The reason as to why she got such devastating results for mathematics in her school life was that during her very first mathematics test in Secondary one, her mathematics teacher was very stern and strict and as a result she developed a ‘phobia’ of him. Hence, at every test, she was always too nervous to concentrate properly on the paper, “blanking out” whenever faced with the test script.

The unforgettable incident that caused this was an innocent mistake. She having been using a pencil ever since young and having cultivated that into a habit, she used a pencil for her very first mathematics test in secondary school and upon receiving her results, her math teacher told her that she would receive a zero for her math test due to the fact that in secondary schools, they use a pen to write, not a pencil. Hence, traumatised by this incident, a major setback, her grades in mathematics took a major toll, and caused her to lose confidence in herself for mathematics. From then on, she had not been performing well for mathematics, but during her ‘O’ levels she managed to curb that fear and concentrate on the test, which she treats as one of her more prominent successes in her schooling years.

In secondary 3, she in fact met the person who changed her life and her dreams; aspirations. Her biology teacher was the one who made her "fall in love" with Biology; inspiring her, making her enjoy the subject so much more and most importantly, gave her inspiration and passion to be a teacher or a doctor later in life. She has also gained many good friends from school. Specifically when she was in Anglo-Chinese Junior College, where she made many close friends that even till now, still keep in touch and meet up several times a year just to catch up with each other on their everyday lives and latest updates; a long-lasting friendship.

When asked for a word that she would use to describe her life so far, "passion" was the word that surfaced above all. It had been her passion that had kept her going despite the many challenges in life. A factor being that she was not from a well to do family. However she had two younger brothers whom she is very close to, sharing everything with each other, still living with dreams that she wanted to fulfil. Unfortunately, in her university years, her condition of sensitive skin had barred her from being a doctor. The gloves had prevented ventilation of her skin pores. Even with that, she remembered her other passion that was instilled by her mother—teaching. It was her passion that had kept her going so far; as to become a full-fledged teacher that would be teaching at Hwa Chong Institution.

Her life can be described as a colourful and interesting one as she had gone through life's ups and downs, challenges and obstacles which she had to face and overcome, her will and her passion drove her, as well as her character as a perfectionist, having high hopes for herself, but ultimately, it was her positive mindset that kept her going, kept her running till this very day. So what can we as students learn from her? As quoted from her, "Take things in a positive light, and remember your roots." Another one would be to "lead by example”. In her opinion, it was all these that got her through her school life and we can all take a step back, ponder and learn from her experiences.

Comparing that of our school life, Miss Sun Weiling considering the fact of her being much older than people our age, Miss Sun Weiling had been through a lot in her schooling years that shaped her into what she is today. Her most memorable setback and inspiration being in her secondary school while she was around our age, it is evident that secondary school life provides for our key foundations to our future endeavours. On that point, Miss Sun Weiling’s schooling years, especially her secondary school life had taken her to an all new height in which she had overcame her difficulties and had a clearer picture of her dreams and ambitions. Interests cultivated for the long spurt ahead, her secondary school life was eventful, allowing her to harvest much experience for her later years in which she fared well, finally achieving her master’s degree in Life Sciences, on infectious diseases and a minor in mathematics, a feat considering a young lady who was weak in math just a few years before, having overcome her fear, embracing and excelling in mathematics.

A Christian at heart who attended a Christian-based primary, secondary school and junior college, and attends services at Orchard Presbyterian Church, Miss Sun Weiling is an intelligent lady of foresight, resilience and deep maturity. A lady who is able to take setbacks in her stride and come back up strongly. She is an example that we secondary school students can learn from; that we should "take things in positive light, remember your roots" and to "lead with example".

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