It is an odd feeling having reached the middle of the year so fast. It seems like only yesterday we were blearily walking up to the hall for the first assembly of Year 2008. Having had most of our major events pushed up to the beginning of the year, such as our Swimming Gala, Games Carnival and Sports Day, time seems to have flown by all too quickly. In no time at all, the Form Threes will be relishing the end of three years’ hard work once PMR has come and gone, and we will be bidding adieu to our Form Fives. Has it not been one heck of a first semester?

In fact, 2008 has been, so far, one amusing year itself. In Malaysia, we have had our general elections, by far the most astounding one in at least 40 years of our nation’s history. In America, the presidential race is just heating up with Hilary Clinton losing the democratic seat to Barack Obama. And how can we forget the disastrous earthquake of China that left thousands homeless or dead? Not to mention the incident in Myanmar that caused such grief.

With all this behind us, can we still say 2008 has been a good year? It seems to have been a very hectic one, that’s for sure. Amidst all the good memories, as Cempakans, we must remember that there lies a dark depression on the world. And yet, we cannot possibly let this hamper our daily lives. After all, we are still adolescents and we take joy in the simple pleasures of life.

Just think of that very first time when your parents will hand you the car keys, when you can buy a ticket for a movie rated 18PL and not be questioned on your age, when you will look back on your Cempakan days and go ‘Hey, that teacher wasn’t so bad after all’, when you will meet up with old friends and reminisce of the years gone by. We just can’t seem to be able to wait to experience all these things and yet when we look back, we regret not having cherished every moment then.

Have you begun to question the point behind this article? I guess what I’m trying to relay to you, dear reader, is the message to slow down. Time flies by so fast nowadays that we need hardly blink before a year has flashed by. It is time we start cherishing the small details of our daily lives that may disappear in time faster than a flicker. Lest we have any regrets in our future years, I suggest taking one good look at what we have around us now and keep that memory etched in our minds.