It's Your Captains Speaking!

A Compilation of the Thoughts of House Captains of 2014

(Put together by Chin Wye Mun & Amanda Lee Yue Ping, Junior 2 Cempaka, Class of 2014)

Juniors, brats, annoying minions who sometimes (always) skip marching practices - it’s your captains speaking, hear hear! Just kidding. However much we may shout at you during marching, or make you do a hundred squats when you come a teeny bit late (psst Beruangs), we still love you deep down inside... deep, deep, deep down inside. 

With the First House Cup (FHC) meeting its end and the Big Splash having had its glorious moment in the spotlight, you might be wondering, what’s next for your captains, or rather ex-captains? The first thing out of our mouths would be studying. Caps locks, underlined and bolded. 

As much as we hate it, there are simply some sad truths we must come to terms with and the need to study is one of them. The FHC season is the perfect recipe for academic disaster with three cups of skipping classes, a teaspoon or two of angry teachers and piles of homework. Not to mention a gazillion google forms to fill in by -/-/-, ample amounts of chasing after that Freshman student whose name you just can’t recall, and a lot of “DID THEY EXTEND THE DEADLINES???" (No, no they didn't sadly.) 

The Beruang captains will forever be known as the tragically injured, starlit duo, who had the strength and courage to keep marching on through their strikingly similar injuries. The pair who stuck through thick and thin, during strenuous marching practices, vicious SFA matches, even tug-of-war ; who kept going through the pain, carrying their team forward, who put their house over themselves, who fell but picked themselves right back up again. 

Melodramatic reprise aside, seriously, hats off to the duo. It’s hard to be on the team knowing that your fellow housemates depend on you, but it’s even harder knowing you can only watch from the sidelines and cheer your heart out. 

Through the rough journey, the Beruangs had a solid senior team behind the blue curtains. Lady captain, Chin Wye Mun passes on her sincerest thanks to the seniors bears of 2014. "Everything we've accomplished this year could never have been possible without the help of the seniors. We've had our little bouts of drama, we've had our tiny (or not so) arguments and telling-offs but ultimately, I must say we did quite well pulling through together. I've never been so proud to be a Beruang and I would never want to be called one, if it meant I wouldn't be with these idiots. The bears are a family I'd never exchange. We have the slackers, the drama queens, the jokers and obviously it's not the most perfect bunch but that's what makes us who we are - family."

Seladang captain Vanisha Ann also refers to there other Seladang seniors as family. "It isn't flesh and blood, but the heart that makes us brothers and sisters. You guys are truly such a fun and talented bunch to work and play with. We have dancers, athletes, sportsmen/women, math geniuses, prized debaters and the list of skills just goes on and on. I will always remember the night we watched the Thomas Cup together whilst giving senseless commentary over WhatsApp. Creeping around the library with a camera trying to hide from the librarians (the real ones). We may not have won, but the memories we've shared won our hearts. I will never forget "HEHH, Maths, Shadow Master, Buff Eug, Banana, Lembu, Milk & Coco Puff, W I N, Natzi, Vengsta, Eeyneyt, Ah Meng, Awesome Ashley XD, Phoebe, Lum Lum, Adem Ser, Jes & Ramen. 

Beruang house captain Ezzamel Zarif says if he could relive any of the FHC moments, he wouldn’t mind reliving them all - that is except for Mathematics Olympiad he says. Probably one of the most mentally and even physically taxing events this year thanks to the Mathematics teachers who live to make our lives crazed with numbers and things that aren't even remotely related to them.

And it’s no surprise when he says that given the chance, he would want to relieve Games Carnival the most. A sentiment shared by the Seladangs. Seladang captain Ryan Yoong says " They said we'd never be able to do it; This year we proved them wrong!"

As for Helangs, Games Carnival was a rather touchy subject, however when asked, they also wouldn’t mind reliving all the FHC competitions. But for them, the march past competition wins, bar none. 

Preparations were and I quote “a good experience and everyone had fun ... - not really, they got scolded and had to do punishments if they didn’t listen”. However their determination even through the haze and the long break in between was what made their win so sweet in the end, as clarified by lady captain, Amirah Farhanah. It was with eagle-soaring pride that the Helangs marched out onto the tracks with great style and flamboyance that led them to their well-deserved victory for March Past in Damansara, and 2nd place overall. Something fellow captain Colin Yoong defines as one of his best moments in high school life. 

Amirah and Colin could not possibly have claimed the trophy if not for the help of their amazing group of seniors. Amirah says, "We unite for the sake of the house! Especially during March Past preparation, it really showed how strong our ties were because no matter how much "debate" we had, we still pulled through and worked as a team to achieve our goal. Every single one of us were really quirky and unique in our own way and that was really special because we never had anything in common but senior year changed everything for us. After all the obstacles we faced this year as a family, I'm really going to miss them and all their shenanigans."

For Rumah Harimau, this FHC was quite an unexpected journey. Let's not deny that the tigers haven't exactly had the best history in the FHC. The reds have not held the First House Cup for a few years now and captains Jazmyn Chang, Imran Teh and Nicholas Kong were not delusional to this fact but yet they still kept the goal in view and went at it charging. 

Not quite kicking off to a spectacular start at the beginning of the season, the tigers faced reality but their spirits remained strong throughout, resulting in a couple of great achievements for them. For one, they climbed their way to becoming top-tier contenders in the third quarter of the race as we were nearing the academic events of the FHC. Unfortunately though, the Harimaus met their fate of being crowned winners of the Big Splash in the very end - and still one they met with smiles.

Through the eyes of captains Jazmyn and Imran, the one FHC event they'd love to relive is the Interhouse Dance competition. "I had a lot of fun and I never knew dance was that nice and I wish I tried dance earlier because it's so fun and nice," says Imran who, obviously thinks two things about dance - fun, and nice. 

When on the subject of the other Harimau seniors, Jazmyn expresses her deepest delight in working with them, describing the gang as a "pleasure" to work with. Brutally honest, Captain Kong describes them as "the most unorganized but friendliest of all." 

Our article is pretty much coming to its end and it's been a long ride. To the other houses, Seladang captain Amanda reveals that it was indeed "an honour to compete with you all". Further from that, she mentions, "We've had our differences. Our competitive moments. Those awkward moments where you're caught between talking to your friend, and being loyal to your house. There were tense situations, fierce matches. But the defining moment was when in the end, although Harimau won the Big Splash, it was the Class of 2014 seniors who jumped into the pool that day."

To the new group of captains and seniors coming to take over our reins and drive the house to a hopeful victory, Wye Mun says, "I once received advice from a senior when things were tough during the FHC. At the time, I was rather skeptical of it. Ex-house captain of Rumah Helang 2012, Deborah Chew told me, "Just give it your best. In the end, no one really remembers who wins the house cup. Hahaha." I give all due respect to the eagles for claiming the cup this year and surely it was a memorable win but truly on that day as we linked arms and fell together into the pool, I felt Deborah's advice come to life. It is something I wish to share with all incoming captains and the captains after that and the captains after that and just the seniors in general. FHC is a stressful journey, there is no doubt about that but your senior year is one for memories so don't get too caught up in the competition and remember to relish and cherish the moments that count."

May the force be with you all to survive this hellish rollercoaster ride. There'll be screams. Green faces. Ups and downs and turn-a-rounds. No FHC is complete without a sudden change in timetables or a new twist to add to the already hard event. But regardless, you'll come out still standing in the end. Best of luck, never forget us and thank you. Have a wonderful FHC season! 

Much love from all of your captains.