风水轮流转 Shifting Fortunes
Sister received her Direct Schools Admission letter from a few schools today. It basically guarantees her a place in the secondary school if she scores above a certain score (much like the UK system of university admissions). This creates a moral hazard for a 11-year old interested in (perhaps) nothing else other than kittens and puppies; thus had to talk to her about continuing to work hard even after achieving “success”.
风水轮流转 (literally: wind and water take turns to change direction). The spotlight of success shines brightly for a while, and then moves on to another if we do not work to keep it. Of those who had done well in the PSLE almost 10 years ago, some of them had not continued to do well over the years. And some of those who are doing well now may not do well in the future. The now-mighty may be humbled in the future, and someone may rise from relative obscurity to the pinnacle of success; the fate and fortune of man changes with the tide and the wind.
