The following story was extracted from the book "i remember to my Grandpa/Grandma from all of us". The moments we shared contributed by Tan Boon Ping Adrian, 18, Hwa Chong Institution. Dear Grandma, I wish to convey my heartfelt thanks for your emphasis on character-building and moral values that has helped to shape my personality since young. You have fostered an environment to nurture your grandchildren to be all-rounders in the areas of sports and the arts by not being too obsessed with the pursuit of academic and exam-oriented success. Though we admit that it was challenging at times, having to juggle between commitments, we thank you for your foresight in opening up the various frontiers of our lives. Now we know how to appreciate music as being one of the finer things in life. Being an avid karaoke fanatic, you taught me my first song and the joy of performing. You saw my passion for singing at a young age and provided me with much-needed encouragement and advice when I was faced with obstacles. Nowadays, I enjoy performing at wedding dinners, family gatherings and birthday parties as much as you enjoyed it. You were an integral part of our childhood and we were fortunate enough to experience some of the simple pleasures of life, such as appreciating the wonders of nature. During weekends, you would organise family gatherings to vegetable farms and durian plantations in Johor Bahru where we often had a whale of a time catching fishes in crystal-clear streams, seen as a hard-to-come-by opportunity that is seemingly extinct in the modern society we live in today. I remember vividly the first time we visited a rubber estate where I marveled at the sticky white latex sap that was to be harvested to produce rubber sheets as well as the amazing properties of the rubber seeds, which made exploding sounds that sounded more like gunshots to disperse its seeds. Another interesting property was that when friction was applied, the rubber seeds would turn hot with constant rubbing against the floor. It was plain-old good fun at such a tender age, but now we do realise the scientific explanations behind these phenomena. In the globalised world that we live in today, the hectic pace and rat-race means that we do not have the luxury of time to keep in contact and catch up with our cousins on their lives. However, the frequent family gatherings since young have made our family extremely close-knitted. Since young, I have always looked up to you as a role model. You have an intrinsic ability to make everyone feel welcome and your "happy go-lucky" attitude exudes an optimism for life. You have always been a good listener, being able to keep your cool and analyse the problem before offering your own advice. You are the beacon of light that never fails to shine through even the darkest of storms. You are the dream of every sailor, who manages without fail to guide the fleet in the treacherous seas back to safe waters. Thank you for being the light that comes at the end of the tunnel and for being there when it is darkest before dawn. With love, Adrian. (This story was contributed as part of the 'To My Grandpa/Grandma' project initiated by NLB & the Advisory Panel for Seniors. This project is an inter-generation initiative targeted at grandparents and grandchildren. It aims to encourage the sharing of personal experiences, and to use personal stories, narratives and shared heritage to connect the different generations.) Title devised by Library staff.