flashbacks

Passed by little india and RELC todayy. Had flashbacks of the little memorable past events. Remember the little excitements we used to have when buying the little gifts for our hosts? Remember the anxiety as we trooped down to RELC to fetch our hosts, someone whom we've never met before?

Realized that it's the little things that make a big event so significant. An event is not complete without the pangs of excitement before it, and the aftertaste of it. Just like how I used to think that a school examination isn't complete without the mugging before the exam, the nervousness during the exam, and the uncertainty after the exam. All these come together to form the greatest fear of students- the exam.

The main event today was our commissioning ball. This basically marked the official end of cadet days, and the beginning of yet another journey, the journey of officership. I never felt sad about commissioning, till the end of comms ball today, when the realization that i might not be able to see some of my friends again, dawned upon me. It was probably a retarded reaction, but it still struck a chord in my heart. Fate brought us together for these nine long months. And this is just how long it's going to last, and this fate is going to end soon. Whether we've made good use of these period of time is another issue, but I'm glad we came together and commissioned together.

Knowing that I've hardly made any good friends whom I'll continue keeping in contact for the rest of my life, I'm just contented and reassured that this whole period has made its mark in my memory trail. One day when I track back this trail, I will find this camaraderie we used to have, this experience we used to share, and this common dream (of becoming officers) we used to strive toward.

I took quite a few photos todayy. But remembering wat iwakiri told me, photographs are merely images of ourselves on paper, illusions of what we perceive to be seeing. What really gives us the impact are the photos embedded in our memories, taken by the cameras in our eyes.

Photos really do make an impact. Although I mentioned that photographs are merely images of ourselves, they are the catalysts that cause these images to re-enact in front of us, coming to life. That is why Otsuka Ai's "friends" made such an impact on me.

It was this line that tickled my tear glands.
あの写真から聞こえる笑い声、どこまでも響いてたね。
Laughters of joy emanated from the photographs, echoing all around. (This probably isn't the best translation of the lyrics, but this line really describes how powerful photographs are.)

Flashbacks are the subconscious backtracking on our memory trail in search of one moment of jubilation, or of grief, when we see or hear something that opens the gates of our minds, letting this certain event re-enact in front of our eyes.

Quote of the day: We fight for our country; we die for our friends.