Something about me-Ng Xin Zhao

I was born in Malacca in 1989, and raised there until form 6, where I took STPM (Malaysia's equivalent to A-levels) and then I came to NUS studying Physics and second majoring in Mathematics.

On financial aid, I decided to make full use of the opportunities in NUS, so I joined in University Scholar's Programme, Special Programme in Science and Special Programme in Mathematics in addition to my double major. Other than that, I also dabble in CCA, joining in Physics Society, Nam Wah Pai (Chinese Martial Art) and Buddhist Society. Currently I'm only active in NUS Buddhist Society as the Deputy Dharma Director and going to take up the Management committee again this year.

Well, let me talk more about my social life, which is more relevant to the module of Human Relations. During my (all boys) secondary school life, I was labelled as a bookworm, for bringing a book wherever I go and reading whenever I got the chance to. I was a social clutz and mostly live in my own world.

After going to High School, I started to actively interact and be more outspoken in the class, also it is a bit of adjusting to do sitting in a mixed (gender) class. This is because I got inspired by the few “Jokers” in my classes who got lots of attention and popularity. Being addicted to the taste of popularity after getting top results and skipping a grade in my primary school, I modelled myself to be funny, strange and good to regain the popularity, and I was the most infamous person in school!

Due to some good fortune and lots of reading due to interest, I got selected to represent Malaysia in the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) in 2007 and 2008. This did much to boost my self confidence and make me even more famous. My blog which I started in 2007 (my last year of high school) http://ngxinzhaomonk.blogspot.com/ got lots of hits after I got silver medal in 2008. During the 2007 IPhO, I collected the emails of almost every participants, thus almost all my shyness in talking to strangers at a social event evaporated there.

The Olympiad allows me to have the opportunity to stay in a local University (UKM) to study physics there even before I got admitted to any university. So for the two months there I felt the first real taste of what loneliness is in the nights. I was away from family and friends and there wasn't much to do at night. This is in stark contradiction with the self-image that I had of me being a lonely traveller (and liking it).

The loneliness ends when I joined in their Buddhist Fellowship activities and made new friends there. I even got to star as the baby Prince Siddhārtha (the Buddha) in their biggest annual activity! My involvement in Buddhist Society in NUS (attending 4 out of 5 of the weekly activities per week during my second year) continues on mainly through interest and spiritual commitment. Using my new found social skills (not being shy) and weird (and unique) personality, I felt just at home in NUSBS.

However there is another home in NUS for me, and that is SPS. It's mainly because I spend so much time in the SPS room (sleepovers, homework, permanent placement of my laptop, friends and boardgames). Being a relatively small community (50-30 people per batch), I know everyone in SPS and everyone knows me!

Despite all these homes, I still feel that I'm in adequate in social skills and human relationships as exemplified my friends at both homes that I'm just like Sheldon in the Big Bang Theory (Social skills wise, but at least I do learn). Hence the interest in this module!