Hellen's Farewell: And then there were four..

Last year was the worst and best year for me. I had someone who made the journey so much easier with her support and advice. She's my good friend and she's my twin :) if not in our sense of humour then in our identical sounding names.

This is Hellen. When you look at her it's not the small stature or big ROCK on her finger :P that you see (although it's pretty mind-blowing :P), it's the confident posture and her sweet smile that tell you everything about this tough woman - her spunkiness, her honesty and her genuine character. The self-assured way she dictates herself and also how she treats others is what makes her a great friend.

Me, Cindy, Hellen and Tsu Ann at the airport this morning.

I remember last year two weeks before our exams, I was backed into a corner and felt very conflicted. Hellen extended her arms to me during this critical period with her unyielding support. Sympathetic, wise and yet not pushy, Hellen is the person you want to have around in a crisis. She immediately dropped everything she was doing and took a ride up just to meet me and listened to a sob story from beginning till end without judging.

Sabrina, Hellen, me, Cindy and Tsu Ann two nights ago at Hellen's farewell.

I miss the times when Sabrina, Hellen, Yi Ying and I would lounge at Borders, getting "high" on coffee and saying silly things to get our minds off the pressure we were feeling. Sometimes Sabrina would be working behind the counter, sneaking us extra caramel and trying not to laugh as the rest of us try to crack her up. I used to watch in amazement as Yi Ying and Hellen scoured the huge shelves of manga and dash to buy little figurines of their favourite characters. Then Tsu Ann would drop by towards the evening, declaring "lame" and "aunties ah!" at us when we start giggling randomly. Nowadays, it's just me, the coffee and the books.

Sabrina, Hellen, Me, Yi Ying and Tsu Ann on the last day of exams, 2006.

Getting into uni and especially for those people who want to do well, you expect the competition to be tough but you never expect the people to be so cutthroat. In terms of this, uni life is a small dose of what getting out into the real world will be like - every man for himself and unforgiving. It's not easy to get to the top and you realize a lot of people are stingy and manipulative, living it as a do-or-die situation.

"What is this?! It's not even a shape! I have two lame friends"

- Tsu Ann, 2007.

"Eh.. don't want HTS.. FBI sounds much better!"

- Cindy on "Teman Tapi Mesra", 2007.

Coming to Swinburne and comparing notes with my acquaintnaces made me realize how hard it is for someone to share and completely trust another. It made me realize what I have with these girls is rare and special in the way that only genuine friends can be - we have so much more than exams, books and papers in our friendship.

"Helennnnnnnnnn.. exam how?! Se-ked"

- Yi Ying @ bunnY, 2006 in Org. Psych Lecture.

"Are you wearing heels? What is I fall off the stairs when I'm climbing up?!"

- Sabrina on graduation day, 2006.

We're missing you already Hellen and we hope you and Erwin will have a wonderful life together filled with love, trust, understanding and kindness. Otherwise, be sure to demand for some more ROCKS~ :P

Hellen and Erwin.

"We have to be strong and I think women don't realize how strong they can be. I also think that as women, we are special because we strike an extraordinary balance - having the inner strength for ourselves and yet being subtle enough to allow the men to keep their pride." - Hellen, 2006.