Reflections on INTEC

A note of caution: This is probably my most honest and brutally frank post to date.

I am no longer an INTEC student as of today. Somehow that thought doesn’t provoke any sentiments, not any strong ones at least. Nevertheless, it may only have been one and a half years, but it’s been an eventful stage in my life, much more so than in the past. I am a very different person than who I was before entering INTEC, although many of the changes cannot be directly attributed to INTEC itself.

One marked change that people would notice is my rebellious streak. Not rebellious in your typical teenage anti-establishment uprising , but a revolt against what I perceive to be as gross injustice, blatant suppression of freedom and sheer stupidity. Politically, my views evolved to become pretty defined and radicalized as well. Details will not be disclosed here for the sake of political correctness. Consequently, I’ve become more vocal, much more so than in my school days.

The harsh reality of life here is my (stubborn?) lack of conformity has left my social circle wanting. Even in a scholar environment, where I thought I would fit in perfectly, reality and my ideals could not be any further. I did fit in to a certain measure, but insufficient to warrant discarding my masks. While most of my friends (even some whom I counted as close) are acquaintances that simply crossed paths with me, there are those whose friendship I believe will transcend this college period. The hours of talking, be it ‘information transfer’, intellectual discourse or simply ‘empty’ talk were more than mere talk. With all my masks and high suspicions against people in general, it is a rare honor indeed to be my confidant. I don’t have to name names; you know who you are.

On the other hand, my cynicism and bitterness towards people in general has been blunted by my experiences in INTEC. Simply put it, I’ve realized that there are some decent and sincere folks out there. Though still a rarity, nevertheless they exist. Though sadly this does not apply to some people who ought to be like that. My experiences in INTEC have not eroded my perception that hypocrisy is an accepted and sanctioned practice among Christians, despite being a Christian myself. I wish I could shake this perception off, but until I find evidence stating otherwise, it will be impossible for me to do so.

Learning to cope as a minority is another markedly relevant lesson I derived from my stint in INTEC. I must admit, entry into INTEC was my first experience in a racially and linguistically polarized environment. Where I came from, one’s skin color was less of a social determinant and everyone more or less spoke languages that were mutually understandable. In INTEC, one’s colour and the language(s) one could speak characterized the social strata of the day. Not surprisingly, I found myself in a no-man’s-land on several occasions. Well, I took this as a positive challenge to pick up Mandarin, and I did so with some success.

So how should I wrap this post up? Simple. INTEC has just been another stepping stone in life, offering its own sets of lessons regarding life. As with life, this one and half years has been like a rose shrub; you have some roses as well as thorns.