Day 216

Got my Colourpop X Kathleenlights USL in the mail! Thanks @joycelynthiang!

How come this time there's the cute thank you card hahaha I love the song 😂

In this close up photo they look almost identical. But if I'm not wrong, November is the one on top because it's rosier and warmer.

Today's #FOTD!

I really intended today to be very neutral and basic because I'm visiting my freshies at their camp chalet later.

But when I opened my palette my brush just zoomed to the cranberry shades. I think my hand had a mind of its own.

Wearing Colourpop November on the lips! It's actually a lot more pink than I expected, because I'd originally thought it was similar to Cannes. So to match I popped on Benefit's Dandelion on top on a rosy pink Tarte blush. #dayrebeauty

It's a very sweet pink. Doesn't really have extremely warm or cool undertones (feels very neutral to me) so it's really wearable for me! I like. Can't wait to try Alyssa soon.

I also burnt my thumb on my straightener because I thought I was aiming for the switch but I ended up pressing my thumb straight onto the heating plate. 😭

My hair is like grass now. 😭

Lunch at One Raffles Place food court with a friend before he zoomed off back to work.

Had the dry ramen for $7.90 and it wasn't bad, except that it was spicy. There's no such indication on the menu so I happily ordered it and spent the next 30 minutes blowing my nose. Go figure.

November isn't transfer proof but there's still distinctly quite a bit of colour on the lips! Close up and under harsh lighting it's a horror though.

I have time to burn before the chalet... So I'm at the library now.

I intended to go to Uniqlo to get a down jacket but the one at Somerset has closed down. What a wasted trip, I should have just gone to the one at Raffles Place.

Instead I bought a pair of running tights from Cotton On (not going to let go of my exercise regime in Canada) and now I'm going to read for a while.

 Thoughts on Orientation Camps 

Since I have time to burn plus wifi here... I thought I'd just share some thoughts about the recent spate of events regarding orientation camps, even though I'm pretty sure everyone's read too many posts about it recently.

This is a photo with my freshies last year. (I'm the only one in white, haha #rebel).

It's strange that after the first news article was published, there came so many others that portrayed camps in a negative light. I suppose many wanted to add fuel to the flames.

🎈Camps are meant to push you out of your comfort zone.

And I'm a strong believer in this. Nobody exactly enjoys being tired, dirty and uncomfortable. You should not go for camp expecting it to be fairies and rainbows and magic dust. Will you be tired, annoyed, frustrated, dirty, and have less sleep than you normally do?

Yes to all the above. But you'll also have fun. You'll enjoy spending time with new people, and playing games that pull you together as an OG.

🎈That is not an excuse for certain games or behavior.

When I say comfort zone, I do not mean one that crosses certain boundaries. Lewd games, sexual innuendos - I personally think camps can do without these. Sure, "dirty" jokes make people laugh. But certain game forfeits (I'm sure you've read enough in all the articles degrading camps) go too far beyond boundaries. Those should be removed. I agree.

But too many people are too quick to judge every other camp and assume all camps are the same.

🎈Seniors want freshies to have all the fun they can.

Does that sound unbelievable? I do not think any senior at all has the intention to torture or make freshies uncomfortable during the games. Our sole purpose has and always will be, to ensure that freshies laugh and have fun. Perhaps the methods may be inappropriate at times, but most seniors will do their best to keep it within appropriate limits. Do not judge every university by the few black sheep within.

🎈So much effort goes into camps and nobody wants it to go to waste.

I find it such a pity now that the camp mindset is "better not to do things that are too difficult; if someone complains or secretly snaps a photo, everyone could be in trouble". How ridiculous is it that we have to be warned to keep an eye out for potential spies who try to take misleading photos on purpose so that more hype can be generated?

I'll say this - if the freshies do not sleep or bathe, neither do the seniors.

As seniors we always let the freshies bathe first, eat first, sleep first. Water duties? We made sure all the freshies kept drinking and stayed hydrated even as our feet blistered from the repeated trips to the water coolers and we forgot to drink. Once I slipped and fell because the area near the cooler was too slippery.

But we do this willingly and without complaints because we have the freshies' welfare as our priority. And I wish more freshies and people understood this.

🎈How do you have fun when you're always on your guard that every small thing could lead to a complaint? It is on the seniors' onus to make sure that camps are appropriate, but the freshies also have to understand that camps are not holiday resorts. They're filled with tough activities that are meant to bond people together.

To generations of freshies to come: sign up for camps only if you feel that you have the strength to push through discomfort. The payoff far exceeds the few days of fatigue.

I only hope that there will even be more camps to come in the future.

I myself do not enjoy camps 100%. I'm shy, quiet, and introverted. But I feel that I've made enough friends through camps that it was worth it going for them.

Shall stop here because my thoughts are all over the place. I tend to ramble so much!

My parents ask why I'm on the camps' side and not the freshies' side. Perhaps I feel so strongly about this because I've been a senior and I've seen the effort behind the scenes.

OG BBQ time!

I'm so tired though I think I'm too old for this.