UC Graduation Ceremony at NIE

Let’s exclaim—I have completed a bachelor degree!

Leng's receiving the crendential from Samdech.

I finished the exit exams at UC in February with a normal feeling as if I had finished an ordinary mid-term or final exam, but nine months later, I find myself on the stage receiving the credential from Samdech Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia, at NIE. It was amazing! What a wonderful feeling pouring to me when I was told by Bong Ratana, the UC admin staff, that I would be one of those who would receive the credential directly from Samdech!

I got the graduation gown on Dec 4 at UC new campus. It was my first time to step in that new building. It is a big building, and of course more spacious than the old one. There were still not many facilities to make it a fully-equipped standard university campus yet. However, I love to see how it has been developed. I got the gown at the Registrar Room from Bong Phea. Deposit of $30 was for the gown and the hat.

On Dec 13 morning from 8:30 to 11:00 UC held a rehearsal at NIE for the ceremony on the following day. Surprisingly, I was told to be the first one going onto the stage! I felt extremely delighted but at the same time I also started to feel a bit worried too because thousands pairs of eyes would target on the first receiver on Dec 14. The rehearsal was going well, and I had learned to correctly and politely receive the credential from Samdech Hun Sen.



Samdech Hun Sen's giving speech in the event.



On Dec 14, the day finally came. I arrived at NIE at exactly 6:30am with my elder brother. Several students had already arrived too, however, many still hadn’t presented yet. I put on my gown and sat at the seat directed by the admin staff. My brother was seated at the area for accompanying parents and friends. By that time, I just realized that I would be the second one to receive the credential. A student of Master Degree would be the first one to receive it. I felt relieved after that.

Leng's on the stage.

After listening to Samdech’s meaningful speech, the time finally arrived. The twenty representational students—ten graduates and ten scholars who won the new 100 Vision Scholarship—came up to the stage to receive the credentials and certificates consecutively. After sending off Samdech, the conferring ceremony still continued for the remaining graduates and scholars. What a long, boring morning when we had to wait for all students until all of them received their certificate. Totally, 214 students graduated in Year 2010-2011, and 100 students received the scholarship.

Time for picture taking finally came at 11:00am!

I’m glad to see old faces from UC. I really wished to capture all of their faces in my camera, but I only got some. After taking pics in NIE, we also went to the park of Independent Monument. The views were great and meaningful.

Leng's at Independent Monument. Become indepent!

I am not going to forget that moment.

A Crazy Draft of Love

I don’t really want to write about love, but the devil in my heart has pushed to me to write about it.

I have watched many love films and dramas. In them, love is so sweet at the beginning when both parts miss each other crazily and feel helpless when the other is not around. They want to see each other, talk to each other, or at least text to each other every day; losing sign of one part makes the other feel uneasy throughout the day. S/He may just truly smile from the heart although s/he is riding along the road or sitting alone when s/he thinks of the sweet moments they were together. They could even imagine the sweet moments that they may share in the future. How lovely the world is!

How long can this feeling last? How well can they maintain the relationship so that they are not sick of each other after they have spent times together?

When they have come together, they will not want to see their partner being close to any opposite sex. Jealousy is an enemy to any love relationship. No matter how much they have been in love, no matter how much they trust each other, the relationship can be broken once this evil comes in. Therefore, when you are in a relationship with someone, make sure that you are not too close to an opposite sex and that you are not trying to maintain two affectionate relationships simultaneously. If you break this rule, you will just end up with triangular hurt.

I have no idea how love feeling will continue as time passes by due to limited experience. One thing I’m certain about myself is that my feeling can be easily affected by a slight change of situation and environment, and I find hard to control myself. This is one of my weaknesses which I don’t think I should write here. However, I just want to let you know that when you are easily affected, make sure you don’t stay close to any opposite sex when your partner is not around because your heart and mind will alter. This is what I keep telling myself.

Just end here. Thanks to readers if there are someone who are actually following my updates.

First Time in Life

People value their first-time most for whatever it is—first time they learn to walk, first school, first job, first love, first kiss, first marriage, and any other first tries. It seems the most memorable although it may not be the best of all if they have the second and third time.

