Impact on My Life

The most memorable day I had in primary school was being summoned into the principal’s office for “fighting” in when I was in Primary 4. A vendetta had been building between another boy and me for many weeks and it finally imploded when I hit the antenna off his art project (he had built a block of HDB flats out of cardboard). Like Godzilla and Ultraman, we towered over these miniature replicas of cities and homes antsy for a showdown. As the fight ensued, tables flew with roofs and picket fences scattered over the classroom floor like debris in a war-torn city. I remember we were far from each other and never actually landed any blows but tell that to the discipline master when we were marched into Principal Poonapa’s office. There, while waiting judgement and fearing eternal damnation, we made up and became the best of friends in primary and later secondary school. Eventually, the verdict (bated breath) was that we were let off with a very, very stern warning. I learnt that I was terribly afraid of the consequences of bad deeds and vowed to be as good as I could possibly be from that day on.