Camp FORGE

  Nervousness was the only word to describe my feelings about the upcoming camp. The camp, Camp FORGE, was a one-day camp. My mates and I were briefed on what to bring and what not to, and the seniors emphasized that when we reach there, we must put on our best behavior- that is not to fool around.
  The day soon arrived in a blink of an eye. Everyone reported punctually in the appropriate attire, which was a good thing as there would not be trouble. The seniors did an attire check on everyone before we departed for our destination. Excitement won the battle with Nervousness at that point of time.
  Upon arrival, we were directed to the waiting room where we waited for the other groups to arrive. Strangely, my group was the only group from the Sea district, the other schools were from the Land district. The teacher-in-charge then explained to us that we missed the camp with the Sea district, because that time, we had Common Test.
  Once all participants arrived, we were then divided into two groups, the Bravo group and the Alpha group. My group and I were in the Alpha group. After that, we placed our bags at a room and it was locked before we headed back to the assembly area where we took our pledge that Safety would be our first priority. They then proceeded to have a briefing with us. They said that if one felt giddy, or did not wish to do the stations, they could tell the facilitators there and they will be forfeited from that activity.
  Alpha team's first station was the Flying Fox. They showed a demonstration of how the harness should be worn. To add some excitement into the activity, the facilitators added an extra section, that is when one is gliding down the rope, attempt to aim a ball into the bucket, they even mystified us by saying that if one successfully got the ball into the bucket, they would receive a prize, but they refused to reveal what the prize was. I was still my happy self until the moment I climbed the staircase up to the departure point. The staircase was no doubt scary, the steps were small and there was no support should we fall, so we had to be really careful. On the way up, the facilitators yelled at us to get up faster. I felt pressurized and meanwhile a tinge of anger along with some dissatisfaction. I admit I am afraid of heights, but can't the facilitators be more kind and allow us to climb up at our own pace? Soon, I got to the departure area. I could feel my heart beating faster and faster as the facilitators told us to sit closer to the edge. I held my harness and just closed my eyes. What was funny was that the facilitator said 'Good bye' and kicked me gently, but amazingly, I was still sitting there stiffly. He told me to lean forward. I leant forward unwillingly and this time, his kick was harder and it did send me down, the first few seconds, I could not feel my legs, thoughts of death did pass through my mind but they were banished when I opened my eyes and see that I was still alive and kicking. Then I realised the bucket was ahead of me by a bit, I immediately threw the ball but missed. Well, now I see the difficulty of the bucket, if only the bucket was placed abit further from the departing area, the facilitators would have to provide more prizes. I went back to the assembly area and watched as more people take on the activity. I saw some people forfeiting from the activity, maybe they were afraid of heights more than I was, but I could guarantee that the experience up there was worth it. I personally think the facilitators should revamp the bonus section into one that involves teamwork, as that was what all camps' motives were. Perhaps they could have implemented a point-accumulative Bulls-eye system, where the team with the most score wins something.
  Rock Climbing was the next activity the Alpha team was assigned to. I did this section once when I was Primary 5, that time I did not know how and why I fell, so I was more determined to try to climb higher. When it was my turn, I realised the difficulty was increased, with the bits of coloured rocks further from each other. The instructor instructing me to scale up the Rock Wall advised me strategically, I really appreciated that. He also told me that I was using too much of my arm strength instead of the strength of my legs. The problem with me was that I could not channel the strength of my legs, so I scaled the Rock Wall with my arm strength. I did scale up higher than what the previous try when I was Primary 5. The strength of my arms were soon worn out that I could not continue on and so I had to disengage from the wall.
  It was then lunchtime and the Alpha team had their lunch first. The food choice was very limited. Some of the add-on food were spicy, decreasing the choice of add-on food for people who do not like to eat spicy food, which included me. I was the last to take the food in the Alpha team and was the first to wolf down the food. I wanted a second round of serving, but it would be weird if I was to take just plain rice, so I decided to be contented with the fact that the provided food for us and not to take more rice to save those awkwardness should someone questions me why I was only eating plain rice.
  The Alpha team then proceeded to the Paintball Shooting, It was saddening when we were told that the government enforced a rule that says that only people ages 14 and above can play against each other. Since we were only 13, we could only shoot bottles. We were provided 30 Paint-balls each and were to target the bottles that were standing on the support. I did try to aim, but the facilitators there told us to fire the shots quickly, although I did not understand why we should be quick since the command given was 'Own Time Own Target', meaning that we hit our own targets while taking our own time. Nonetheless, I promptly shot my remaining shots and I managed to hit a bottle down. I was not really satisfied with my performance. Out of 30 shots, only 1 was accurate- disappointing to me. Personally I felt that this activity should not be in the schedule for Secondary 1 cadets, since it was boring. Perhaps they could come up with another exciting activity to override this activity.
  The last activity for the day for Alpha team to engage in was the Archery. Well, when we reached there, the Bravo team was in the midst of getting started. So the Alpha team was to wait at one corner. We chit-chatted with students of different schools to get to know each other. When it was time for the Alpha team to take on the activity, we were all very enthusiastic. When it was my turn, I could do all the steps correctly, but the thing was that I could not aim properly. Amazingly after I shot all the arrows  that was provided, all the arrows I shot was on the board, well one of them was on someone else's board. So I did not have to go and collect my arrows, since the facilitators there said that they would take the arrows on the board while the ''archers'' would have to take those that landed on the floor and I had all the arrows shot on the board. We were then gathered, once everyone was present, we were then dismissed school by school.
  I was utterly disappointed when I found out that the main organizer of this camp did not issue papers for us to write our reflection. This meant no suggestions would be received. I felt guilty for not writing a reflection as I did not contribute to next year Secondary 1's Camp FORGE. No suggestions meant that the organizers will think that the event was fun enough to keep the participants fully engaged, as it ran quite smoothly and that next year will have almost the same events in the same order. Nonetheless, this camp benefited me alot as I was able to conquer my fear of height and also given the chance to try to strive for better results than previous. In conclusion, this camp was a meaningful event but there are rooms for improvement.