What makes a first-time so valuable?


Without previous experience, you are so eager to get one. You may dream day and night of getting it. When it does come, you feel that your dream has come true. What is special in a first-time is that it will build a foundation for you to compare with the next chance if you will have it again.  People like to compare things and people. They want to know if they have a better experience or a worse one, and they also wish to know if they have made the right decision from one experience to the next one.


A first-time can end with either happiness and satisfaction or sadness and hopelessness. On one hand, once a first-time ends with good outcome, a second try will normally be wished for which however may depend. On the other hand, most people abandon their try and give themselves away after a certain failure, small or big.


There are many first-times for me in this year of 2011 which is the turning point of my life. Most of them are pleasant, and I wish I will always have pleasant first-times that end with happiness and satisfaction throughout my life.

“Regret”—Summary and Opinions

It might be too late to know something, and you will blame yourself for not having sought for the answer in the first place. It should not have resulted with the sadness you are enduring but simply because you were not brave enough or too dumb to comprehend something that was already so obvious.

“Regret”, a piece written by Guy de Maupassant, tells stories of an old man, Monsieur Saval, who was still a bachelor at the age of sixty-two.

The story starts with descriptions of Monsieur Saval’s life which has been so sad and empty. The author drew out his life as meaningless and colourless; he didn’t have great pleasure, success, and satisfaction of life. Perhaps he should have had a better life if he had grabbed good opportunities. He didn’t know that opportunities had already knocked on his door, but he unknowingly let it go. He used to fall in love with a married woman, the wife of his old friend, at first sight, but he dared not go beyond the friend relationship but keep it with him until this age.

The author creates an opportunity for Saval to learn about Madame Sandres’ feeling toward him. Monsieur and Madame Sandres and Saval together in three went for a picnic at the riverbank, and when M. Sandres fell into asleep after lunch, Madame Sandres and Saval took Saval’s arm and walked along the riverbank. She leaned gently on his shoulder and she asked him if she were as pretty as the wreath of flowers. However, M. Saval could not comprehend her actions, and he ended it without allowing a start.

Now, at this age of sixty-two, in this morning, he started recalling his past. Never before had he recalled and understood what had happened at the riverbank on that day. He could not help leaving this world without clarifying his doubt why she had acted like that. He rushed to her house to obtain an answer to his heart.

Madam Sandres was already fifty eight years old and she was still that pleasant and welcomed Saval as her friend. Saval took out his courage and asked her what if he had asked her for her hand, what would she have said? Madame Sandres’ answer would have been ‘I agree’. She had understood how he felt for her since the first time they had met, and she had given opportunity to him, yet he didn’t realize. Now that he had known the truth—the fact that he had let go of opportunity that would have changed his life.

The theme of this story is to tell us to beware of opportunities which might just knock on your door. Be smart and notice how others feel toward you. Be bold to say what you feel toward someone because s/he may feel the same way. You may torture your heart for years, and you will leave youself without anything else besides regrets once you know that you shouldn’t have had to be so. However, it’s not advisable to have an affair with someone who is married, and I don’t know why the author organised the protagonists in this way. All in all, we ought to fight for our love. To love secretly is useless because s/he will never realize it until it’s too late. Say it out and give her/him choices so that regrets will never exist.

Make It More Worth-While

To have emotions is natural for human beings, but to be too emotional would be disadvantageous. I admit that I am easily affected by feelings, either good or bad; sometimes I feel dominated. This weakness lets feelings distract me and make my time less worth-while.

Sometimes, I just sit down and listen to the music, and my brain is scanning for the good or bad feelings I have recently encountered. From what I am scanning, I know that I am waiting for something and looking forward to something. It makes me smile and even laugh, but it may make me down in some ways. I am not sure if it’s a good or bad feeling, but I am sure I am wasting my time for doing it.

I wish I could have controlled myself better, and I hope I am able to control it now. Life is so short, and I am still at less than the half way to the end of the road. I shouldn’t waste too much time on one thing and make every minute worth-while to me.

Cross my heart and swear it again--I should be self-centered now.