Frankly speaking I never even knew the diplomas existed until just six months ago, and I was preparing for my Grade 8 examinations at the time. I remember when I was still at Yamaha, and my teacher literally jumped out of his seat when he heard that I only had a Grade 6 certificate at 15 years of age. Well I can't say I was surprised - I knew quite a few friends who had already conquered pieces such as the Pathetique sonata, Fantasie Impromptu, and the Grande Valse Brilliante. All of them from government schools though, so in a way I'm fuming at the fact that there's really not much competition in Alice Smith's musical sector. Heck I played the first movement of Mozart's sonata facile and that garnered quite a big round of applause, while playing that in the dewan kuliah of your school would just be pointless.
So I'm really glad I've met xin ning, otherwise I wouldn't have known what to do after the grades. I've been pretty blessed, having met a friend from Garden international two years back, helping me to make the crucial decision of switching to an international school. In fact without him I wouldn't have thought of going to the UK to further my studies. And without xin ning I would be tinkling away at one of Clementi's unknown works right now thinking that that's pretty much the most difficult piece ever. And I wouldn't have started the violin for that matter! So a big thanks to you two for literally changing the course of my life.
Of course I'd also like to thank Ms Fan for everything she has done for me, especially believing in the fact that I can actually achieve something in Korea. I've made some lovely friends over there, and it's a pity we won't be seeing each other very often. So till we meet again, and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't miss you crazy buggers!
Cheers :)
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