cafes, tutorial blocks and some lucky ones will have a WiFi port in their hostel blocks. Not saying that this WiFi ports don’t work but with the massive amount of student trying to use it at the same time, it way be veryyyyyyyy slow. (TIP: Some of us used to stay up till 2.00 a.m. as you can get tiptop internet connection at that hour since most people will be asleep by then)Therefore, it is advisable to have a stable data connection on your phone at all times as you can’t always depend on WiFi as WhatsApp is one of the main mode of communication at times.

6. Whatsapp Groups

As mentioned above, WhatsApp acts as one of the main mode of communication. There will be tons of WhatsApp groups for kuliah,tutorial,praktikum,mentor mentee,blok kediaman,aras blok,bilik, just to name a few so get ready as your phone might hang due to receiving excessive messages from all of these groups. A lot of information is passed around in the groups so just bear with it as the groups will become less noisy after some time.

7. CHARLIE

Charlie? Who is this Charlie? It’s not Charlie’s Angels so quit dreaming.
Charlie is actually an insect found in paddy field areas and since most matriculation colleges are situated near to paddy fields, get ready to face it.It just an insect man, what’s so special about it? You may ask. Well, a Charlie bite is enough to leave a permanent scar, don’t believe me? Just google it up and you will know. Don’t worry much, there are ways you can prevent from being attacked by Charlie such as keeping your room clean always and if you ever see a Charlie, don’t ‘gedik’ to touch it but push it away using a ruler or something before you stick some tape on it to suffocate and die. Some of my friends used to crush it up after putting the tape but I never had the heart to murder it so I rather leave it to die. There will also be other insects so equip yourself with insecticides to prevent them.

I think that’s all I have to say for now so to all those future matriculation students out there, all the best in your endeavours in college. Bear in mind that the journey might be tough but the end result will be sweet.

Thank you. (Stay tuned for more matriculation related posts)

Saveetra Revathi

P.s.The writer is a former Accounts stream student of Kolej Matrikulasi Perlis of the previous batch(2016/2017)and graduated on the 9^th of May 2017.She can be contacted via e-mail or just drop her a DM in Instagram at @sr.98_ or @srthewriter.

The FEAR of exam results PART 2

   Well,I wrote the first part of this article on the eve of my PSPM 1 results day and at the moment,I have around 12 days till my PSPM 2 officially kicks off.If you had been wondering on what PSPM is,it stands for Peperiksaan Semester Program Matrikulasi.

   Just like any other student,I would start getting shivers down my spine whenever I realise that my PSPM 2 results will determine my overall CGPA, which would play a major role in my bid to secure a spot in university to continue my degree in September.The fear is enough to kill but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger so I'm trying to face up to it.

 Basically,I should be studying now but since I had only an hour of sleep in the past 24 hours(I slept at 6.15 a.m. today,woke up at 7.23 a.m and was in class by 8 a.m as I got too engrossed in doing accounts the whole night despite having high fever)Oddly,I didn't feel that sleepy in class as I was anticipating for the awards ceremony that was due to take place at 2.45 p.m.I had been called for practise the day before and was told that I will be receiving somekind of Anugerah Khas(Special Award).

   Being an overthinker since like forever,I was wondering on what award did I even qualify for and then I remembered on what my hostel's warden told me in last semester that I was one of the student who had the most hospital and clinic visits.I knew that no such award existed but then curiosity was killing me because back during my schooling days,we always knew beforehand on the awards that we will be receiving.

    The main reason I was so worried is because just recently,one of my most favourite senior,Thiviya Sasidharan who was not only my schoolmate but was also a former student of KMP dropped by for a visit.I had always been referred to as her clone when I was back in school as I took over her in many ways.

A few of the lectures who are currently teaching me were also  her lecturers before so when they got to know that I'm her junior, the expectation game started.The next day after her visit,one of my lecturers pointed out on how I'm her junior and bla,bla,bla......

