2006 Top-10 Moments: Number 9

Number 9 on this year's list is my successful Writing Assistant application, and on my second attempt at that.

I still cannot figure out why I want to be a WA so much, except for the fact that I have always helped my friends with essays and I thought it would be great if I could be paid a little for something I have done.

Of course having access to the Writing Centre is always a plus, but I suspect it's mainly because I failed last year. Somehow that failure lingered at the back of my mind - simply because I knew I had it within me to be selected, but I didn't make the cut then because of my over-eagerness at last year's mock conference interview.

So for this year's interview, I didn't prepare anything at all, other than to read through the interview essay once through the night before the interview where I was to have conducted a mock conference. As chance would have had it, I had the exact same interviewers minus Irene - and seated in the same positions at that!

But old habits die hard I guess, I found myself so fascinated with the poem that was the subject matter of the essay. I ended up doing research on the poem and finding out so much more about the American poet who wrote it.

The interview went okay I guess. I remembered telling Tham that even if I don't get selected this time round, I can rest easy because I know I have exhibited my best at the interview and I can have no regrets. I found out later from somebody else that he shared that during the deliberation and it earned me a few "brownie" points.

Whatever it is, I sensed that my calmer demeanour at the interview this time round also corresponds with how I have changed since the my botched first attempt last year. In a sense, I guess I needed the experience of the events in the past year in order that I may be an effective WA - in a way I guess.