Induction Week For New Students
I have to admit I hate induction week. The first I had encountered was when I registered to stay at the hostel of my high school when I was 17 and due to sit for my SPM that year. Actually our house was just a 15 minutes drive to the school and my father would still come everyday to fetch my younger brother.
But I had always read story books about girls living in boarding schools and how they used to have party at night and I was swayed right in, hahaha. The teenage me wanted independent so I asked my parents to let me stay at the hostel.
Of course, my father did not agree at first. He relented at last because my mom told him it would be good for me since I would be more disciplined and more committed to my study. *yawn😴
I was over the moon, my first time living far, far away from my family... yeah about 20 kilometres far, hahaha. Well, to my standard, where my father used to tail me around, it was still considered as an achievement of independence and certainly deserved a celebration. But sshhhh... do not tell him that. I would write another post on this and private it for you guys to read later 😜
I did not miss my family... at all. And do you want to know why? Because my father would still come and visit me every evening, hahaha. I swear I did not ask him to come at all. It was him sending me this and that, making excuses so just that he could come and ensure I was at the hostel. Secretly, I know he was hoping to catch me missing from the hostel so that would give him a reason to revoke the liberation approval he had given me earlier.
Oh my, I had strayed away from the main topic that I wanted to write about, hahaha. Sorry guys! OK, let's see. We had induction week at the hostel, but I was already in my Form Five and considered as a senior so I endured nothing much. They wouldn't dare to ask me to do anything weird.
So I skipped all the horrible incidents like I was told by many others. I thanked my lucky stay because my father let me stayed at the hostel when I was already in my Form Five. Imagine if he had sent me when I had just started Form 1. I would have suffered!
I came to know the true meaning of the word induction when I was accepted to study at UiTM for my Matriculation programme. Boy, how many times had I felt to just run away and quit! From the fist day I enrolled.
Of course my father had warned me so many times, "If any of the seniors bully you, tell me. I will take care of them." Actually, I didn't look at them as bullies, but the way they treated us was not exactly heaven too.
Everyday for one week, we had to get up at 5 and only see our bed again at 12.30 midnight. We had to walk for so many miles, along the pavement.. and sometimes going up the hill. I think I might have lost 5kilos just from walking.😱
And the seniors would shout at you if you are late, if you are caught chatting with the friend next to you, if you are slow in walking and also if you wear makeup. In fact, even in normal circumstances, they would still shout. I guess they were trained to be that way to inculcate fear among the juniors.
I remember feeling so alone and out of place because I was a student of second intake. I couldn't find any other law students to ask them about what should be done. Well you know, birds of the same feathers should always flock together. I was the only matriculation student in that group. The rest were Diploma and Degree students.
Once, we were told to sit for an English test. I was confused whether I should sit for that test or not because they only mentioned it was a requirement for Diploma and Degree students... what about me?
I approached one senior and asked. She shouted at me (as expected)... "Of course you have to sit for that test! What makes you think you are so special!!!!" Errkkk... I was just asking sis! Anyway, I found out later, I was NOT supposed to sit for that test at all because my faculty would handle it for me.
After a week, I couldn't stand the situation any longer so I called my father and told him about my predicament. You see, I was not trying to be a baby but I was so lost since there was no other law student for me to mingle with and asked for directions. My father immediately told me to go and meet his good friend.
I put on a brave face and went to see him. He was also surprised why was I settled in that particular hostel because all the other law students were placed together at another hostel. Whaaatttttt???!!! Huaaaaa... if only I had known earlier! So he arranged to transfer me to the actual hostel.
I had to go through the horrible experience for nothing. All the shouting and getting my eyebags so black that even the Black Panther would have been jealous!
Some of my classmates later on applied to be involved in the following semester induction as seniors. Me? No thank you. I don't ever want to relive that moment again. As a junior or a senior.
Fast forward to a few years later, I found myself to be a junior again. This time around in Monash University, Melbourne, as a postgraduate student. Do you know how they handle their Orientation Week? Let me unfold this to you before you ask me why I looovvveeeee their Orientation week and won't mind to attend it over and over again!
Artikel ini hanyalah simpanan cache dari url asal penulis yang berkebarangkalian sudah terlalu lama atau sudah dibuang :
http://www.ziedanazri.com/2018/12/induction-week-for-new-students.html