How have I as a HCI student touched the lives of others?

The teachers have called us the top batch of student leaders; the future leaders of Singapore and the gentlemen of the younger generation. But what have we done as these people to touch the lives of people around us?

As students of Hwa Chong, we have to live up to our expectations. We encounter different people and people of different cultures too, but what have I done to make a difference? In my opinion, i have first and fore-mostly touched my friends. Although I am not a loud person with a commanding leadership tone, i show concern and care towards them and am always free to discuss things. My friends develop a trust in me, and I can help them by giving them support and assistance. Therefore, I think that I have touched my friends' lives.

Furthermore, I think i have touched my family's lives. I have learnt to respect them more, and to always speak to them without raising my voice. People look to Hwa Chong students as people who are leaders, no matter in what way. I believe i have helped my family in various way, being a strong older brother to my sister and also a obedient son to my parents.

Students in Hwa Chong are given many opportunities to interact with students outside of school, so through different exchange programs and seminars, i believe that Hwa Chong students can truly show everyone that HCI students can touch people's lives.

Rupert Murdoch Scandal

The recent Rupert Murdoch Scandal has caused a huge buzz in Britain, but some people may still be wondering, what is the whole scandal about? What is so new about phone-hacking? Who is Rupert Murdoch?

Rupert Murdoch's news empire was an all out search team to find the latest and hottest news, and bring it to the public. Celebrities and politicians's phones were constantly hacked in order to allow the public to enjoy entertainment. However, this has now backfired on the public themselves. Now even phones of dead soldiers and murder victims had been hacked, causing the British people to revolt against such things.

In the past, the civilians were only thought about the latest news and buzz the celebrities and politicians were doing, but ever since they found out the Rupert Murdoch's company had been secretly hacking civilian's phones, the public has been outraged with him and have lodged numerous protests. Why is it that only when their own privacy has been affected that the people start to retaliate? It is not true that politicians and celebrities have no right to privacy. The biggest problem with the public is that they only care for their well-being.

Rupert Murdoch is a very influential person. With his control of the media, almost everyone has to kowtow to him in order not to get into trouble one way or another. In the initial stage of the trial, he was confident that he would be safe throughout the trial. Only in the later stages did he realize his mistakes and the risk he was taking, and apologized to the public.

In conclusion, the scandal occured because of different people's faults: the public, rupert murdoch and maybe even politicians and celebrities. We should take this opportunity to learn from our mistakes and not be so self-scented.

Arranged Marriage vs True Love

Arranged marriages to many, have been a thing of the past, a tradition or culture that was carried out. However most people tend to think that these are all but a thing of the past, and that the modern world no longer carries out this practice. This is totally false. The truth is that arranged marriages are still very prevalent in some countries like India, Japan and China, the large majority being in India.

Arranged marriages are very different from true love, as arranged marriages are more of a exchange between two families for the family's benefit, and not for the two people getting married. These marriages are usually conducted without the two people even meeting together for the first time, while in true love marriages, a strong bond between the two people is formed before they get married. Some arranged marriages are also carried out because the parents do not believe that their child is not ready to make such a decision, and that the parents are the ones who know best. These parents think about the physical consequences, and not about the child's love, and thus arrange marriages to ensure that their son or daughter in-law is what they want them to be.

In my opinion, i would not want to go through an arranged marriage as i think that everyone has a right to choose who they want to spend their lives with for the rest of their lives. Although it is true that parents have much more experience than the younger generation, ultimately it is the youth that are gonna spend their lives with their partner, and if the children do not have a chance to be with the one they really love could cause a lot of conflict. Love is feeling shared by two intimate people, and it is impossible to force someone to love another. Parents may think they know best, but in some cases, children have to be given a choice to choose who is most suitable for them, whether or not it will work out in the end. The younger generations should follow what their heart tells them and not be afraid to speak out for their love. Therefore, i think that i would rather make my own choice on marriage than allow my parents to help me to choose.

Parents should believe in their children, and trust that they make the right decision, and not keep making the decision for them. Therefore, i believe true love should triumph over arranged marriages.

