Orientation Group Leader

Orientation Group Leader (3-10 February 2023)

A trip down memory lane

Day 1: Everyone was not familiar with each other yet. All of them entered this school in their respective secondary school attire. To me at the start, I thought to myself: this was just a 6 days experience I just needed to get over and done with. I did not know my fellow OGLs very well. I was an introvert by nature. I did not really know what to say to them as they started gathering in the morning at the track. The day passed with some icebreakers and a college tour. I did not really built up any conversations with them yet.

Days 2-4: We started getting closer due to our funny conversations during lunch breaks. It was often a really enjoyable time hearing their gossips and random relationship advices. The group conversations got the whole orientation group (OG) including me to become more bonded. I started developing attachment issues as day 4 approached thinking we only had 1 day left. We spent the past few days playing a lot of games and talking togethers. Common topics were created and common experiences were forged.

Day 5: A really emotional day for me. It was the last day seeing them as a whole before they separated into their various classes. I remembered there were tears at my eyes as I tried to kept them in. We became a really bonded bunch of kids. They often made the silliest jokes and the plans that they pledged to do when they separated really warmed my heart. Until this day, I realised how successful as an OGL me and my other 2 OGLs were. That is because if you truly put effort into doing something, you will not bear to see it separated and destroyed and that was how i would describe the bond we forged in 5 days. Knowing we spent more than 100% to hype up the OG and made sure everyone in the OG felt included, it hurts to see that this had to come to an end.

“天下没有不散的宴席”. This is one Chinese quote that hit me the hardest. It means that regardless of any gathering, there will always be an end. The end of a chapter is just the beginning of another. At the point when I recorded this OGL experience, it has already been nearly 2 months from the orientation itself and yet I still remembered many details. Many of the things that they pledged an OG started out well but eventually it did not last and that was what led me to thought about the above quote. When a period of time is over, there is no longer purpose in recreating it. Letting go sometimes is the best way to remember fond memories. It was what I learnt as well when I could not bear to see them slowly drift away.

Being an OGL grew my ability as a leader. Being an OGL as the name suggests is being a leader and we are not just people that the kids should feel intimidated by or feel distant with. A leader is someone with the capability to be in the shoes of its followers and juniors. A leader is someone who respects all and is willing to listen to all. Only then will he truly win the admiration and believe from his peers.

The experience of an OGL is really something I cannot type it all out and the feelings and emotions in that week is also something I cannot describe in words. As I record down this experience, once again, I treat it as my last reminder to truly close off the chapter of this book and move on...

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