    Moreover,my semester 1 a.k.a PSPM 1 results were just satisfactory because I'm really terrible in Economics thus it made me to almost fail that subject which indirectly affected my pointer badly.I still remember on how dejected I felt when I was not among the students who were awarded for getting 4flat.I knew that I had disappointed parents yet again but what my dad told me after my results made me cry even harder.(We'll save that for another day)I made a vow to myself that I would work on the subjects I'm weak on in this semester.

    Coming back to the main picture,I was still cracking my head on what award I will be receiving as I remembered that Thiviya won an award too during her days in KMP.I managed to calm myself down as it was losing focus in class.    When I entered the hall to take my seat,I told myself,"Saveetra Revathi,please be calm okay?Everything will be fine.For God's sake,stop overthinking."

   The ceremony progressed smoothly and soon after,it was nearing my turn to get up onto the stage.We were informed that the Anugerah Khas recipients were chosen by the college's administrators to reward deserving students for their achievements.There were a handful of awards before me such as the Ikon 1Malaysia award,Dai'e Pilihan,etc.

   Trust me,I had a whole zoo of animals in my stomach at that point that I felt like running away to faraway land at that very second.(Since when did SR have stage fright?)

   So,what award did I get after all?I was bestowed with the Anugerah Bintang Harapan Bakat Unggul which would be Award Winning Star of Supreme Talent(Nahhhhh,that's just Google-translated,I have no idea on what is it called English) and I was the only female student in the category alongside 3 other male students.Getting this award was not only unexpected but it has given me some motivation to strive harder in PSPM.I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the administrators for giving me this award.

  To all matriculation students out there,we only have around 19 days left before we bid "Sayonara" to our matriculation life.All the best in PSPM 2,ace it people and to the juniors of SPM batch 2016 out there,good luck on your matriculation placement which would be out soon.You'll begin your journey on 5th of June 2017.

P.s.There will be a continuation to this so stay tuned for Part 3.

    

A Short Story

Well,there has been requests for me to update my blog more often but I am sorry to inform you people that my schedule is currently very packed till I can't even get sufficient sleep at times as I'm in my second and final semester in matriculation so I'm pretty tied down with tons of work.Writing is something that I love so I will try my best to have more posts this year.

Since I don't have the time to write anything new,I would like to share some of my essays which I still have in my collection.Here's one of the longest essays which I had ever wrote in an examination.If I am not mistaken,it was for Section B(Directed Writing) in English Paper 1 during my mid year examination in Form 4(2014).It was around 7 pages(back and front) long and maybe the thickest exam script in my class.(FUN FACT:I only finished the essay when the invigilator said "masa tinggal satu minit lagi" and I didn't get to check both my essays at all but thankfully I managed to maintain my grade)

I Love You, Sarah!

“When I think of her, I am still filled with a profound sense of loss. If I wasn’t ignorant even a bit alert, I could have saved her and also expressed my feelings towards her. But it is too late and it’s fully my fault. Why didn’t I take any action to stop her? My heart is filled with guilt”.

Here am I, sitting down all alone in my room, regretting and crying over spilt milk. Ashton tells me there’s no use of crying, but what does he know? If I knew about it earlier, I would have definitely tried my level best to stop her, Miss Liz’s. Now I realise why Miss Liz always says that never put off till tomorrow what can be done today.

I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I rushed out from my room and frantically searched for my car keys. I had to do  something. I quickly got into my car and I was heading to Oliver’s house like a maniac. Throughout the journey, I almost knocked down a stray dog but to my dismay, I was caught in traffic and the worst of all, my car was moving only an inch per minute.

I opened my car dashboard to get my phone as I was getting bored and there she was. My phone’s wallpaper is still the picture of me and Sarah during her sweet sixteen birthday bash a fortnight ago. That was one of the last pictures that the both of us took together. Still staring sharply at the phone screen, I started to recall the first time I met her.

****************************************************

It was raining cats and dogs that day. As I was about to start up my motorbike, I heard a silent cry. I ignored it at first but after a while, my curiosity made me to go and investigate. There she was sitting alone on the staircase with a penknife in her hand. I wanted to walk back but suddenly something caught my eye, she was cutting her wrists repeatedly.