Shylock: Villain or Victim?

There has been much debate about whether Shylock i trying to be portrayed as a victim or as a villain. In the play, he is described as ruthless and bloodthirsty, but also as a victim of prejudice behavior and suppression.

As a villain, he is depicted as a money-hungry fool who does not care for his own daughter, but instead the money that she stole. Shylock's cruelty towards Antonio in blatantly shown in that he constantly wants the pound of Antonio's flesh, nothing else. Despite the judge's(Portia) offers to pardon Antonio, Shylock constantly persisted, and ended up losing everything. He was asked three times to give up wanting Antonio's flesh, but three times he refused. This showed his intent to kill Antonio to the most severe extent, and described Shylock as a cold, greedy and revengeful person.

However, Shylock was also a victim in the play. Throughout the course of the entire play, Shylock was constantly mocked and called a "cut-throat dog" and "misbeliever", and was looked down upon by the Christians like Antonio. Antonio strongly opposed Shylock's means of earning a living by lending money with interest, and despised him for it too. However, Antonio did not see that Shylock's only way of earning himself a living was through money-lending because Venice at the time was strongly prejudice against the Jews. Almost everyone in the play, from Antonio to the Duke, mocked him and spit on his religion, despising his beliefs over Christianity. To make matters worse, his own daughter eloped with one of those that hated him. How much more suffering could Shylock take? During the trial, Shylock was overcome by revenge for what the entire Christian community had done to him, and in the end lost everything he had. The judge(Portia) made it even so that all his possesions were to go to those he had been trying to persecute, the people who he had hated to the core. His religion was converted to that of the people he had hated his whole life, causing Shylock to become one of them.

In conclusion, Shylock despite being villainous in some ways, was portrayed as a victim of prejudism.

Great moments are born from great opportunity.

And that's what you have here tonight, boys.

That's what you've earned here, tonight.

One game.

If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with 'em.

Tonight, we stay with 'em, and we shut them down because we can!

Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world.

You were born to be hockey players -- every one of ya.

And you were meant to be here tonight.

This is your time.

Their time -- is done. It's over.

I'm sick and tired of hearin' about what a great hockey team the Soviets have.

This is your time!!

Screw 'em!

Now go out there and take it!

“It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph.”

Where there is good, there is also evil. As such, there is always conflict between the two factions, but there have been many arguments as to which side has triumphed over the other. Good is typically associated with life, charity, continuity and happiness, while evil on the other hand is just the opposite of that. Some say that good will always triumph over evil, but is that always the case? Even now, many people are trying to find out what it means to be good and to be evil.

As said by Edmund Burke, “It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph.” Evil will definitely win the battle if there is no one to stop it. Mankind is born with an evil nature, with a tendency towards greed, money and violence. But we are also kind and good in our nature. As such, good acts as a counterbalance against evil. But if either good or evil were to disappear, the balance would be disproportionate. Good and evil are exact opposites of each other; therefore if a good man does nothing to fight against evil, evil would run rampant. Take for example a robber. He steals a lump of cash, and the police do nothing to catch him. Seeing how there is nothing stopping him from stealing even more, he continues to rob people of their money, receiving no punishment whatsoever. Thus, evil would triumph if good did not do anything to stop it.

Furthermore, a good man is someone who upholds justice and repels evil. However, if a good man stands by and watches evil take place, he would no longer be considered “good”, and “good” would become invalid. A man is not good just because he has done something that is justifiably right, but is good by continuing to carry out those deeds. Therefore if a good man lets evil slip past him, evil will triumph over good.

On the other hand, there are some cases in which good resists against evil, but evil still triumphs. Evil is present everywhere in our lives, whether in school or in work. Despite good’s attempts at stopping evil, evil can still overpower good. There are many events that display such an event, like how the Japanese forces took Singapore by storm, despite Britain’s attempts at “resisting evil”. The overpowering evil does not even need to be shown to such an extent; even in work, bosses who abuse their power triumph over the “good” workers, with the workers unable to retaliate.

