goodbye, lofty
TSD (theatre studies and drama) was the probably the one course in all my life that I experienced the greatest uncertainty and fear in deciding to take it, or even continue with it. Yet it was probably the course that changed my life the most - it redefined what education should be: about loving, falling in and out of love, friendship, giving it my all, and living like you've never lived before. Of my JC experiences - the TSD ones always come to mind first: the late nights spent at the garden tables, working in AVA/Night/Day, 24 Hours (the supposed designers' table), how the monologue scared the shit out of me, how the duologue did too but I just went all out and had so much fun, my design worries, deadlines and friends with deadlines, a sense of community and belonging (my lovely Groopeas! the lighting/sound people!), being at school till 1am and climbing red gates ... It will always remain with me as the one class that looking back, I would never regret taking ever (even though in the middle of it I was always that close to giving up)
... and as Nic so beautifully put it - we all knew somewhere along the way that we were creating something beautiful and magical with our lives.
Talking to people about Lofty's departure made me really sad not being able to be there to say goodbye. Thinking back, I was always intimidated by Lofty (: His presence always made me feel like I was incomplete - starting with no knowledge of theatre, no idea of how to go about doing things, just being generally bad at this theatre thing - but he also made me feel that I can, and want to overcome my fears and inabilities. Simply because he believed in me. Believed in all of us, even though we were still young and ignorant and perhaps naive. I stepped out of my comfort zone because of TSD, and for this experience I will always be eternally grateful, as well as for the friends I've made there. He was always there for us - encouragement, advice, Boasters, and even the real honest truth that we all needed once in a while as to why our theatre sucked, but still dedicated to helping us make our theatre come to life. I remember him biking into school. I remember him holding our very first workshop. His quirkiness - 'doompf!', his dislike of the Singaporean education system (haha). And how we always, always turned to him - in times of crises, where he would never fail to step beyond the office to help us out on the side even though it was "exam period". His dreams and hopes for us were always known by us, and I like to believe that we all made a step at realizing the amazing potential we all had in us during our time with him.
So goodbye, Lofty - I'm really sorry I can't be there to personally thank you for what an amazing teacher you have been. And beyond a teacher - a mentor and also simply, just a friend to all of us. Thank you for shaping my (and all our) life and my passion for theatre and life itself. And goodbyes are never goodbyes forever: for now, I'm also glad that finally, after all these years of loving and caring for us, you can close a wonderful chapter in your life, bring it with you, and have an amazing time in Spain. You truly were the best thing to ever happen to TSD, and I'm really proud to say that I was once (and will always be) your student. (:
... and as Nic so beautifully put it - we all knew somewhere along the way that we were creating something beautiful and magical with our lives.
Talking to people about Lofty's departure made me really sad not being able to be there to say goodbye. Thinking back, I was always intimidated by Lofty (: His presence always made me feel like I was incomplete - starting with no knowledge of theatre, no idea of how to go about doing things, just being generally bad at this theatre thing - but he also made me feel that I can, and want to overcome my fears and inabilities. Simply because he believed in me. Believed in all of us, even though we were still young and ignorant and perhaps naive. I stepped out of my comfort zone because of TSD, and for this experience I will always be eternally grateful, as well as for the friends I've made there. He was always there for us - encouragement, advice, Boasters, and even the real honest truth that we all needed once in a while as to why our theatre sucked, but still dedicated to helping us make our theatre come to life. I remember him biking into school. I remember him holding our very first workshop. His quirkiness - 'doompf!', his dislike of the Singaporean education system (haha). And how we always, always turned to him - in times of crises, where he would never fail to step beyond the office to help us out on the side even though it was "exam period". His dreams and hopes for us were always known by us, and I like to believe that we all made a step at realizing the amazing potential we all had in us during our time with him.
So goodbye, Lofty - I'm really sorry I can't be there to personally thank you for what an amazing teacher you have been. And beyond a teacher - a mentor and also simply, just a friend to all of us. Thank you for shaping my (and all our) life and my passion for theatre and life itself. And goodbyes are never goodbyes forever: for now, I'm also glad that finally, after all these years of loving and caring for us, you can close a wonderful chapter in your life, bring it with you, and have an amazing time in Spain. You truly were the best thing to ever happen to TSD, and I'm really proud to say that I was once (and will always be) your student. (: