Behind The Green Tie

By De Ming

There were many times when I would look up into the sky and would think to myself that there was something magical about nature, there was something about the way it penetrates into my heart and read my thoughts like a book, painting out the most beautiful and remarkable pictures from pages of my heart. As I stared up into the sky that day, watching as the sun floated above those buildings, lazily chasing away what was left of night and as the wind made soft brushing movements against my hair, I knew that this was one of those times.

A sudden grin broke out of me, I just felt so peaceful, so happy. Even as I look back now I still could not comprehend how much my life had changed with such a small decision; the decision to try out as a prefect. I could not put into words this feeling within me that day, the feeling that made me place one foot in front of the other, it was surely something very powerful, for it gave me strength. Looking back now, I could identify with that feeling; it was the feeling of purpose.

Since I was so lost in thoughts I did not realize that I had arrived in the school compound. I shook clear my thoughts and went towards the badminton court in between two school blocks. As I arrived, my friend gave me a reassuring smile, I returned hers cheerfully. The head prefects then begin ordering us to get into our PST (Problem Solving Team); I hurried on to my PST, PST 4. The prefect’s morning briefing started at that moment, and for the first time, I was in it.

The probates were then assigned with duties by our PST Leader. I had two; the first was after the morning briefing when I would lock the small gate next to the bicycle shed, the second was during recess, where I was to guard the back of the toilet to make sure no one smokes.

The first few weeks as a probate was a memorable one, when I walked along the corridor, other prefects would wave a “Hi” at me. When I sat down alone in the canteen, there would be prefects who would sit beside me and when I was unsure of my duties it was not hard to find assistance. The kindness of the other prefects gave me a lasting and positive impression and I soon awarded them with the title ‘friends’.

I remember sitting on the rough carpeted floor of the prefect’s room on a Thursday afternoon, the room on that day was flooded with prefects in green and at least fifteen or so white-clad probates; all of which was waiting expectantly for the prefect’s meeting to begin. When the meeting began and ended, I realized that it was the first time I felt that I had signed up for something that made a difference, something that was worth putting in a hundred percent. I felt a renewed sense of purpose, of being part of a team; part of a family.

As the pages of the calendar were flipped, my thoughts slowly began to stray towards the day when we would be recognised as true prefects. Month after month of waiting, the day finally dawned upon us. We were brought to the prefect’s room and were separated into two groups; there was a senior in each group. As I sat there in well concealed nervousness, our senior stared at us and said to us, “Please remember to wear your green uniform after the holidays.” We passed! That moment then was really special, because we may still be wearing our plain white uniform and had our probation tags hanging on our ties, from that moment onwards we were now known as true prefects.

The spirit and the excitement of passing my probation slowly faded with time, but there were other things that did not. Till this day my steps were still filled with purpose, the pride of knowing that not everyone had the rights to wear that broccoli green tie or blazer that we wore still burned within me and even though the duties were slowly getting boring and very ritual, I kept on doing them because whenever negative thoughts of laziness starts to seep in, I would imagine the consequences if no one was doing what I was doing.

Being a prefect meant more than having certain privileges, more than the uniform we wear, more than the duties we performed, it also meant listening for hours as people grumble in our ear about our performance. It was hard to live up to the teacher’s expectations, it was hard to be the student’s example, it was harder still to bear with the fact that whenever we made a small slip up, we would immediately be shot down and whenever we did something right, not many actually notices. At times people forget that we are still students and yet there were also times when people would forget that we were prefects. Although people claim that we were basking in our many privileges, if you place them on a scale, our duties and responsibilities would far outweigh the privileges.

Even though there were many people out there that puts us down and discourage us, I learned a lot about the world that not many would have the chance to. I learned that once you have taken up a leadership role, people will expect a lot from you, I learned about gratitude as we realize that there were a few teachers who were there to support us, I learned about patience and perseverance as we stood there each and everyday, doing our boring duty, I learned to bounce back and stand back up whenever someone puts me down. All these lessons in life cannot be bought, sold or given, but only be gained through experience and I am grateful to have been given this opportunity to do so.

There was another great thing about wearing that green tie, was that we will always be given opportunities to help people. When we pull out our pen to jot down a person’s name, we do not want him to get into trouble; instead we hope that he will learn from his mistake. When we ask them to clear their plates, we do not want to show off our powers, we just want them to practice some simple manners. We were given many chances to help teachers too and I learned that behind that mask of animal-like fierceness they were actually humans who at times needed help and support.

I walked on the same road back as I did months ago, this time I am a little different. No, it was not the uniform. Instead it was the person who wore the uniform, for this person here has changed a lot just to cope with the change in his environment; he has toughened up in a sense and grew to be a better person. Putting on that green tie was a decision he never regretted, it was a decision that made him see things from a different perspective, made his life more meaningful and more enjoyable. In fact, it gave him more of a life.