In conclusion, evil can triumph over good if good does not lift a finger to stop evil. Ultimately, evil and good act as a balance for each other, so as long as they balance off each other, they can coexist. However, evil can, and will triumph against good if nothing is done to stop it.

Is War a necessary Evil?

War sweeps up countries and tears down civilizations, bringing health and economical catastrophe, leaving in its wake a trail of bloodshed and destruction. However, despite all this, a war is started to prevent a worse outcome. Sometimes it is to protect that which is precious to us. Sometimes it is started because there is no other alternative. In the end, war is still a necessity that helps to keep the world in order.

Not all wars can be prevented. War is necessary to resolve conflicts that cannot be stopped any other way. Some people say that through peace talks and negotiations, we can stop war from occurring and ultimately stop war. However this is not true, if you take for example the situation in Iraq. Iraq’s making of nuclear weapons are a threat to society. If Iraq were open to negotiations, it would have been possible to end the matter through peace talks and the like. However, since that was not the case, it was inevitable for war to occur. War was a last resort for peace, and despite efforts to try and come to an agreement, peace talks did not work. It is in our nature to want to solve things in the quickest possible way, with violence. As a result, war is completely necessary in this case.

Furthermore, war is not always to destroy and to eliminate. Sometimes, war is started in order to prevent a worse outcome from occurring. The Libyan war is one such example of war being for a more important cause; a cause of freedom of the Middle East. Gaddafi only wanted power over his country and the people, and did not care of their welfare, only pursuing his own agenda. In this case, negotiations were no longer able to be carried out because of the government’s greed for control, and war was the only option to free the people of Libya from the oppression. Peace talks were considered in order to try and save more people instead of going straight for war. However, if action was not taken, many more people would have suffered under the oppression of the Libyan government. Although a war takes away many people’s lives, and causes many others to suffer, a war is a justified one, allowing people to enjoy a better future. It is in these cases that war is for a greater good.

On the other hand, war is filled with death, injuries and the loss of many loved ones. Not just that, the country’s economy would suffer tremendously when war occurs in that country. Is the future of the country worth the death of so many people? Despite ending a war even, the infrastructure of the country would be down, and many funds and resources that would have been used for development would have been wasted on war supplies. Wars are destructive, disruptive and most of all, costly. If this is the price that we have to pay for a war to ensue, what is the point of a war then?

In conclusion, war is necessary as a last resort despite its destructive consequences. War is necessary in the case when there is no other choice but to wage war on another country for a greater cause.

Should US have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan?

World War II was a global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, which involved most of the world's nations, including all of the great powers: eventually forming two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis. The Axis consisted mainly of the Germans and the Japanese, while the Allies consisted of the large superpowers like Britain, the US and the Soviet Union. In the war, over 60 million people were killed, far more than that of World War I. As for the end of the war, one of the most significant reasons as to why it ended, was the US dropping the two atomic bombs onto Japan, Little Boy and Fat Man. However, was it necessary to drop the atomic bomb and massacre thousands at that time in order to stop the war?

In my personal opinion, the United States decision of dropping the atomic bombs on Japan was a necessary decision: they were not wrong in dropping those two catastrophic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Despite the tragic lives lost in the process, the entire war was stopped mainly because of the dropping of the bombs. Imagine for a moment that the bombs were not dropped, and the war continued on for another few months: a even greater number of lives would have been affected. Therefore, the dropping of the atomic bomb was a right decision.

Some people may say that the level of severity in which the US used to stop the war was a bit high, it was said that the US had tried different methods by firebombing the different cities of Japan, but the war had still no signs of ending. Some may say that the lives lost during the bombing were all innocent lives, however the laws of war does not state that civilians cannot be targeted.

In conclusion, the US's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan was a justifiable decision as it resulted in the end of the war in an instant.

General Elections 2011 Singapore

Perhaps one of the most exciting and exhilarating events that has happened in Singapore recently could be the General Elections 2011. A general election in Singapore is held every half a decade, but what is so special about this particular year's elections?

