Things I wish I could tell my Form 5 self

1. Stay in class more.
2. Apologise. Not saying sorry will haunt you for years.
3. Be kind. Never return a kindly-intended word with an unkind one, or worse, by ignoring it.
4. Don't take hostility personally. You can't please everyone.
5. Enjoy Physics while it lasts. You'll never touch it again.
6. Laugh, cry, yell, sing off-key with all your heart. Keep that emotional honesty - once you start wearing a mask, it's hard to take off.
7. Constant chatter is no antidote to loneliness. Silence does not always have to be awkward.
8. Rumours may hurt, but let people talk - no big fuss. If it's any consolation, the rumours you hear now are nowhere as toxic as those you'll hear in future.
9. Make an effort to keep in touch. Suddenly, the people you see now on a regular basis will disappear.
10. Not reading the last chapter of anything before SPM is not the end of the world.
11. Go out and play a sport, damn it.
12. Be proud of waking up at 6 every morning.
13. Be very proud of staying up till 3. Oh, you're still so young.
14. Work smart, don't work so hard.
15. Paint. Even though you don't have to after PMR.
16. Read more non-academic books. Don't waste all that time memorising moral values verbatim.
17. Break the rule, bring a camera into school often, take photographs and videos liberally.
18. Write more. You'll have so much fun reading it later on.
19. Hug your friends tightly before everyone reaches the age where it becomes awkward and no longer feels appropriate.
20. It's okay to make mistakes.
21. Be proud of your BM now. It's at the best it'll ever be, and soon you'll wonder how you ever wrote a Karangan.
22. That emo book you ask everyone to write stuff in just before graduation? It's a brilliant idea. You'll read it and re-read it over the years and it'll never fail to cheer you up.
23. I know you don't need me to tell you to cherish every moment for time flies. I know you're sad at the prospect of leaving. Take comfort in the knowledge that friendship isn't about being inseparable - it's about being separated and, 5 years on, nothing changes.