“You get a strange feeling when you’re about to leave a place. Like you’ll not only miss the people you love but you’ll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you’ll never be this way ever again.”
— Azar Nafisi
Hello! I started this RVRC farewell post more than a year ago, and the only thing I typed was the quote ^ above LOL. But well this quote is still very relevant today! In the past year, every time I reflect about RVRC I'll go like "okay I'll talk more about it in my RVRC post" but for the longest time ever that post was not happening HAHA but I decided that today shall be the day.
I'm not going to go into details on what it is about (like all the modules and meal plans and stuff) because I believe these are inconsequential in the grand scheme of things and actually I'm just lazy HAHA. Okay also because this is not an informational blog it's just my incoherent thoughts la HAHA. But of course if you are really curious about it, feel free to contact me I'm very friendly!!! :-)
Anyway, so I first heard about RVRC through one of the many pamphlets that were given to us along with the NUS welcome package thing I think! I briefly considered applying for it but being the loser that I am, the thought of having to write an essay and go for an interview sounded so unappealing to me, plus I thought I wanted to stay in a hall. Seriously I was such a lazy bum, please don't be like me!!! Good things come to those who put in the effort so don't be deterred by things like that okay just write the goddamn essay and go for the interview (this applies to everything, not just housing). Okay turns out hall didn't want me HAHAHAHA but okay really no regrets because I'm really not suited for hall also I swear I'm not saying this because I was rejected (or maybe I am hmm you never know) but no for real for someone who sleeps before 12am and need to have regular meals (yes la I am an oldie), I really don't think I'm cut out for it la HAHA. It's not cut out for everyone because I have friends who really loveeee their hall life but also friends who left hall halfway through the sem! So you really need to know yourself and know what you want okie hehe people always ask me like which one is better and all, there is really no 'better' choice yo it really depends on you!!! The one that suits you is the better choice for you :-D
Okay I digressed so anyway, I joined arts camp (yay) and I got close to Cams and she told me she applied to RVRC so I was like okie at least I'll have a friend there so I applied too (yes I am socially awkward I need to know I'll have friends)!!! Then I also told B1 (back then we were still awkward friends) and yurourou that I applied and so the two of them applied also HAHA yes that's right I am an #influencer........ SO YES ALL OF US GOT IN WOOHOO.
So B1 and I happened to me in the same house and the same OG which was a huge relief because yay I have a friend!!! So we went for the orientation and everything and had so much fun because I could be my crazy self when there's someone else crazier than me (her). Those were fun times man I even brought my selfie stick and all LOOOOL don't judge okay it's because of that selfie stick that we got cute group photos and all!!!!! But anyway, it's great having B1 there and all because we could do everything together like eating and stuff, and it really took the pressure off me to socialise because I already had a friend.
But at the same time that was also kinda the bad thing, because it made us so comfortable with having each other as friends that we didn't really socialise with the others :-( Plus at that time she was always away (moon face HAHA) and I was so homesick that I always went home??? LOL I was definitely way more homesick than I expected to be so I always went home on like Thursdays (because I had a free day on Fri) and came back on like Sunday nights. So I think the two of us definitely weren't very involved with all the activities. We were on friendly terms with everyone but we just weren't like that active yknow!! Thinking back I definitely regret that because I feel like I didn't put my 100% into it, so let this be a lesson to myself and all of you out there okay!!!
Alright so in semester two we finally decided that we really needed more friends because our dinner plans always involved only the two of us and when one of us couldn't make it because of meetings or whatever, the other person has to eat alone which is really sad :( So we forcefully pulled FY, Weq and Faye into a group and forcefully named it "The Food Crew" and forced them to be friends with us LOL this is not a joke!!! So yes it all started because we wanted to find people to eat with us LOL such priorities!!! Idk how this group came about also I think we were just sitting there brainstorming like "hmm who would want to eat with us" and this group miraculously appeared and this whole thing is just bizarre LOL I'm glad everyone was cooperative HAHAHAHA sometimes friendship is really pretty weird. So the two of us will keep jio them for dinner and slowly it became a habit and then we also started hanging out in each other's rooms and FY started barging into my room because we lived in the same corridor and we hung out in weq's room all the time and then we super randomly decided to go Australia together HAHAHA.
Okay tbh when we first said we'll go overseas together I was pretty doubtful about it because the only time I went overseas with my friends was like with my friends of 5 years back then, so I wasn't sure how things would work out when we only knew each other for half a year!! But then plane tix got booked and accomms got booked and we really went Australia HAHA and I feel that for me, that was a huge step in our friendship!! I am someone who takes a long while to warm up and so to me, that trip was what really made me completely warm up and got me closer to the other three cuties hehe.
Okay so I digressed again oh my goodness okay so what I want to say is that, semester two was when I tried much harder to be involved and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made because I received so much more!!! And then RVRC camp came and I had so much fun with everyone and it really made me sad that I was leaving when I just got closer to them LOL SOBS why do I take so long to warm up T_T I think I mentioned it in my camp post but yeah I got to interact with a lot more people in that three days that I honestly never got to talk to during my entire stay omg much regrets. And then for the entire of last year I went back to RV quite often to visit my lovely friends and I also got to hang out with a couple of them during birthday parties and stuff!!!
I mean to me all this while I wouldn't really say I was very involved or very attached to RV, but I think it really became a big part of my life without me even noticing. It has really become part of my identity and I wasn't even aware of it. I really really treasure each and everyone there and they have all become people very special to me even if we're not very close!!! Like every time I see any of them in school I'll always feel like I'm seeing someone from home y'know. This sense of belonging comes as a surprise even to me because I really never expected it.
As with everything, there are always the bad and the good but I choose to remember the good hehe. Actually on hindsight all the struggles and complaints are all part and parcel of the experience la HAHA like annoying GEM meetings are also part of the fun what..........
So yeah, the place has pretty much defined my uni life, and I will always remain grateful to it because I really met so many wonderful wonderful people. The place also represents the person I was back then - a wide-eyed and confused freshie HAHA. I sound so jaded but I'm really not okay but it's just that I'm never going to be that person ever again yknow what I mean??? It's like when you listen to a song you used to listen to in the past and all the memories rush back to you. It's not like you really want to go back to being that person again but it just feels kinda nostalgic like 'oh yeah that's who I was'. Okay I'm sure someone else can put this in a more eloquent and romantic way but that person is sadly not me HAHAHA.
So yup, this is it. Your experience is really what you make of it and different people choose different places and have different memories. For me, that place is RVRC, and so it will always have a very special place in my heart. :')