The general elections this year is one of the most action-packed elections mainly because of the sudden and massive increase of opposition parties contesting. Out of the 87 seats in parliament, 82 were contested, the most ever. In previous elections, many GRCs and SMCs were walkovers due to the fact that there were few opposition parties and there was no contest. As a result, the public has hardly got a chance to vote in elections. But now that almost every part of Singapore is contested, many people are excited at the chance to vote and try and make a change for Singapore.

One of the other differences with the previous elections is the use of social networking and media. Now that many websites have come on like Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and many more, even politicians are using these to communicate with the public, and especially the young adults who are more actively into this. As a result of using these websites though, the parties are able to reach out to more people and thus can secure a bit more voters this way.

In my opinion, i think that the opposition, although most may not get into parliament, has made the PAP work for their place in parliament instead of just the timely walkovers, and has forced the PAP candidates to make an effort to improve resident's lives and not just thank the public for the walkovers. Although the PAP is still the dominant party, having a different say in parliament is beneficial as there will be people to oppose decisions made and to let people think about the policies and schemes etc.

I look forward to this elections as many hopes are up for the opposition to take control of this election, yet the PAP may still have a strong hold on this elections.

GE 2011: Rally

I recently attended the final rally for the General Elections 2011, and I chose to attend the Singapore People’s Party final rally at Bishan Stadium. To be frank, one of the only reasons for me wanting to choose the SPP’s rally on the final night was to see Mr. Chiam See Tong speak, as I thought that his speech would be worth listening to among the other candidates. But I was surprised to find that the other candidates spoke well and were able to sway the audience with emotions despite this election being their first election as candidates.

The rally started with Mr. David Tan, and I felt that his aim was to use the public’s discontent of Mr. Wong Kan Seng and how he handled the Mas Selamat issue. I think that the weak link of the PAP team for this GRC is actually Mr Wong Kan Seng, because many people feel strongly that he should have taken responsibility for the issue and thus is not very popular among the people of Singapore. Mr David Tan’s message was to actually pull down the PAP and promote the SPP. I felt that the fact that he was the first speaker was a good move as his speech acted to rally people for the SPP and prepare the ground for the other speakers to speak.

Mr Sin Kek Tong was the next speaker, and he actually spoke about almost the same topics as Mr David Tan. The main difference though between their speeches was that Mr Sin used humour to get through to his audience and the public, starting out his speech by cracking jokes, instead of using a strong decision-making voice. Mr Sin and Mr Tan both emphasized on the monetary issues of the country, and how the income gap was very large, considering how the ministers are all earning top income salaries. I have to agree that the income of the ministers can be cut in order to provide more funding for the public. Our government has one of the highest paid ministers in the world although Singapore being a little red dot, so I think that it is not right to have the ministers of this country to suck the country’s funding.

The speaker I felt was the most influential was Mr Benjamin Phwee. He used Potong Pasir as an example to show the competency of the party and was straightforward in his stand, and yet had a sense of compassion towards the public. Despite my own constant reminder of trying to be neutral and see the viewpoint of both parties, I could not help but to be swayed by Mr Phwee’s speech. What I felt was one of his strongest topics that he touched on was on the fear of losing ministers through voting oppositions. I felt that he handled that issue well as he talked about how these ministers, although important, are not irreplaceable and so there is no worry when it comes to the minister places.

As the rally was coming to the end, the man of the moment, Mr Chiam See Tong finally stood up to speak. I respect Mr Chiam not only because he has stood and opposed the PAP for 6 elections and won all, but also because of his love and care for the community, the GRC. His speech was short, and I could not catch much of it. But what I could make out was this, “I want to make Bishan-Toa Payoh my kind of place.” I was touched by those few words, as it portrayed fully how much he cares for others and the community.

This rally is only the second rally I have ever gone to in my life, with my first rally being in the 2006 elections and when I could not understand these topics. But now that I have matured and understand what the candidates stand for, I feel a larger sense of national loyalty and cannot wait for when I am 21!

Why should we care about what happens elsewhere?

