hello there. hold your breath as i reflect on the journey of our team. caution! it might bring tears to some so be sure to have a box of tissue by you.
i had stepped into rp with hopes of being part of 'THE LIFESAVING TEAM'. i told myself that if there weren't an existing team, i would start one and i would want to create a team that would be respected and looked upon by others and be strong enough to take part in competitions. that dream lingered in my mind all the time, even before the first day of school.
i've always envied the other lifesaving teams, for their strength, power and bond. from the side i'd always look on, and hope one day i would belong to a team like theirs and to me then, it would be picture perfect.
and then during the IGs orientation, i met alvin (our pioneer captain). as pathetic as it had seemed, our booth was plain, with nothing but a lifesaving manual and a laptop to register our names to join the team. Even alvin wasn't at the booth itself! he was busy goofing around at some other IG booth and i had to approach him for registration.
anyways, somehow along the way, (sorry la! i can't remember) i met longfei and then rachel came along. we used to have this petite pretty girl named germaine as well but she decided to break up with the IG after some time. (germaine if you're reading this, we love you still!) the three of us, together with ryan, willy, kaythiam, alvin, peilee, liling, jessamine, zhiwang and yikai were a team back then. indeed, we were a small team, but i'd say that we were rather bonded. our trainings were at woodlands swimming complex and dinner was always at the same old coffee shop where zhiwang and yikai would chomp down food like there's no tomorrow.
over time, our small team grew. others like yongkai, glenn, melvin, carin and i cannot recall who else joined us. honestly, i can't recall how you guys came along but i know you did and i'm glad you guys made that choice. haha! then came along the next IG orientation and this time around, our booth was more attractive and we recruited more people who are now known as the year two peeps; chris, andy, marvin, weisi, peggy, jeremy, zhengkai and yvonne. at first we weren't close. but it prolly happens all the time doesn't it? we stick to our already comfortable clicks before actually becoming closer. As the seniors grauduated and eventually longfei and i took over the captain and vice-captain position, it felt to me, an honour.
it might sound stupid but it was as if the dream i had back then in year one was coming through. i thought that hey, it's finally my chance to lead the team and make changes. with longfei's help, i believed we had done a decent job. the period that longfei and i took on the responsibilty as captains and vice-captains, our friendship got better too. shuci and gary, of course did great jobs in guiding us along the way. though both may have different views at times, they had each taught us ropes on the sport itself and as well as how else to manage the team.
that year, was where i felt i had took on many chances that we given to me by gary and shuci. the chance to teach lifesaving and the chance to lead, manage and make decisions for the team. i have learnt a lot and i must say that from there, i've grown to love and cherish the team. what i had dreamt of back them, had indeed come true and it really felt awesome to be in it myself. well of course, all these couldn't have happen of not for each and everyone of you. here's to everyone in team lifesaving, i hope my contributions have been useful and i do still want my dream, or should i now say, OUR dream to go on. a special thank you to longfei, gary and shuci and even jessamine and yikai, for the year that i was given the chance to lead the team. then, i could only look on and think when it was my turn to have a team, but you guys gave me my very own picture perfect moments :)
dear all, in months to come, i'd be graduating and as much as i dread it, really, i know my time would come. three years in rp and the team has been part of what has been keeping me going all this while. the time that i've devoted and the effort that i've put in, i hope you guys will continue to do so. each and everyone of us has come this far and we don't just wanna put a full stop to our pages. now, every team out there is aware of our presence. now, everyone recognises our faces and flag colours. now, we've trained so hard and are closer to medals. do we want to throw it all away? dear team, can we stay together long time and put in as much as we have been doing all these while? maybe we could do more but let's stay together, shall we not?
i love this team, and if i could, i would marry the sport and all of you. if i become rich and famous in future, i would make sure everyone lives in luxary and i would sponsor everyone's swim wear and equipments. every other week, i would treat ya'll to bubble tea too. HAHA.
xoxoJIN
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