The life of a form five is not at all easy. In fact it’s an extremely hectic, frenzied life quotes Alexis Lee Yue Xiu, a student from form five. Her name might no doubt ring a bell as she holds quite a number of positions in our school. She is the head of our Lumen Studet, a senior prefect, the Seladang lady captain and also my sister. Being her sister, I have noticed how much responsibility a form five has to bear and how most of their time is occupied with school activities and studies.

I open a new page on my Mac and turn to my sister who is currently doing her schoolwork.

YJC : How did you expect your form five life to be at first? (it feels funny to act formal to one’s sister.)

Alexis : Easier than what I’m facing now.

YJC : Hm. Could you please expand on that?

Alexis : (laughs) Well-

Before she can answer, my mum shouts loudly “ ALEXIS! Someone’s on the phone!”
Interruptions in a conversation becomes normal when talking to her. I’ve noticed this especially during the Games Carnival period. I wait for a long time for Alexis to return to the study room to complete the interview. After ten minutes, I sigh and go looking for her. I find her in the store room counting the number of stock for the Haiti shirts - she has obviously forgotten about the interview.

YJC : So, -

Alexis : This is weird. You know, previously as a YJC writer, I’m always the one interviewing other people. I don’t get interviewed myself. This feels funny. (makes a face then walks back to the study)

YJC : SO Alexis, what is the key to success in Form Five?

Alexis : Time management, proper time management. Being seniors, we have lots of responsibility to bear and we are expected to carry them out well. We have to juggle both our studies and our school activities. It’s actually more of hard work than anything.

YJC : How does it feel to be a senior and to be in Form five?

Alexis : Stressful. People take you seriously and they expect more from me than what I expect from my self.

YJC : What parts of being in Form five do you take pleasure in?

Alexis : Hm. Managing Seladang. Being a senior. And reading the articles (good ones) that people send in to me for the Lumen Studet.

YJC : Some people, mostly the other form ones find you intimidating and fierce. How do you feel about that?

Alexis : (snorts) Are you serious? Uh, I’m not that scary. Maybe they find me scary when I’m on duty?

YJC : Do you like being head of the Lumen Studet? What do you enjoy most about it?

Alexis : Yes. I enjoy the fact that besides me, a lot of people also have the talent to write. I like reading their articles - but Lumen is actually not really well-known in our school. It is a prestigious club but not many parents of students read our online newsletter.

YJC : In what way would you improve the Lumen?

Alexis : I want to improve Lumen by increasing the number of visitors and readers. The number of readers is not that high but we have made an improvement as every time we update, the Lumen will have a special mention in the VLE. Besides that, I also would like the quality of the articles to improve a lot more.

YJC : How about the academic side of Form five?

Alexis : Very exceedingly, terrifyingly, horribly hard.

YJC : Expand on the “Very exceedingly, terrifyingly, horribly hard” part please?

Alexis : Just look at my test papers and see.

YJC : Uh, okay I’ll pass. How was the first monthly test? Were you expecting the marks you achieved?

Alexis : Not really, I hope do better next time. I was just sort of getting started. I always aim for high marks. I think it’s always good to aim higher than what you expect of yourself so that you always raise the bar and try harder than the previous time.

YJC : Is managing Seladang as stressful as I can make out?

Alexis : Oh YES. My phone rings when I eat, when I’m in the bath, when I’m at tuition. Weren’t you there? (rolls eyes) My phone had to be charged a million times. It always ran out of battery after a day of it ringing off the hook. Also, when people need to know about something, people call me. When there is a problem, they call me. So, yes. My phone almost went on strike.

YJC : Do you think Seladang has a strong chance to win the house cup this year?

Alexis : Yes. I’m not jinxing it, I’m not. (Crosses fingers and touches wood)

YJC : Were you pleased with the current Games Carnival results?

Alexis : Yes, we actually got third. We haven’t got third for a long time- we usually get fourth, and we were really close to getting second actually. We don’t really have that many sportsmen in Seladang so I’m quite proud of Seladang.

YJC : How are things going for Sports day?

Alexis : Um, hopefully we’ll win. We kind of need to as the marks are crucial for the house cup. We’re not sure about the level of the other houses, but the competition this year is going to be ferocious. I can predict that even now.

YJC : Any advice for Form five?

Alexis : Work hard, work smart. Start studying early - early as in from Form four. Time management is crucial. More crucial than people think it is. Without it, life becomes harder. Also you have to learn to adapt to your surroundings easily.

And with that my sister ended the interview.

Editor’s note: You know what’s weird? Editing your own interview. That’s weird.(laughs)