Current affairs are the events that happen all over the world, be it a royal wedding or the death of a terrorist. But the question now arises: are all these important to us? After all, we are not actually participants in any of these events. So how would keeping up with current affairs help us in any way? The answer to it is simple. No matter where in the world we are, or where the event is happening, we are affected by it and by knowing and understanding it, we can get a better understanding of the world, and then adapt to it.

Firstly, natural disasters that happen all around the world can affect us because if there happened to be an earthquake somewhere in China, its economy would come to a halt, and thus it would effect our trade with them. Natural disasters are unpredictable, and with it comes thousands of people dead or hurt. In order to support the people, the country's economy would slow down to a halt to use the resources in helping to support the wounded or help in rescue missions. This would affect us as our economy would also be affected due to the fact that the country would not be doing business at that period of time.

Secondly, what happens around us technologically can affect us. Technology now is a very important aspect of society, and a lot of things rely on modern technology. If some kind of great new invention were to be created in a country far off, it could help to improve our efficiency of our work or could largely benefit the way people work with technology. Take for example the Apple company's release of the iPhone. The iPhone was a big jump forward for technology, and helped people to work faster and better using smartphone technology. Therefore all of this can affect us through improving the technology world and helping us.

Finally, what happens to other countries largely affects us too. If there was to be a rebellion in a country, like what is happening currently in Libya, the country would not be stable and there would be a lot of changing of rules and would result in the country changing their policy and governments. This would also lead to other countries near there to be affected and could even lead to more and more countries starting rebellions!

Therefore it is important to care about what happens in other countries as no matter what it is, we are always affected in one way or another.

War

As we dashed away from the scene of battle in retreat, i heard a shout behind me. He was shot. Amidst the hordes of bullets and grenades that were slowly closing in, i turned back to help the fallen man. The smell of gunpowder filled the air as the colour red overshadowed all others. Bandaging the wound, i looked around as one by one, man after man fell to the ground, never to rise back up again.

A grenade exploded not too far away, and I knew that I could not stay. He gripped my hand tight, as if he had something to say. He breathed his last as he stared into my eyes with grim persistance and i could not turn away. The sounds of gunfire were coming closer and i knew it was time to leave. Placing him on the ground, i continued retreating, never to see his face ever again.

JAPAN

21 Holland Street
Singapore 123456
22/3/11

Dear Mr Doi,

My name is John and i recently read an article concerning your tragic story of your family. After reading the article, i felt devastated that you loss your family in this disaster. Although i have not actually been in a natural disaster, i hope that through this letter you can receive some comfort, and to try and move on.

I know it is hard to lose a family in just an instant, but you should never lose hope. I'm sure that your wife and children wouldn't want to see you in pain.

As a survivor of the earthquake and someone who has seen the pain and destruction the tsunami, I know that you must feel a lot at this point of time. I understand that although you cannot bring your family members back, you have to move on with life, and not cause further suffering to other people around you. Currently, there are thousands of other people who have also lost their family members. What i would like to say is to stay strong and not let this bring you down!

Currently everyone around the world is putting in their support to help Japan stand up again, so you should never be worried that you have no one to support you. You will still have your friends and everyone else backing you up, so never give up! If you ever feel that you need someone to share your emotions with though, i want you to know that i will always be here, so you can just send a letter. I hope that you can cheer up a bit, and to continue with life no matter how hard it is. Never give up, and keep moving on!

Best regards,
Yiwen

Social Networking

Throughout a small span of a few years, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, these 3 main social networking sites have attracted a amazing number of followers. The big question is why? Let us focus on Facebook as an example as I have a Facebook account and so am able to relate to it.

Facebook, in my opinion has the ability of getting the "best of both worlds". Not only does it allow people to easily access their friend's accounts easily, but also it has a vast multitude of games, attracting many children and teens who take an interest in such things.

Social networking sites are one of the best and fastest ways to connect and interact with your friend, but many adults do not think that way, standing firm in their argument that these sites are not just dangerous but also distracting. To be frank, i have to agree with them a little. The social networking sites are so attractive to go to, seeing your friends posting interesting things and commenting on them is truly addictive. But then again, these sites can also help you in work.

