Dear Dina,

It was in 1982 when I enrolled into a newly completed boarding school in the East Coast; an institution I had been longing to be part of after listening to so many stories and tales from my elder siblings who attended similar establishments years earlier. The very first intake of the school consisted of Form 1 (as I was), Form 4 and Lower 6 students. I entered the school with great excitement; I was going to be the man I aspired to be.

The first couple of weeks, as we settled down in the new environment, there were no curfew, prep classes and sports activities. We were well fed with five meals a day (breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and supper). Dining hall meals on trays were quite an experience for many of us. Since there were not that many students, we had the luxury of arranging separate tables for each dormitory. Hostel life was fun.