“Hey, stop that!” I shouted as I ran towards her. She quickly hid the penknife and her cut wrists behind her when I approached her. She was in a very miserable condition which made me even curious. Being the vice president of the Red Crescent Society, I forced her to follow me to the first-aid room so that I could clean her cut. She was reluctant at first, but after my success of persuading her, she agreed to follow.

When we reached the first-aid room, I quickly cleaned the cut and put a plaster on it. I then sparked a conversation with her to find out the reason behind her intentions to cut herself.

Her name was Sarah. She was one of the best girls ever in the school but lately her results had been dwindling badly. Sarah’s parents were in the midst of a divorce case and she was stuck in between the custody battle as she was the only child. I advised her to put her problems aside and focus on her studies as she’ll be sitting for her PMR examinations that year. I also made her promise to never attempt to do anything foolish again.

After that day, Sarah became my best friend. Although I was in Form Four and she was in Form Three, I made it a point to meet her every day. I even used to go jogging with her at the Seberang Jaya Park every weekend while she used to accompany me in my routine workout in the school gym. I coached her personally and she passed with flying colour in her PMR examination.

I rewarded Sarah’s remarkable achievement by getting her a Samsung Galaxy Trend smartphone. I had saved my RM50 weekly allowance and also worked part time to get it for her. Her parents’ divorce case was also over by then and her mom won the custody battle. When I presented the phone to her, she was speechless. She then gave me a hug that I felt like I was out of oxygen. She was on top of the world.

I felt extremely happy for her but without me knowing she had stole my heart. I didn’t dare to tell her as I thought that she considered me as a friend only. When the new school year started, I got even busier than the year before. I had been elected as the Head Prefect and also the President of several societies.

Despite my hectic schedule of juggling so many tasks I still made it a point to meet Sarah every day in school and we also texted regularly. Since we couldn’t talk in school most times I would WhatsApp or either call her and talk for hours. We would even hang out in the library some days but with a strict rule of studying. All the while, I was waiting for the right opportunity to express my love to her but the fear of getting rejected overpowered me.

As it was nearing the middle of the year, I became even busier I was tied with tuitions, extra classes, sport practices and many more. This lowered down my chances of communicating with Sarah but we still WhatsApp each other regularly as I couldn’t live without chatting with her. I squeezed through my hectic schedule to help make preparations for her sweet sixteen birthday bash.

On the evening of Sarah’s sweet sixteen birthday bash, I was in a loss of words when I saw her. I bet she made the jaws of all those present drop as she looked stunning in the blue cocktail dress which I had personally chosen for her. We had the time of our lives that day and that us when I realised that Sarah is my one true love.

“Jonathan, until when are you going to prolong it. You better confess your love towards her soon or you’re going to regret,” Ashton reminded me the next day.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to propose to her on my birthday. I just can’t wait for it,” I exclaimed excitedly.

“Oh, well! Good luck Jonathan. Hopefully you’ll get a positive reply,” he said before walking away.

Since my birthday was in two weeks, I procrastinated my plans as I was tied up with tons of school work. My messages and calls to Sarah also decreased as I was too busy. I didn’t even have the time to tend to my homework let alone check out my phone. But a day before my birthday, I got a call on the wee hours of the morning. It was from Sarah.

“Jonathan, I need you. But before I hang up, I would like to say that I love you. Thank you for everything”, she said frantically.

“Sarah....Sarah...calm down. Tell me what’s the matter, is everything okay?”, but it was too late as she had already hung up.

My heart was not at peace after the call as I sensed that something was wrong.Various thoughts kept lingering in my mind but I brushed them off by convincing myself that everything’s alright. I couldn’t sleep that night. I tried calling Sarah back but to my vain all my calls were left unattended.

