My name is Amelie Abano and I have been at UWCSEA for 5.5 years. I am a caring, diligent and supportive person. I have switched between living in the Philippines and Singapore for most of my life. At one point, I also resided in Indonesia for 2 years. My strengths are my commitment to work and the connections I have formed with my peers. Relocating many times as a child has affected my values and beliefs along with my own experiences in school.
Grade 10 has been a year of progression for me academically and personally. Entering Grade 10 from Grade 9 was a significantly easier transition than Middle school to High School. Coming into Grade 10, I aimed to improve my study skills for successful mock exams while also aiming to get into activities I had wanted to pursue but was not accepted into the previous year.
Due to the live cancellation of my previous Grade 9 mock exams, the thought of sitting in the exam halls taking the exams was intimidating with the quiet environment and large clock timer sitting right in front of me as a reminder of how far behind or ahead I was. Therefore, I studied as much as I could for my academic subjects. I found better study skills and resources to use which advantaged me. I found past papers online and went more in-depth with each unit; this significantly helped me. My mock exams were a success and I found myself more confident in comparison with the end of Grade 9.
A highlight outside of academics was my participation in Culturama. Culturama was highly enjoyable because I got to collaborate with a like-minded group of individuals to put together a performance. The final outcome was creative and beautiful to watch; it was really rewarding celebrating our accomplishments together as a team. Although it was not a live performance, the journey to the recording was still fun as we got to wear costumes and practice the dances together. I’ve been passionate about dancing for a while, but combining individual effort with a team is always a great thing.
Furthermore, I achieved my goal of getting into the vocal group, Bersama. In Grade 9, I started doing Vocal lessons under the school’s Instrumental Teaching Program to practice my skills as a singer. Over the one year, I improved and I tried out again for Bersama. I was able to get in and in February, I performed for the first time with the group during Wavelengths which was a live concert. By putting in the effort to accomplish my goal, I felt that I had grown more resilient and driven. Once again like with Culturama, I got to explore my individual passion with a larger group of similar people through vocal and lyrical expression.
But with the addition of more responsibilities, there was stress and anxiety that came with it. There were definitely moments in which I felt the weight of coming toward the end of the IGCSE course. I put a good amount of pressure on myself to study hard for my Grade 10 mocks and I felt drained after a while from my work habits. I believe that I could’ve had a better work-life balance and been more proficient at handling anxiety while still studying effectively.
My current personal goal is to improve on managing anxiety and to create a better work-life balance in preparation for exams. In a time when it is easy to get carried away with studying, I want to understand how to still prioritise my physical and mental wellbeing. I’ve taken direct action to attend group sessions at the Wellness Centre to provide me with tools to handle test anxiety and whatnot. Furthermore, I will make it a habit to go outside regularly and get some air in between the longer studying periods.
At this moment in time, I am constantly developing in my thinking. I have become more goal-driven in my academics and extracurriculars. As I put in time and effort to improve on my skills, I felt the fruition of my work in Grade 10. To move forwards, I want to remain consistent with my areas of interest. I want to continue to set new goals for myself; specifically, I would like to make more detailed aims. I also want to challenge myself to go out of my comfort zone while working diligently on my areas of focus, also trying new activities and expanding my knowledge. For Grade 11, I anticipate that the content will grow more challenging but also increase in volume. There will be more deadlines to meet as well as pressure surrounding university entry. I want to bring my diligence and hard work with me into the IB course. I also want to participate in all of the activities that interest me. I will hold back less and allow myself to just go for the new opportunities and experiences that arise.
