Ah, yes, I'm back to the land of the silent but vocal - the blogosphere.
With hindsight, this is in fact the first post of 2011 on my Blogger blog - those of you who subscribe to my Wordpress blog would have seen my "secret"post, in which I said I'd post weekly. That's obviously now a lie, a hoax, an ambitious but forgotten target.
Anyway, forget that - I'm typing this post as a post-moterm to the 2 election losses that I've recently suffered - the first, from IntSoc General Secretary, and the second, from ISC General Secretary (let me clarify, in case you haven't noticed by now, ISC ≠ IntSoc, they're 2 different things, with different core functions. IntSoc organises events and socials for International Students, ISC provides support and signposting for International Students - but one overlap would be that both speaks up and galvanises International Students, though arguably, the ISC is has a greater obligation to represent International Students more so than IntSoc, especially to the Guild.
Having made the taxonomy quite clear, I'll just say this first - it's definitely been fun running in these elections. Ultimately, it was a chance for me to embolden myself - to remind myself of why I'm a strong, credible, and viable candidate that's suitable for a position of responsibility in a major Society or Council. Tech-savviness, promptness,
It was also a chance to find out where my weaknesses are relative to my fellow candidates. And boy, have I learnt many in the 2 elections that I failed to win.
I now know that my connections are way underdeveloped compared to my counterparts. Having been in Exeter for only 7 months, and constantly chatting with people whom I already know (i.e.: flatmates, a few coursemates) and not daring to break the ice with other people whom I meet (in the numerous societies that I join, on my course), I feel like I could have made much more effort to actually get out of the comfort zone and widen my social circle. Perhaps the "Freshers' Week" atmosphere sort of vanishes towards the middle of the 2nd term, so it is harder to break that shell, but perhaps I'm just making defensive excuses for myself now.
I now know that I lack the confidence and interpersonal skills to break the shell, talk to strangers and sell myself to them. I lack the "self-marketing" skills, that's what I'd call it. No, wait. I lack the self-confidence.
I now know that policies, ideas and polished presentation isn't everything. Doesn't matter how much effort I put in into something, if people don't know about it, or if they are committed to support a friend whom you are competing against, they wouldn't vote for you, would they?
I now know not to annoy people. Spam-gate could have cost me a few votes and a few friends - it didn't help that I kept telling the same 110 people to vote for me repeatedly. If you have been affected by my constant self-promotion on Facebook, my deepest, most sincere apologies. What I did was inconsiderate and inappropriate; it was cyber-bullying to a certain extent.
I now know that distance matters. Not distance from my flat to the main campus. No. That's just an excuse. I mean distance of communication. I met a few friends who knew I was running for the ISC elections, but they did not know how to vote, so they didn't vote. Had I spent time going up to them and asking them if they had voted, I would have known that they didn't know how, and I could explain how - obviously, a video on Facebook would not help if they don't use Facebook.
I now know that I need to respect others and cherish any relations that I've established with others. I know these people aren't reading my blog, but right now, I just want to apologise to so many people right now. To Kami, Waew-wow, Bella and Ryuji, when we did the Business competition, I know my ego might have gotten in the way and I might have been pushy at times. The same could be said during the Management Project with Bryoni, Adrian, Jessica and Jean. I often try to push to get my point of view across and accepted by everyone, even if it's not the best one. Also, to the Rowing team, I should have explained why I went AWOL - I could have handled that better. I left Rowing because I know that physically, I have a lot of work to do to catch up with the fitness level of all the other members, and I have never worked so hard physically - I have never done any sports in my life before, and going from no sports to a rower is a mountain to climb. I know that this is a weak excuse, but I genuinely felt that I couldn't handle the demanding nature of the Rowing training regime. I simply couldn't cope. I have nothing but respect and, if anything, admiration to those in EUBC. I'm sorry I couldn't bring myself up to the same level as everyone else - I'm aware that I've been posting the slowest time on the Ergs.
I now know that I should get others involved. Looking back at my election campaigns, I think the fact that I ran with Aimi for the IntSoc elections might have boosted my chances slightly, albeit not enough to win. Looking back at Joshua's election campaign for Exeposé Photographer, I think it was good to have a second, and maybe a third opinion, before you actually get judged by your jury (i.e.: voters). Looking back at my ISC election campaign, I relied upon myself to get people to vote for me - I designed and pasted my own poster, made my own facebook group, added my own friends (Damia, I know you added 3 people - I really appreciated that!), shot my own videos, made my own manifesto - but I forgot to ask for a second opinion. I forgot to ask what others thought of things. I forgot to get others involved in this process. I forgot I had access to help if I needed it.
I now know that I need to commit to whatever I sign up for if I want to progress in that society. I signed up for too many things in Freshers Week, and I only stuck to EUBC for the first term, Choral Soc in the second term, Xpression FM for Production Training, PhotoSoc in 2nd term as Paula tried to kickstart things again, IntSoc late in the year as I got involved for the Business Competition and IntSoc elections, BeSoc for a number of events only. Bottom line - I was a non-commital member of so many societies, and that wouldn't help me progress in a society and gain committee positions.
Looking back, I need to narrow down my commitments and focus on the ones that I'm interested in.
With hindsight, this is in fact the first post of 2011 on my Blogger blog - those of you who subscribe to my Wordpress blog would have seen my "secret"post, in which I said I'd post weekly. That's obviously now a lie, a hoax, an ambitious but forgotten target.
