"Aim for the moon, even if you miss, you'd land among the stars!"

Back in primary 6, during PSLE, my form teacher Mrs Lim put a huge poster across the front of the classroom that read, "Aim for the moon, even if you miss, you'd land among the stars!"
She told us to aim high so that even if we do not meet our target, we will still end up in an acceptable Secondary school.

I wanted to go into Katong Convent (KC) initially. My elder sister graduated from KC, and it is about a 5 minute walk from my house.

I don't think I studied hard in Primary 6. I used to look down on neighbourhood schools a lot. Blame it on the education system, but somehow I felt like neighbourhood schools were filled with people who can't make it in life.

Well well, the joke's on me. I ended up in Bedok South Secondary School (BDS) the following year. I dreaded it, initially. I appealed into KC twice, both times rejected. Because most of my primary school mates were going to BDS, I decided to let go and attend BDS, hoping to transfer to KC in Secondary 2.

I never made it to the transfer.
Partly because I felt as if I couldn't bear to leave my friends, and partly because I didn't do fantastic enough to impress and convince the people in KC to take me in. I didn't try appealing either.

Right now I am still in BDS. I have learnt a lot from this school.
But sometimes I can't help but wonder, what if I did make the transfer? What if I did study harder? How would my life be now?

I have no regrets. Initially, yes. But now? Nah. I guess over the years I began to feel a collected acceptance of my fate.
My life in BDS is one hell of a rollercoaster ride. I used to overwrite neighbourhood school students but really, many of them hold talents and will surely suceed in later parts of their life. I can't even manage myself in a neighbourhood school. Who was I to insult? Ignorance.
I have met fantastic people and friends here. But I have also met ugly people. People I would never have got to meet anywhere else- People who have taught me so much, both good and bad.

In primary 6, who knew what life would have been like? I always wanted to be 15 years old. I used to watch my sister a lot when she was 15 and man. I envied her.
But here I am, 15 years old, with almost another century more of my life to go. My life has not even begun yet.

I remember looking up at the sign in Primary 6.

"Aim for the moon, even if you miss, you'd land among the stars!"
I told myself that I was going to use this as my motto to do well.

Only a couple of years later... I found out.
The irony of the sign?

The stars are actually further than the moon.