Many a time, it is through these sites that i am able to contact my friends when the need is urgent. Through these sites, i can communicate with my friends and discuss work and projects with them.

Although many people see these sites as disruptive, i think otherwise. the social network, it is Awesome!

The Apple Company- Steve Jobs

Over the course of many years, Apple has never failed to impress the world with bizarre inventions that no one had ever thought before. At first it was the mac; a system computer that far exceeded that of a pc. Then came better, improved versions that kept people amazed. Even now, with the newest creations of the ipod nano, ipod touch and the iphone, Apple continues to amaze people. Who was the mastermind behind everything? None other than Steve Jobs. But there is one big issue that has recently emerged about it: Steve Jobs has been ill and sick for quite a while now, and everyone is wondering, in the case of His death, will Apple still be able to continue dazzling the public?

There have been many rumors about Steve Job and his illness. But let's start of with him. We shall not go so far back, but instead to start with his greatest achievements. He first started Apple back in 1976 along with a few other partners and soon after expanded into a huge company. After leaving the company briefly to join Pixar from Disney, he returned with a bang, helping the company's shares rocket up with the creation of the iMac, Macbook pro, Macbook air etc.

But ever since his "departure" from the company again to nurse his sickness, there hasn't been much improvement in the inventions. this leaves everyone wondering whether the company can still produce high end quality goods without him? Recently, there were reports that he went to the White House to see President Obama to discuss certain matters. Why? Not just that, they did not even release pictures of them together as to prevent people from knowing how sick he is.

I think in my opinion, Apple has a very low chance of continuing to succeed without Steve Jobs in the area of technology. Why do i say so? Steve Jobs is one brilliant man. Yet the other companies are still keeping up with their all new designs that match and even better the Apple creations. If Steve Jobs really doesn't make it, to be frank, I don't think there is anyone in the company at this moment that can match up to him. Although i will miss Apple's high technology goods, it is very hard to say that the company will even stay standing in maybe 20 years or more.

Apple is a amazing company, and i can only pray that it will continue to be an amazing company, that Steve Jobs will come back and triumph over the rest of the technological world.

Nurture or Nature?

I think that in my opinion, nurture is more important than nature. Why? I think that although It may be true that if both parents are graduates, the child would also be able to do well. Given that fact, children who come from less fortunate backgrounds or if their parents aren’t graduates, are still able to do well in society and get into university etc.

Parents in my opinion are the root of this question, because it is them who take care of the child the earliest and also they who teach the children the basics of life. The child learns the most from their parents, so I think that if the child’s parents do not show a good example to the child, wouldn’t it reflect back on the child? It doesn’t matter whether the child is a graduate’s son or a non-graduate’s son. In Singapore at least, everything is based on merit, on how hard you work to achieve a certain goal.

It may be said that the children whose parents are graduates do better than those whose parents are not, but that may not because of the difference in genes, but how each parent takes care of their child. In my opinion, I think that because of education and the nurturing environment in learning, the people who undergo education and become graduates would be more civilized and well mannered than those who did not do as well. Because of this, the graduate parents would be able to bring up their children better, so that they can also do well in their studies.

The nature of things in my opinion is not as important as the nurturing required. Everything is not fixed just because you come from a intelligent descent, but instead on how you choose to live your life.

"Who cares for the caregivers?" Article

After reading this article, i feel that many caregivers are not given enough help and attention as they should. the patients themselves are of course need to be taken care of, but the caregivers are often the ones who make the most sacrifices to help look after the patients. For the father of the first patient, not only did he try and offer his entire fortune to a nursing home in order to take care of his son, he was even willing to kill his son in order to "save" him from suffering any longer. I can imagine the horror and pain that was filling him when he was trying to kill his son. Many people say that they try and help patients by spending time with them, acting as company. But how about their family members? It is them who do the most and them who dedicate the most too.

handicap people have all sorts of different needs, and to take care of them is not an easy task. those people who are taking care of them have to sacrifice a lot, and even though they know that, they continue to take care of the handicap patients.