When I woke up the next morning, it was already past eight. Suddenly, I heard a beep from my phone. It was a message from Sarah’s mom informing me to come to the Island Hospital immediately. I called Ashton who told me to hurry before it was too late. I was confused. I drove to Penang in 15 minutes with the emergency lights on. When I reached the reception counter of the hospital, the receptionist gave me an awkward look when I asked for Sarah’s ward number. The lift was out of order so I had to take the stairs.

I was gasping for breath when I reached the fifth floor and there it was room 507. It was an ICU ward. I looked around and it was so silent that I could even hear a pin drop. There was not a sign of anyone around. I braved myself and pushed the door open to see Sarah lying unconsciously on the bed. The look of her terrified me. I couldn’t believe my eyes that she was Sarah. She was wearing an oxygen mask, her eyes shut. Surrounding her was her parents, Oliver and some of her other friends. The pulse rate machine was beating slowly indicating her low heart beat rate.

Her mother called me out and explained to me what had happened the other night. Sarah had consumed a quarter bottle of chloroform. She didn’t know the reason behind it. She asked me if I knew what made her do it. I shook my head. Oliver then told me that Sarah had been constantly calling and texting me but I had left them all unanswered. I was shocked when I checked through my call log and WhatsApp as there were more than 100 missed calls and messages from Sarah. 

While I was reading each of the messages, I suddenly heard Sarah’s mother calling me to come into the room.Sarah had regained consciousness but she was extremely weak. I could see through the look in her eyes that she was trying to tell me something. But she then went back to an unconscious state again before she could even talk to anyone. According to the doctors, Sarah was in a critical stage and only a miracle could save her.

That night, I stayed up in the hospital with her. It was also the eve of my seventeenth birthday. The whole night I couldn’t keep my eyes of her. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer to God. Suddenly I felt a hand taking grasp of my finger. When I opened my eyes, I realised that Sarah had regained consciousness. She indicated me to sit by her side as she lay on my shoulder. She tried to speak, but when she opened her mouth, no words came out.

She hugged me and whispered in my ear, “Jonathan, I love you”. Without saying another word or even before my reply, she was gone. Sarah had passed away peacefully on my shoulders that too on my birthday. I rushed out to call the doctor. I tried their level best to resuscitate her but it was no use, as Sarah was already gone. A daughter, a friend and most importantly my love had passed away before I could even express my love to her.

Sarah’s death had affected me badly. I’d been confined in my room for days. During her funeral, I sobbed uncontrobally that even my friends said that it was weird. They told me that guys will never cry like that but I just didn’t care. All efforts to calm me down were impossible as I couldn’t accept the fact that Sarah is no longer alive.

********************************************

Now, I’m already reaching Oliver’s house. I parked my car and ran towards the door. After constantly ringing the door bell, Oliver opened the door. She invited me in. I went in and sat on the couch.

“Jonathan, Sarah told me to give this to you a day before she committed suicide. I’m not sure what the content is but I guess it’s something important. I actually wanted to give it to you on her funeral, but you were just unconsolable so now I’ll give it to you,” she handed me the letter.

I tore open the letter. The contents shocked me.

“Dear Jonathan,

Ever since I first met you, my life has changed tremendously. The sweet memories I had with you, I’ll cherish them forever. But I would like to tell you something. 

All this while I had loved you,

Meeting you was maybe an accident,

But knowing you was a blessing,

On top of it,

I just love you so much,

Loved you yesterday,

Loving you today,

And love you tomorrow,

And forever.

Loving you all the way..

Yours lovingly,

Sarah.

I broke down and tears started rolling down my eyes. All this while, I thought that I was the only one who loved her but I never realised that she actually loved me back. But it’s too late. Sarah was gone even before she knew that I loved her too. Now, I understand the reason behind Miss Liz’s favourite saying. So to everyone out there bear the phrase below in mind,

‘NEVER PUT OFF TILL TOMORROW WHAT CAN BE DONE TODAY!’

Saveetra Revathi A/P S Sethupathi

2014

I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

To those of you who are in SMK Convent Butterworth,you can check out the printed version of this story in FORTE XVII(2014).

That's all for now I guess.Goodnight!!