Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Liu Yong Zhe (23S03H, Peer Helper) and Sabrina Tong (23S03Q, Peer Helper) 

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 tinyurl.com/RIAAUU and we’ll give them our best shot. This column will be published at the end of every month. 

How important is doing VIA for scholarships, university applications and etc?

Troubled Timmy

Dear Troubled Timmy,  

Let’s get straight to the point. You came here to find the answer to the question that plagues every JC student while they mug for their A-Levels, arguably the most critical examination in their lives: how important is doing VIA? We’ve all heard the horror stories of people accumulating dozens of hours of VIA, and perhaps you’ve been feeling a little inadequate that you can’t do the same for there are only 24 hours in a day. But rest assured, for it is not the be-all and end-all of things.  

In fact, there is no straightforward answer to your question, since the importance of VIA varies in different scenarios. The short answer is that VIA is important, but not a golden ticket to success. 

Continue reading “Aunt Agony & Uncle Upset: The Importance of VIA” →

Reading Time: 6 minutes

By Johnathan Lim (23S03M) and Zhang Shuhan (23S03M, Peer Helper)

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.

“What’s the key to sustaining long-term friendships & being authentic around friends?”

Real Riley 

Dear Real Riley, 

You come to school. You see your classmates in the corridors so you wave enthusiastically, like you are excited to meet them. Well, you’re not that excited, but it doesn’t really matter right?

Continue reading “Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset: Your Plastic Friendships are Biodegradable” →

Reading Time: 6 minutes

By Raphael Niu (23A01A) and Sabrina Tong (23S03Q, Peer Helper)

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 HATE MYSELF
— Stuck In My Own Skin

Dear Stuck In My Own Skin, 

All of us in RI have probably experienced some degree of self-loathing from time to time. It’s hard not to, especially when you’re rushing tutorials late into the night, berating yourself for not having started earlier, or when you’ve gotten a less-than-satisfactory result on your Economics paper after you’ve spent hours poring over lecture notes and essays on IVY. It doesn’t help that your classmates seem to be breezing through their schoolwork while simultaneously juggling multiple commitments, while you feel like you’re floundering under the sheer volume of expectations placed upon you.

Continue reading “Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset: Self-Esteem Struggles” →

Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Nor Akmal (23S03A) and Venkatesan Ranjana (23A01D)

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 feel like people have become so fake in JC, becoming hyper aware of universities, competitions, scholarships etc, it makes me feel very uncomfortable.

— Frustrated Felix

Dear Frustrated Felix, 

We understand where you’re coming from. We’re nearing the end of the penultimate stage of our education journey and many of us are very worried for the next chapter of our lives. Sometimes, this anxiety manifests as discussions about the future—your peers may be talking non-stop about the prestigious universities they’re interested in, the scholarships that are available for them, and other instances of humble bragging that you may find rather pretentious. In any case, we agree that it can be very uncomfortable to listen to such conversations, but we feel that there is more to this phenomenon than meets the eye.

Continue reading “Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset: Too Fake For My Own Sake” →

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?  “ →