Author: Jolene Yee (23S03A)

Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset: Pensive Pleasures (Evolving from r/im14andthisisdeep)

Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Johnathan Lim (23S03M) and Jolene Yee (23S03A)

Cover image by Johnathan Lim (23S03M)

Your resident Aunties and Uncles are back with our Ask Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset column, this time as a collaboration between Raffles Press and Peer Helpers’ Programme (PHP)! Ever wanted to rant about that someone you just can’t stand? Overwhelmed with too many feelings? Submit your confessions to https://tinyurl.com/riadvice and we’ll give them our best shot. This column will be published at the end of every month.

“What is life’s meaning? We are just a speck in this vast universe and whatever we do probably would not make any difference. In the end, our sun would run out of energy and life on Earth would vanish. Why do we even need to go to school if nothing we do ever makes a difference. And we might be living in a simulation, which means even if we make a difference, it is contained in some video game?”

Pensive Poppy

Dear Pensive Poppy,

Imagine: You are birthed, and your cries in the delivery room are studied for their exact pitch, length, and volume. As you traverse your life, the world knows every single thought that ever crosses your mind. Your locker-room crushes will know your self-insert fantasies about them. After your death, every intricate detail about your life is scrutinised. You are studied in textbooks and admired in museums until the end of time. 

Is this what you wanted? 

If yes, then it’s pretty clear – you want to leave as big of a legacy as you can. But chances are, you don’t really fancy the cosmic weight of this life.

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Raffles Reads: A Terrible Kindness

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Raffles Reads is a collaboration between Raffles Press and Times Reads which aims to promote a reading culture among Singaporean students.

By Jolene Yee Xin Yi (23S03A) 

Rating: 4.5/5 

“When we go through impossible things, someone, or something, will help us, if we let them.”

A Terrible Kindness is a simultaneously heart-wrenching and heart-warming tale of a volunteer embalmer’s road to redemption and reconciliation. As a literary fiction novel, this book appeals to those interested in unique storylines, gripping narratives and fresh story settings.

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Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset: ‘Jack of all trades’—Jibe or Jest?  

Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Jolene Yee (23S03A) and Faith Wan (23S02B)
Cover image by Johnathan Lim (23S03M)

Your resident Aunties and Uncles are back with our Ask Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset column, this time as a collaboration between Raffles Press and Peer Helpers’ Programme (PHP)! Ever wanted to rant about that someone you just can’t stand? Overwhelmed with too many feelings? Submit your confessions to https://tinyurl.com/RIAAUU and we’ll give them our best shot. This column will be published at the end of every month.

I have a lot of interests but I’m not that good at anything… someone made an offhand comment saying I’m a jack of all trades but master of none and that kind of stung a little – any advice? 

Interested Isaac
Continue reading “Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset: ‘Jack of all trades’—Jibe or Jest?  “

Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset: Gutted by Grim Grades

Reading Time: 6 minutes

By Jolene Yee Xin Yi (23S03A) and Liu Yong Zhe (23S03H, Peer Helper)

Your resident Aunties and Uncles are back with our Ask Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset column, this time as a collaboration between Raffles Press and Peer Helpers’ Programme (PHP)! Ever wanted to rant about that someone you just can’t stand? Overwhelmed with too many feelings? Submit your confessions to https://tinyurl.com/riadvice and we’ll give them our best shot. This column will be published at the end of every month.

I failed my promos 😭

Disappointed David
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Please Mind The Platform Gap: Taking H2 Japanese

Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Jolene Yee (23S03A)

“I heard you have to write a 4000 character essay. Is H2 Japanese hard? Are the lessons intense? Is it a big jump from Japanese in Secondary 4?” 

These were just some of the burning questions foremost in my mind at this time last year. Not only did I approach my Senpais and Senseis for advice, I also attempted to seek answers from Google…only to be directed to the SEAB H2 Japanese Syllabus page, which induced no small amount of panic in me.   

And so, to all prospective H2 Japanese learners out there sharing similar concerns with my eager-but-apprehensive-and-hence-torn-between-H2-Econs-and-Japanese self a year ago, わかるよ、その気持ち! Hopefully, this article can be of some help in addressing your queries and relieving your anxieties, and ultimately in making an informed decision about your subject combination. 

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