My National Day Parade Journey

From the late nights of rehearsals and dry runs to the long days at the Suntec Convention Centre. The event that made up the main bulk of my first year in Junior College is Singapore’s 60th National Day Parade (NDP) where I built not only friendships but skills that I believe would last me a lifetime.

Signing up for NDP was initially for a lost opportunity and to make up for my Secondary 2 self who did not sign up when she had the opportunity to. Seeing all my friends performing inevitably gave me a sense of regret and envy I could not deny. I participated representing my school, Anderson Serangoon Junior College (ASRJC), as one of the dancers. Dancing was way out of my comfort zone for a long time, having been in ballet and failing miserably in it. Nevertheless, I did it for the experience of being under the fireworks while everyone screams the national anthem in tears, to feel the sense of belonging and national pride. When I finally felt the unity and solidarity I sought for, I looked back on the past 5 months of effort, energy and striving for excellence that took up half my weekends. I realised it was all worth it in that moment, under the lights and cheering.

From this experience, I learnt that trying something new, something that scares us does not only deflects our concerns but also gives us tenacity and mental stamina. Packing my schedules and shortening my weekends forced me to do things tired as well as teaching me to manage my time and handle constant pressures. It also built a very important social circle that fuelled my motivation during and outside of NDP practices. Thinking about it now, with all these takeaways and relationships I have, I have confidence that I can go through my second year alright.