I think that even though it requires alot of effort to take care of the handicap patients, for the sake of morality we should take responsibility and do our part in taking care of the patients. Since taking care of handicap patients requires a lot of work, shouldn't we try to make their lives better by creating a better environment for them? Everyone deserves a chance to live their life to the fullest, even if you have to endure hardships to achieve that goal.

Character Traits

I think that the Venus children did not do very well in dealing with someone who was different from them because they were not just a bit cruel to her by locking her in a closet but also they could not accept that the one person who was so different from them got to see something that they had only dreamed of seeing. I think that in reality, if we encounter anyone who is different from the rest of the "group", we should embrace that person's indifference and we shouldn't shun him/her away. What the Venus children lacked i feel was the inability to feel for Margot and, what she missed back on Earth.

But i also think that Margot was not really trying to fit in at all with the other children as not only did she ignore them and not join in with them in their games, although the children did try and include her at first, but she kept to herself and always sat on her own, not trying to be a part of the class.Not just that, but Margot was always sulking about how she wanted to go back down to Earth, and didn't try and adapt to the life on Venus.

I think she should not have done this as if she had accepted her classmate's invites to join their games, she might have been able to actually enjoy her time on Venus. also i think that if she didn't ignore her classmates, she wouldn't have been shut in the closet and deprived of her time to see the sun. what Both the Venus children and Margot should both learn to have is patience and to have acceptance towards both parties

Masses of crimson and amber-tinted clouds painted the sky as the sun waltzed in from the horizon, decorating the sparkling lake with millions of bright, dazzling rays. The warm, gentle touch of sunlight bathed the wooden boat in a shimmering array of gold. I sat down softly on the bank as the sun wrapped around me like a warm blanket, comforting me.

A golden hue glinted from the still blue water, as it mirrored the crimson sky above it. As i watched, a tiny drop of dew fell into the water with a splash, causing the perfect image of the sky to shimmer briefly in ripples of gold. I stared vacantly into the horizon as the lake calmed, displaying the serene picture once more.

I smiled. All was calm.

Are you young and Happy?

I think in some ways i fit the description of the average youth, but i also think that there are some points which i feel i am different from the rest of the youth.

I think that the figures of this survey are not very liable for one thing as i think that their sample size of 1,268 youths is way too small to make a general assumption of the happiness and life satisfaction of Singapore's youth.

Why Chinese Mothers are Superior Article

I think what I found the most interesting after reading this excerpt was how despite living in america her whole life, Amy Chua did not waver in any way with her perspective of a Chinese mother's teaching. I do think though in my perspective that although it is good to be very strict on your child so as to realise the child's full potential, but I think that what Amy Chua did was a bit "overboard".

I have had some of these limitations that Amy Chua had set for her children before, like not being able to sleepover or not being allowed to play computer games when I was younger, but unlike her, my parents did not enforce the other rules like not being allowed to choose my own activities. I do think that although it is in Chinese parents’ perspective that their child can do well academically through constant drilling of practice, in my opinion parents shouldn’t deprive children of certain aspects like for example in Amy Chua’s case, her children not being allowed to play any other instrument other than piano or violin.

Piano and violin are of course good instruments to play, but I think that there is nothing wrong with playing other instruments and it is always good to learn an extra instrument to play. In terms of grades, i tend to sway more towards the Western way of dealing with grades. Why? Grades are after all just grades. Although they are worth a lot in this world, what i think a child needs the most is encouragement to continue to persevere and try and improve on their own. Of course the Chinese way has its good points too and constant disapproval from parents can also help the child to improve himself/herself.

Overall, i do agree with some points of Amy Chua's, but i also think that a Western Parents way of teaching can also benefit a child.

the main message of my comic strip is to tell people that hard work does pay off and if you don't put in any effort into something, you can never achieve good results.

For the first frame, the setting is in a soccer field where many kids are having fun playing soccer there. I put this frame here as i wanted to show that the children are spending lots of time in the field playing soccer.

