Well. Now that I'm four days into the new year, I suppose I ought to turn around briefly to gather up the collective straws of the year past, before they are all blown away and scattered.

There isn't too much to say of the old year that I can think of now which hasn't already been said before. But watching the juniors streaming in to the Hwa Chong campus only yesterday, in their various uniforms and standing in their own little circles reminded me of those first days - only just last year.
I think things move so much faster in junior college; the days seem - and in some cases, are - much, much longer, but the year feels shorter, as a whole. Looking back, I wonder, did I really do all that? Did I really miss two weeks of school in July? You mean, they actually let me?

I suppose this feeling could also be attributed to early Alzheimer's, but somehow, I don't think so.

Simply put - until I have ruminated on it further - 2006 was a year of highs and lows. We move faster in junior college, and at the same time, things, naturally, get harder. It isn't as easy to achieve as it used to be, and the failures of the year past stand out.

A quick, cursory glance back reveals they're still there, waving their hands at me eagerly. I have learnt over the years, and especially over 2006, to try not to ponder too much about them; because, if I did, I probably wouldn't progress very much. But being someone with a tendency to think rather too much for my own good, I am always tempted to turn back and poke them, prod them, study them in detail.
Of course, there were small victories, small, pleasant surprises, and a good treasure trove of interesting experiences too, which did help to lighten the load a little.

I think, more than anything, 2006 was a year in transition, a year of adjustment. It was an interesting one, with many milestones - though not all in the fields that used to be considered paramount in the past - and much learning, of myself, and of others. I have made new friends, cemented old ones, and separated the wheat from the chaff. Not least, I have examined invisible lines with some measure of curiosity.

I hope - I think - I have grown, as a person, and gained something from the road of 2006, littered with memories as it is.

It has been a year of first-times, of what-ifs, perhapses, good laughs and text message conversations. No doubt 2007 will be much of the same, if not more.

I can't say I'm entirely ready for January, standing before me in all its gleaming freshness, but I will go on, and give it my best shot all the same.

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

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