I recently mentioned to some friends that I am actually Normal.
Most of them reacted in shock - like I had opened up a can of worms about my life.
Some gasped so dramatically, their mouths can fit a can of coke. Others widened their eyes so much, they look like swollen testicles.
Okay, I exaggerate, but it's true most of them are quite surprised that I had been in the Normal Academic stream in secondary school.
One bimbo I met once remarked, "Wow, you don't look like you're from Normal Acad!"
Of course lah, bodoh. You think MOE goes around stamping the words "Normal Academic" on our cheeks like we are NDP participants issit?
I had first wanted to blog about my being in the Normal Academic stream, when PM Lee cast the spotlight on NA students during his National Day Rally.
But in keeping with my Normal Academic pace (people take four years to do 'O' Levels, these people take five!), I thought that my delayed post on this topic would be quite timely.
And in keeping with my Normal Academic spirit, it's better late than never.
So here it is.
It's very fun being in the NA stream - I kid you not.
Then again, it's my very fun-loving nature that led me to the five-year secondary school path.
And I don't regret having all the fun in my six years in Mei Chin Primary School.
In fact, I've learnt to be very proud of my PSLE score.
During one conversation with my work mates, the topic of PSLE scores came up.
"Mine was 253," one said.
"Wah, you so clever! My friends laugh at me when I tell them mine is 232," another quipped.
"Eh, what the hell. Mine was 197 leh," I added with authority.
The awkward silence lasted only 5 seconds before we all guffawed.
While it can be very funny to think about it now -- being in the NA stream can be tough on morales.
As you'd have imagined, my classmates and I had had our fair share of being compared to.
Sure, we get that all the time -- from our parents' friends, from relatives, from neighbours.
But what's worse is when the comparison stems from the school environment.
I will NEVER forget how one teacher, Mr Q -- who had NEVER taught us before nor taken the time to know us -- walked into our class to relieve another teacher, and told us in our faces how worthless we were.
And what did we do wrong? Oh, we did not stand up immediately to greet him when he walked into our classroom.
His words -- as far as my memory serves me -- went along this line:
"What's wrong with you? When I visited ACS, the boys all shot up immediately when I walked into their class. And they don't even know me!"
My immediate retort to Mr Q was, "then you go and teach there lor, whyduncha?
Of course, that was a response in my head -- which I regret not having verbalised there and then.
My point is, Normal Academic students will be subject, no, subjected to comparison.
And they will come from all sources -- schoolmates, teachers, parents, neighbours, and even bimbos who reaffirm that you don't look like an NA student.
The government has started to eradicate this by tweaking the system.
It will take, and I borrow the much-dreaded government terms, a paradigm shift, a strategic shift, a whatever shift -- you get the idea -- to really get people to stop giving the poor NA, NT, not-top-students so much stress from comparison.
I will say this -- the comparisons and judgement will take a very, very, very long time before they are no longer an issue. Yes, way longer than the five years to take the 'O' Levels, for sure.
But I'm also very confident that the stigma of being in NA WILL change.
In fact, I'm very confident the stigma of being anything that's deemed less worthy by society WILL change.
But it will start small.
Very small.
It will start with an individual effort -- which should come from the NA student himself or herself.
Once you make the individual effort to overcome whatever comparisons, stereotypes, taunts, sarcasm made against you, you're on your way to helping erode the stigma of being NA students.
If you can be confident about yourself, if you can block out negative comments, you'll be able to focus on working hard to the best of your abilities.
Things will improve.
We may be slower, but we'll get there. Just you see.