Anyway, forget that - I'm typing this post as a post-moterm to the 2 election losses that I've recently suffered - the first, from IntSoc General Secretary, and the second, from ISC General Secretary (let me clarify, in case you haven't noticed by now, ISC ≠ IntSoc, they're 2 different things, with different core functions. IntSoc organises events and socials for International Students, ISC provides support and signposting for International Students - but one overlap would be that both speaks up and galvanises International Students, though arguably, the ISC is has a greater obligation to represent International Students more so than IntSoc, especially to the Guild.
Having made the taxonomy quite clear, I'll just say this first - it's definitely been fun running in these elections. Ultimately, it was a chance for me to embolden myself - to remind myself of why I'm a strong, credible, and viable candidate that's suitable for a position of responsibility in a major Society or Council. Tech-savviness, promptness,
It was also a chance to find out where my weaknesses are relative to my fellow candidates. And boy, have I learnt many in the 2 elections that I failed to win.
I now know that my connections are way underdeveloped compared to my counterparts. Having been in Exeter for only 7 months, and constantly chatting with people whom I already know (i.e.: flatmates, a few coursemates) and not daring to break the ice with other people whom I meet (in the numerous societies that I join, on my course), I feel like I could have made much more effort to actually get out of the comfort zone and widen my social circle. Perhaps the "Freshers' Week" atmosphere sort of vanishes towards the middle of the 2nd term, so it is harder to break that shell, but perhaps I'm just making defensive excuses for myself now.
I now know that I lack the confidence and interpersonal skills to break the shell, talk to strangers and sell myself to them. I lack the "self-marketing" skills, that's what I'd call it. No, wait. I lack the self-confidence.
I now know that policies, ideas and polished presentation isn't everything. Doesn't matter how much effort I put in into something, if people don't know about it, or if they are committed to support a friend whom you are competing against, they wouldn't vote for you, would they?
I now know not to annoy people. Spam-gate could have cost me a few votes and a few friends - it didn't help that I kept telling the same 110 people to vote for me repeatedly. If you have been affected by my constant self-promotion on Facebook, my deepest, most sincere apologies. What I did was inconsiderate and inappropriate; it was cyber-bullying to a certain extent.
I now know that distance matters. Not distance from my flat to the main campus. No. That's just an excuse. I mean distance of communication. I met a few friends who knew I was running for the ISC elections, but they did not know how to vote, so they didn't vote. Had I spent time going up to them and asking them if they had voted, I would have known that they didn't know how, and I could explain how - obviously, a video on Facebook would not help if they don't use Facebook.
I now know that I need to respect others and cherish any relations that I've established with others. I know these people aren't reading my blog, but right now, I just want to apologise to so many people right now. To Kami, Waew-wow, Bella and Ryuji, when we did the Business competition, I know my ego might have gotten in the way and I might have been pushy at times. The same could be said during the Management Project with Bryoni, Adrian, Jessica and Jean. I often try to push to get my point of view across and accepted by everyone, even if it's not the best one. Also, to the Rowing team, I should have explained why I went AWOL - I could have handled that better. I left Rowing because I know that physically, I have a lot of work to do to catch up with the fitness level of all the other members, and I have never worked so hard physically - I have never done any sports in my life before, and going from no sports to a rower is a mountain to climb. I know that this is a weak excuse, but I genuinely felt that I couldn't handle the demanding nature of the Rowing training regime. I simply couldn't cope. I have nothing but respect and, if anything, admiration to those in EUBC. I'm sorry I couldn't bring myself up to the same level as everyone else - I'm aware that I've been posting the slowest time on the Ergs.
I now know that I should get others involved. Looking back at my election campaigns, I think the fact that I ran with Aimi for the IntSoc elections might have boosted my chances slightly, albeit not enough to win. Looking back at Joshua's election campaign for Exeposé Photographer, I think it was good to have a second, and maybe a third opinion, before you actually get judged by your jury (i.e.: voters). Looking back at my ISC election campaign, I relied upon myself to get people to vote for me - I designed and pasted my own poster, made my own facebook group, added my own friends (Damia, I know you added 3 people - I really appreciated that!), shot my own videos, made my own manifesto - but I forgot to ask for a second opinion. I forgot to ask what others thought of things. I forgot to get others involved in this process. I forgot I had access to help if I needed it.
I now know that I need to commit to whatever I sign up for if I want to progress in that society. I signed up for too many things in Freshers Week, and I only stuck to EUBC for the first term, Choral Soc in the second term, Xpression FM for Production Training, PhotoSoc in 2nd term as Paula tried to kickstart things again, IntSoc late in the year as I got involved for the Business Competition and IntSoc elections, BeSoc for a number of events only. Bottom line - I was a non-commital member of so many societies, and that wouldn't help me progress in a society and gain committee positions.
Looking back, I need to narrow down my commitments and focus on the ones that I'm interested in.
- I want to get more involved in Xpression FM. Need to get on Presenter training.
- I will continue as a committee member in PhotoSoc. Although I'm currently the Technical Secretary, I think I might be more confident with a Treasury position, so I will see if I can run for that post when it becomes available for next year.
- I would love to contribute to Exeposé in terms of photography and if I can come up with a good piece, maybe contribute an article or two. (got a photo job next Wednesday, in fact! Thanks to Henry, Hannah and Joshua for the opportunity.).
- I'm still undecided on Choral Soc - I enjoy it, but not as much as I used to back in Secondary School, maybe because things go much faster now than it did then.
- I'll definitely continue to contribute to IntSoc and ISC when opportunities arise. And I'll try and make myself useful in Singapore Soc & in helping to set up an Indonesian Soc.
- And of course, I shouldn't limit myself to campus opportunities - I have been involved very actively with Sound Gallery Studios at the Exeter Phoenix, having done photography work for a radio show, a music competition/recording session and a music expo (evidence: my Flickr Page).
Alright, then. Tired now. Emotional breakdown over. Nite nite!
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