Grace's #WhyEJ

Dearest EJ,

I have a confession to make. I know we haven't known each other for that long but before we part ways, you need to know that I love you. I really do. You probably don't know this but I started loving you a long time ago. The moment I encountered your teachers, your paint-stained floors, your 1970s toilets at Mount Sinai, I knew I was destined to love you. 

I loved you because of all the firsts you gave me: my first A Division season, my first A (which came only in J2), my first Lit Fest, my first Humanities Symposium, my first EC. I love you also because of all the lasts you gave and I cherish: my last Econs lecture, my last Lit lesson, my last PE lesson…

I love you because you’re always looking out for me — strategically placing my lessons at the F block right before my EC's lesson just so we could ‘coincidentally’ bump into each other every week. I hope you remember the times we ran back from Ghim Moh in the rain, that one time Isabel and I decided to be brave and get food before Lit lecture but were scared of getting scolded so we immediately turned around 5 steps after stepping out of the school gate,and the time I lost my phone at the bus stop. I hope you remember all our victories: the big ones in Hockey and Floorball, the Tennis girls' first Fourth Placing and not forgetting the mini ones like 18-U1's victories during games in PE.

Thanks for convincing me that JC would be the best place to take many Ls — like cutting my hair short after 17 years, getting less than 30 RP, getting Us for H2 Math until As, getting heartbroken, allowing my YouTuber aspiration to be born and then die... but also providing opportunities to turn those Ls into Ws through hard work, passion and lots of love. 

As I embark on this new season, I hope that you won't just be proud of the five grades on my certificate yesterday but proud of who I have become and will become. This isn't a goodbye because you’ll always remain with me, in my heart. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I'll be forever grateful. 

Yours always,

Grace Lauren Ng
Class of 2019