Our Beacon of Light in the Dark Stormy Night
FWOC has always been more than just an orientation. While the freshmen were offered a tantalizing taste of what is to come as they embark on their new journey, the seniors saw it as an unbridled expression of a Kentridgean unleashed. But ask any member of the FWOC team, past and present, and they will tell you an entirely different story.
Most Kentridgeans will shun the idea of joining FWOC. This is understandably so, because the reasons are relatively simple and logical – that no one believes that a team of twelve Kentridgeans can slog it out to put together a two week orientation programme within three months.
Indeed, I had been one of the doubters too. It simply did not make sense to me why would we want to have only twelve people on the committee when we could have easily called for more. Indeed, it is sheer madness when it is true that only Kent Ridge Hall has this strangely sardonic practice when other halls will choose to muster more than half of their active residents to plan their respective freshmen orientation projects.
Yet it is our refusal to conform that makes us special. For us, twelve is the magical number.
No one had expected an easy ride. From the earliest conceptualization of the orientation theme to the eventual, long awaited Day-Zero morning briefing, FWOC 07/08 was never just about a journey of working out t-shirt and focus book designs, looking for sponsorships and endorsements, planning and trying out wet and dirty orientation games, writing and editing a 263 page long proposal and integrating meal timings and logistical preparation into an endless myriad of timetables and plans.
This is the FWOC experience, one that is unique to every batch that had contributed so much into the singular purpose of making their FWOC a success. For the batch of 07/08, it was a life lesson well learnt, a mission well accomplished, and twelve friendships well forged.
Cheong Eng Tat
FWOC 07/08
FWOC has always been more than just an orientation. While the freshmen were offered a tantalizing taste of what is to come as they embark on their new journey, the seniors saw it as an unbridled expression of a Kentridgean unleashed. But ask any member of the FWOC team, past and present, and they will tell you an entirely different story.
Most Kentridgeans will shun the idea of joining FWOC. This is understandably so, because the reasons are relatively simple and logical – that no one believes that a team of twelve Kentridgeans can slog it out to put together a two week orientation programme within three months.
Indeed, I had been one of the doubters too. It simply did not make sense to me why would we want to have only twelve people on the committee when we could have easily called for more. Indeed, it is sheer madness when it is true that only Kent Ridge Hall has this strangely sardonic practice when other halls will choose to muster more than half of their active residents to plan their respective freshmen orientation projects.
Yet it is our refusal to conform that makes us special. For us, twelve is the magical number.
No one had expected an easy ride. From the earliest conceptualization of the orientation theme to the eventual, long awaited Day-Zero morning briefing, FWOC 07/08 was never just about a journey of working out t-shirt and focus book designs, looking for sponsorships and endorsements, planning and trying out wet and dirty orientation games, writing and editing a 263 page long proposal and integrating meal timings and logistical preparation into an endless myriad of timetables and plans.
It was about the story of a team that was as raw and inexperienced as any FWOC team could have ever been. When we scrambled and were left befuddled, clueless and lost, we learnt to trust and hold each others’ hands as we walked together not as twelve individuals but as a team. When we shed tears and had original plans tattered and thrown into total disarray, our partners picked us up and convinced us that we had the ability to make things right again. We were stubborn, but only because of our refusal to give up on each other and our hopes for FWOC to be a success.
This is the FWOC experience, one that is unique to every batch that had contributed so much into the singular purpose of making their FWOC a success. For the batch of 07/08, it was a life lesson well learnt, a mission well accomplished, and twelve friendships well forged.
Cheong Eng Tat
FWOC 07/08
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