A Love Letter

I cannot believe this school is shutting down. I spent the entire day in a haze of reckless sadness, watching our graduation video that was released but 3 months prior and crying. It would not be an overstatement to say that this school has moulded me into a real human person, one that I have come to take pride in and treasure. YNC is not without its faults. I spent a hefty amount of time being depressed, stressed, and anxious, annoyed at administration and annoyed at fellow schoolmates. But the best thing about YNC is, and has always been, the people. I firmly believe you have to be a little bit crazy to take a chance on a school 5 years old that prides itself in being “nOt lIkE oThEr gIrLs”. And in the past 24 hours, all of us did what we do best: take care of each other. The mutual aid fund was set up SO quickly, the memes were popping off, the discord was full of alumni from years back offering their support and career services. How special is it, for us to be a part of something like that? That in a school that existed for 10 years, for us to exist alongside and within?

I am so grateful for everything I got to experience. All the Big Things, and my two great loves - history and literature. But I am perhaps more grateful for the Small Things - the view of the elm courtyard after that rainy Tape Days where we destroyed it, the sound of the audience during showcase when they realised our Greatest Showman was Prof Neil Mehta, the way you could look out your window at 4am and see other lights on, friendly in the early hours. For all the chances I took on Yale-NUS, it took plenty of chances on me too. Allie trusting me with his film despite me never having any prior experience. Professors and faculty being equally enthused - if not more - about research projects that probably didn’t add anything to academia at large, but meant a lot to me. My class, for trusting me to represent them in our final days as students, trying to get a graduation. As long as I was willing to put myself out there, YNC always had my back.

I do not know where to go from this. I did not feel ready to graduate and I do not feel ready to say goodbye. But I think I’m learning that moving on from YNC doesn’t mean we should move from it, but that we should move with it. I will always like you a little bit more if you are from Elm. I am an expert waffle-maker. And I will always think of an indomee, egg, and patty as an Adlin. All my love, YNC. You have my whole heart. I hope you shine brightly in all of us.