I don't know if y'all have received the email from Ms Tan, but it is attached below. (:
Dear 302
The departing spectators stopped in their tracks, fascinated by a display of youthful dignity in defeat. Hail the losers! Even in defeat, there are laurels to be won.
- Goh Sin Tub, What makes a winner
I don't know if you recall the short story I read to you at the start of the term, but today made me recall it and some of its lines.
Today I observed something spectacular about some individuals in our class. Tse You coming back despite his MC to play for the class, Daryl pressing on even in face of defeat, and still being considerate and gentle to other players, Xiaotong, Doreen and Hui Si stepping in to form a team, Priscilla and Zhi Min taking it in turns to play for the class.
It is easy to walk away and decide, beforehand, that the class will never win. It is also easy to tell yourself that you're too many goals down and there is no point in winning that last goal just to equalise. But it is in taking the difficult path that true victory is actually won. Things like showing class spirit and sportsmanship, shaking the hands of the other team, cheering and believing in others till that last whistle goes, these are the things that will ultimately win the day.
302, I am proud of you! I look forward to seeing many more interclass matches and seeing you win, even when you lose.
Carpe Diem
Ms Tan
Don't Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
- Author unknown
bren.