Happy yet not so

  At first, when my mother agreed to buy me a new monitor, I was jumping for joy...
  It all began when my 5-year old monitor began to blank itself out after I switched on my computer for awhile. I tried restarting the monitor by pressing the monitor switch button twice - first to switch off and second to switch on, everything was well for a few seconds before it turned blank again. I tried blowing the monitor, thinking it was because my monitor was overheated. I even tried wiping the plugs connecting to the monitor, thinking it was because the contact was ''sabotaged'' by the dust.
  Soon, violence got into me, I slammed the back of the monitor, well, in most cases, my slamming always fixed technical problems, but not for this case though. After a while, I switched on my computer, it miraculously worked! But it did not last long. The second time I switched on my computer, the same thing happened. It continued like an endless cycle but soon it was put to a stop when my parents noticed the problem and had the intention of rectifying the problem. The solution? Well, of course that was to buy a new monitor for me, with one, all problems will be solved and there would be no more of me slamming the monitor; that was simply great.
  So, my monitor was replaced. It was no doubt a joyous thing for me. Then, I realized it was the monitor was wider than my previous, much wider. You might be thinking, isn't a wider screen better? Well, frankly speaking, I prefer smaller screens as that would mean smaller resolutions, bigger pictures,  but pixels are less focused. Although it is possible to change the resolution, to cover the whole screen, the pictures formed by the pixels will be stretched, making it less focused- looks ugly.
  Therefore, the new gift I had, did not really appeased me. Looking at the bright side, at least I do not have to continue slamming my monitor, blowing my monitor as if I am someone with mental illness blowing a monitor, and also do not have to go the tedious alternative of switching off my computer to wipe the plugs connecting to my monitor. In conclusion, I feel that the advantages of having a new monitor overshadow the disadvantages. I guess optimism is really powerful, if not for it, I would have been drowned in grumpiness by the human conqueror, Greed. Besides I am also contented that my parents had decided to do something about the problem with the monitor. Finally, I like to thank my parents for purchasing a new product for me - I hereby express my gratitude. Thank you!

Individual Marksmanship Training

  It was an exciting but tiring day yesterday. At 1145h yesterday, the National Cadet Corps cadets, who included me, were dismissed from their classes. I rushed to the male toilet to change into my uniform and then reported to the Parade Square for the Individual Marksmanship Training (IMT) activity. The teacher-in-charge took attendance before my group took off to our destination.

  The venue was at Nee Soon Camp and the bus got us there in no time. We were directed to the briefing room for briefing on how to handle the SAR21 rifle, and also the steps to take after each command is given. I had many doubts before the briefing but all were clarified after the end of the briefing.

  After the briefing, it was time to take the test! I was pretty nervous because of the fact that I had never used a military weapon before. We had to lie down on the platform and aim. The rifle did not use real bullets, but lasers to detect where the shots were made. At first, I did not believe that the rifle was using lasers as I could not see the lasers when I shot, but later it struck me that due to the frequency of the lasers, it could not be seen.

  The first four shots were to test out the rifle. I had some trouble with the rifle at first but fortunately there were friendly staff around to help me fix the problem. After the four shots, it was the most anticipated moment-the moment that would decide our grades; Fail, Pass or Marksman.

  To get Marksman, one will need to get 2 out of 3 groupings. To pass, one will need 1 out of 3 groupings. Each grouping consists of 4 shots; the system will draw a circle around all 4 shots and take the diameter. A successful grouping will be one whose diameter is 24cm or below. For Fig.12, one needs 6 out of 8 shots on the figure for Marksmanship and 4 out of 8 for a pass.

  As I was nervous, I did not aim properly for the first grouping, but luckily I managed to pull myself together and succeeded to get my shots as close as I could, having a diameter of 16.8cm. When I saw my results, I was jumping for joy as I did not have any confidence that I would pass, but amazingly, I did. Then for Fig.12, I got a pass yet again, the happiness I had could not be described with words. Although I could not get Marksman, I was still contented with myself for obtaining a pass.

  After everyone had finished their test, we were then dismissed by the staff there. We took the bus back to school and were then dismissed home from there. I had enjoyed myself a lot during IMT, it was a fruitful experience. I wish there will be more of such activities for me to engage in, as I can get exposed to more activities.