(Article by Lup Peng) In life, there are many decisions to make and paths to walk. A simple decision now may close several paths, but open up a whole new array of opportunities. What is important is that we recognize these opportunities and seize them before it’s too late, literally. I mean, some of the opportunities are once in a life time.

Once you have missed that window of opportunity, it’s gone forever. Some of the opportunities I have seized have brought me far, in terms of both achievements and geographical sense. But regardless of the outcome, each opportunity I grabbed has given me invaluable experience which could otherwise not be gleaned from a classroom setting. Let me talk about one of the opportunities that brought me far in 2007 – the Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office 2003 (Microsoft Word Category).
At the beginning, I had never expected myself to travel all the way to Orlando, Florida to take part in this competition. The competition started off with a local round in Singapore. Having participated in this competition once before in 2006, I already knew how difficult and tough it would be. In 2006, I had made several careless mistakes and emerged 6th at national level. My objectives of participating in 2007 were to use the competition as a platform to evaluate my skills, as well as to see if I would learn from my previous mistakes if I am presented with similar questions.

Things took a pleasant turn when I was announced as the champion at the national level, and again at the worldwide level. When I look back, the entire competition and its process feels meaningful as I have achieved what I set out to do, and much, much more. So what did I learn from this trip?

One of the unforgettable things of the trip was the culture shock at the difference in lifestyle between Singapore and US. In Singapore, it is uncommon to see people rushing from place to place, even rushing through meals to get back to the office. However, the lifestyle there is rather laid back and relaxed as compared to Singapore.

Also, the perception of society is different too. In my opinion, in Singapore's context, to be successful in life is to have the five 'Cs'. What struck me is that the US citizens seem contented at their current lifestyle, even if it meant living without the five Cs. As we toured around New York for a couple of days, it was amazing to see that people made a living out of selling photographs of the 9-11 incident and posing as a miniature Statue of Liberty to collect fees from people taking photographs with them. They felt totally at home and contented with their lifestyle.

Last but not least, I also learnt how to live independently away from my parents. Washing of my clothes and managing cash are just some of the various skills I picked up along the way.

Though the trip was short (ten days), it broadened my horizons and changed the way I perceived and tackled problems and challenges in my life. It also made me more appreciative of my family who has taken care of me unconditionally for the past 20 years.

I always believe in giving back to others what I have received. With a better understanding of how the different functions in Microsoft Word works, I help my peers to harness the full capabilities of Microsoft Word to facilitate their report writing. With a better insight of how use of Microsoft Word, they can now feel confident with their written and reporting skills and tools, in addition to their technical skills, to benefit the company which they will work for.

I am also helping out my course manager, Mr. Lim Kok Hwee, to train a group of secondary school students in Microsoft Word. By imparting my extensive knowledge and experience, I hope that these students are able to build up a strong foundation of the Microsoft Office Suite and start using it effectively from young. Hopefully, they will, too, emerge as World Champions one day and bring glory to Singapore and their school.

Of course, in whatever we do, it is always important that we have support from others. For this competition, I had the support from many people including teachers (Ms Lim Sok Keow, Mr. Lai Garluck, Mr. Lim Kok Hwee, Mr. Yeak Shaw Wen, Mr. Jonathan Chee, etc), seniors, who helped train us (Steve, Florine, Eda), friends (Alvin, Diwanand, Doreen, Jonah, C100, etc) and my family. It was their constant support that kept me motivated and determined to strive on, even though the training was tough and the pressure, high.

There are many other incidents/events during my stay at TP IIT School that taught me important life lessons and skills. I would be delighted to share them with you, but that is another story, for another day.

Apologies to those whose names I have missed out, but nevertheless, I’m still grateful for your support!