For the second frame, i changed the setting to a classroom, where some students are going out again to play soccer. I am trying to signify that the students are disregarding their studies and putting their leisure of playing soccer before their academics. I placed the empty desk and chair there to show that the chidren are leaving their studies in a corner and going to enjoy themselves instead of sitting down in class to study.

In the third frame, it shows the teacher writing down the word "Exam" on the board. Most of the children in the frame are in shock while there are a few students who quietly finish their exam. this is to show how the students who neglected their studies did not know how to do their exams and therefore were at a loss while those who studied were able to complete the exam quickly.

The final frame changes into somewhat of an office where the teacher is giving the students their marks. One student fails while the other gets an A. This is to show how people who work hard at what they are supposed to do will surely exceed those who don't. And if you keep playing and not working, you will never achieve any commendable results.

Mum, Singaporeans are very kind

I think that after reading this, i feel not just happy for the boy that he has managed to have good friends and fit in the mainstream school. I found it interesting that the Singaporean students were so much more welcoming towards the kid while the international students rejected him so much. I think that it is important to learn that it doesn't matter what problem anyone has, but we should always care for them just the same, and everything will turn out fine.

We shouldnt be influenced on pre-conceived ideas but instead to change those ideas and show that these people are just like us. It is just amazing when you see someone like that go from being all moody and depressed to enjoying every moment of his life as someone who is accepted into the community.

19/1/11 Blog Prompt

Is it better to have never known something to have known something but to ultimately lose it later?

I think that it is better to have known something and lose it later as i think that even though it is out of your reach, at least you have had the experience of seeing or feeling it. The important thing i think is to not get too attached to it, but instead to enjoy the moment, and treasure the memory, and not let it pull you down.

Take, for example love(just a example :D), a poor boy meets a rich girl, and even though he falls in love with her, he knows he cannot be with her. So instead of constantly longing for the girl, he treasures and keeps the memory of her close to him, and uses it to brighten his day sometimes.

If you have never known something, even though you may never suffer any regrets, you will also never experience the good things in life. One amazing moment is enough to last a lifetime.

"Have you ever been part of a group of people...." Blog Prompt

Have you ever been part of a group of people who were unkind to one or some individuals? what was the circumstance? How did you act? What did you feel?

i have been a part of this kind of group before, and it was a few years back acually, when i was still in primary school.The class was split up into many groups of 4 as part of a group assignment we were supposed to do. For me, i was quite lucky to get 2 of my good friends in my group, but the last group member was someone who one of my friends had a slight dislike to. This guy was quite obese, and so whenever we needed to come together as a group to discuss the assignment, we would tease him about his size and not include him in some discussions. I was actually part of the group that was teasing him, but after a while of thinking i realized my mistakes and stopped.

I felt that it wasn't really right of us to tease him about his size, and so i decided to get my friends to stop too. Only after much reluctancy did my friends also agree to stop teasing him. I thought to myself that if we didn't constantly tease him, not only would he be less affected, we might even be able to get more things done with him for the assignment.

In the end, we worked together as a group, and we did excellent for the assignment, and that guy came to be one of my good friends.

Goal Setting

Personal Goals for 2011 (English)

1. What went well for LA last year?

I enjoyed the lessons last year alot as i had a very good teacher in the first three terms, Mr Teo, and the class discussions that we had were always very active and fruitful. There was always something to talk about during class and i think it was really good that most of the class got involved in these discussions. I think that even though my grades for LA were not very good, i did learn alot of skills and learnt how to better enjoy literature as a whole.

2. What went wrong?

After a while, i did not push myself to learn and i did not do many practices to help me with my studies. I was also less enthusiastic after a while, and did not try and learn more. I stuck to the bare minimum of work and did not study frequently.

3. What is my LA target for 2011?

My target grade for terms 1, 2 and 3 is A1 so that i can be exempted from the EOYs. I also hope to learn more writing skills and analytic skills so that i can better understand the texts.

4. How do i acheive this target?

I think that through more practices like Reading Rites and more writing, i can acheive my target. I can also pay more attention in class and get help from friends who are better in LA than me.

Yay! my new blog is up! HAHAHA