12 December 2017, by Nicholas Quek

Wrapping up the semester

My mouth is numb with mala peppercorns, which is why I couldn’t really react verbally to my friend when he brought out a bucket full of chin chow, canned peaches, aiyu jelly and nata de coco.

We scooped out the dessert using washed ladles from our hotpot dinner into plastic cups, and we sat around the table recounting the past 5-months that just passed.

My first university semester is over.

I think the best place to begin would be with the topic I first broached when talking about university – family.

I’m looking forward to spending extended time with them again. Something that struck home for me was when my mother mentioned that she stopped cooking at home – something I wasn’t even around to notice.

She said that to celebrate me and my sister’s return from our dorms she would be cooking her famous seafood pasta; I’d take that over hall food any day of the week.

My brother also mentioned how annoyed he’ll be now that I’m coming back home, and I can’t wait to fulfill that expectation.

I’m also looking forward to catching up with my parents on my summer plans. The time apart has really taken a toll on the frequency of communication between us, and I’m hoping to spend extended time with them just chatting.

Now, I’m probably the least passionate to talk about this, but romance seems to be topic that constantly generates excitement.

Sorry to disappoint, but I am still as single as the day I entered college.

I have learned a great deal though, and I think one thing I’ve come away with is that romance is never an individual affair.

When people get together, things around them change, and people react to it. That’s not a bad thing per se, but it was just something that I had to come to terms with – romance affects others outside of the relationship, as much as we would like it not to.

Nothing really adverse happened within my circle of friends, but it was just something I observed, and definitely something I’m gonna take note of moving forward in my love life (though before that I need to be moving).

I think there’s a great deal of truth when people say dating in university is a lot more serious; people mature, belief systems are formed, opinions are solidified – romance is no longer a game.

Like University, it’s really a step into a new age of responsibility, where there’s no more room for teenage frivolity.

So with romance (though it may not be so quick around the corner); the one semester I’ve been here has made me realise that relationships really aren’t a game, not anymore at least.

I’m looking forward to the new semester; I’ve made incredible friends and I thoroughly enjoy the content I’m studying.

For now though, I’m gonna enjoy the one month of parental nagging, sibling annoyance, and waking up at lunchtime;

there’s still no place like home.