Day 6

i've made it to another term at ycm.

Although i still have the lingering sense of misfit in this "bastion of exclusivity" that i described 1 yr back (Apr 07), i decided to go ahead and sign on for a new term. Between doing something good for the society and "putting up" with being 'cold cornered', i choose the former.

Sitting on the panel is like back-office work, it does not give as much satisfaction as working with people at the grassroot level, but it's still a form of community involvement. It's a given that you've to grade projects online, meet the applicants, go for panel meetings, attend special events and what not, but through it i've a chance to give back to society and a chance to meet young people who have more drive than me in propelling changes in our community (and look up to them till my neck is strained)....it's a good thing isn't it?

Moreover, after 1 year i've taken a new view on being 'cold cornered'. Some people esp. extroverts gain energy from interacting with people, they are the ones you see constantly 'networking' at social functions. I used to look at this people and wonder how they are so intelligent and can have an infinitely so many ideas on what to talk about, but not so much now. Because i realised that there's another group of ppl, the introverts, who replenish their strength by just keeping quiet. I realised that I liked heading straight to a corner during panel meetings because that's where i'm in my element. I also realised that the ppl at ycm hv also got used to leaving me alone.... i guess you can call it a form of respect for diversity? lol

But at the crux of it all, i'm really fascinated by the idea of youth empowerment.^^ Afterall everyone has only one chance of being young, we're endowed with 'energy' and 'ideals' while young and it's always worthwhile to pursue them while you can.

Went for the training session on Sat where i helped facilitate 1 segment of it. The new batch of panelists seems more friendly....i'm sure next term wld be better. After 1 term of warming up, it's time to sprint now!