The Colours of Gold

Green, Black, White,
The Colours Of Gold

This year's slogan, printed proudly on banners that greeted visitors to RI's Openhouse yesterday. I had some free time after Jack's CIP, and it was on the way back, so I dropped by for a looksee, not in the capacity as a student, but rather as an "alumnus" so to speak. It was a pretty visceral experience. Seeing a place that had been virtually a second home; that ought to have been exceedingly familiar yet simply wasn't. Things had changed round campus, true, but not by that much. I had changed, and just didn't feel as comfortable there anymore. Memories called forth of a time - what, 6 years back? - when I first visited the premises, astounded by it all. Then the awe gradually faded till it eventually vanished and I came out 4 years later saying: RI's nothing special at all.

The rare opportunity to enter the heritage centre, nestled behind the amphitheatre (at least I think that's what it's called) presented itself, and changed all that. I think Mr Mac, LLC and other such august personalities can go about talking about our institution's "tradition of excellence" and so on, but it all sounds contrived, shameless propaganda till you actually get to "see" it for yourself. Walking through the centre, seeing the artefacts on display, the weight of history starts to sink in. Crackly documents kept painstakingly in good condition, previous projects done by seniors of batches long gone, and the trophies. You can't help but feel a certain sense of pride at belonging to a school that has history. I mean, how many other schools have trophies that are actually old enough to have corroded till the engravings are practically indecipherable?!

The relentless turning of the clock as modernization does it's work may mean that RI is no longer as distinguished from it's peers - and that's a good thing for Singapore, I'd like to add - and the ubiquitousness of high achievers may mean that our generation may not have as much to contribute to the school's grandeur as compared to our predecessors, but knowing the weight of that history, feeling it upon our shoulders, is something that I think every student who passes through the school should experience intimately. With that as a guidepost, I honestly think that whatever we do, we won't go too far wrong.