At the Hospital

Today, I went to see my uncle, who was in the hospital. Unfortunately, he met with a car accident one night while riding his motorcycle and broke his hip. As a result, he has been hospitalized for a few weeks now and is still recuperating from his injuries in the accident. I went to see him today and he could barely move. Just a slight move anywhere would cause immense pain to his body and he has also lost his appetite for a few days now. Seeing him really gives me much pain in the heart and sympathy for him. A man like him, just through a blink of the eye, an accident occurred that could paralyze him for life. It was then when I truly realised how a moment in life could just change everything.

After my visit, I really understood the importance of cherishing every moment of life now because you would not know what would happen next, when you will meet with a mishap and just pass away like that. I’ve witnessed how important it is to cherish every second of life before it is too late, before we become handicapped or die anytime. After seeing my uncle in his plight, I just want to spend precious time with my family and cherish every second of my life and live life to the fullest. It is extremely important that we understand this before it is all too late.

However, what I witnessed at the hospital and took away with me from the visit is not just this. What I witnessed was the smiles on the patients’ faces. No, I am not being sadistic or whatsoever by saying that they are happy because they are hospitalized, however, there are smiles on their faces because of their family’s presence and visits to the hospital. I saw another patient, having an expression of pain and sadness when alone and lonely. But when his family came, it seemed as though he became a changed person, with smiles all over his face. It really got me thinking how a family is so important. It is able to make a break a person’s day. I realised that with the support of a family, it brings much joy to one person, no matter how pain or hurt he seems to be. This man would be a very good example, becoming extremely happy as soon as his family came to see him and bring more joy to his life.

From what I have witnessed, I really understood the importance of family and knew that I had to cherish every moment of my life with my family, before it is all too late. I really want to spend just all my time with my family and never be away from them, as family ties are the most important and you family will forever be the most faithful and truthful to you.

In conclusion, I really understand the importance of family ties and that creating a very tight family bond is very important. Families are what make a person happy or sad. Families are the most important since they are in reality, the most truthful to you, even more reliable than whoever seems to be your best friend. Thus, I feel that whenever you have the time to spare, spend it with your family, because creating a close family tie is the most important.

Stomp

Looking at my title, some of you might be wondering what stomp is all about. Before I get into specific details of my topic, I will first explain what stomp is. Stomp is a website where people write in to complain or report about any immoral actions Singaporeans are doing.

So, what has this got to do with my topic for today? Recently, some secondary four students from Hwa Chong Institution left their classroom without locking the door. Our discipline master, Mr Sung, walked around the tower block in his daily routine and he realised that the classroom was left unlocked, with the students' valuables placed on their tables everywhere around the classroom, a real temptation to many. He felt that he should teach them a lesson and went into one of the classroom and swept away all the valuables from the classroom, from laptops to ipods. For every item he took, he took a picture of it for sharing with other students on keeping their belongings well. As a result, a student felt that the teachers violated his privacy and was enraged by this and decided to post it up on STOMP to get the opinions of the general public.

I feel that this student is making too big a deal out of it. He should know that if he had not kept his valuables properly, he should have expected that his valuables would have been stolen anytime. It is his just desserts and he should have expected it all the while.

When the students realised that their valuables were lost, they thought that a real thief actually had come into the class and steal all the valuables. They were shocked and extremely frightened. Although Mr Sung had posted a message on the SMB, those people whose laptops were confiscated would not be able to check the message. Furthermore, they are secondary four students who need to use a lot of their laptops for their work. If their laptops are being taken away, how would they be able to carry on with their lessons? Moreover, their minds would be constantly thinking of their parents reprimanding them, causing them to be unable to concentrate entirely in class. When they find out that their laptops are only being confiscated instead of being stolen, obviously they will be furious and thus, posting the message out of a moment of impulse.

I think that the root cause of this incident was the lack of communication between the teachers and students. If Mr Sung had written on the whiteboard that he had confiscated their valuables and asked the student to collect it from him after school, the students might not feel that angry for thinking the entire day that their valuables were actually stolen and can only blame themselves for being so careless and accept the punishment.

However, the students should also bear part of the blame as well. They should have put their valuables away in a safer place first before leaving their classroom. Therefore, since it is their fault, they have no reason to blame the teachers for confiscating their things which were left unattended and open to the public for stealing to occur. The school provides lockers for a reason and thus the students should fully utilize them so as to prevent this incident from happening again.

I strongly disagree with the student posting the incident up onto STOMP as it not does not benefit the school but cause harm instead. It will cause the general public to think that Hwa Chong's educational system is flawed as it fails to handle this case effectively and it will affect our school’s reputation significantly. The student should have discussed and voiced out their own opinions within the confines of the school and not blow it up to the entire public, making a big hullabaloo of this incident.

In conclusion, this incident was just a small matter that should not have been made public as it would just attract a lot of attention, making it look bad on not only the school, but also on the students of Hwa Chong, as people who only know how to complain about everything and do not know how to solve things amicably with the school and not being able to realise whose fault it actually is. Thus, I feel that this student should not have acted on impulse and should have had more self-control.

Well, what are your opinions on this? Simply share with me by commenting! :)

Orchard Road Flooding

Recently, Orchard Road had a flood that caused some detrimental effects on not just the many people walking around Orchard Road or the buildings and shops there, but also the reputation of Singapore.

It has been reported in our news, not just the newspapers, but also on the television about this breaking news, that Orchard Road has been flooding. You must be thinking now, how could Singapore's most famous, bustling city, possibly have a flood? Isn't the drainage system of our country one of the top? Even so, many of you might think that the flood is nothing much and everything will be fine after clearing up everything. However, have you taken into consideration how the flood might actually affect the image of Singapore as a country and how it will affect the tourism industry of people working at Orchard Road? You have to put yourself in their shoes and consider these few aspects and not just stay indifferent as long as it does not concern you.

Don't you find it scary that such a famous place that will supposedly have one of the best drainage systems will have such a huge flood taking place? Aren't you concerned for the well-being of Singaporean citizens and the world as a whole? It is clearly evident that the amount of rainfall has constantly been on the rise, mainly due to global warming. How then do we ensure that these disastrous floods will not occur again? Aren't you worried about it? There is obviously something the government has to do to ensure that the drainage system in Singapore is improved tremendously or similar incidents will happen again and again.

However, I am relieved to see that my Facebook wall is filled with posts concerning the flooding and how shocked they are. It can be seen that students are keeping in touch with the most recent news and how they are showing concern for these flooding cases. But with that aside, the most important thing I feel Singapore should do now is to have a top class drainage system in a place like Orchard Road where there are so many people there. It is a very famous and popular place where many people go to and thus, it is important to ensure that no cases of flooding occur there at all. Orchard Road is quite symbolic of Singapore as a whole and tourists who come to Singapore normally go there. If even the iconic location in Singapore is unable to prevent flooding cases from occurring there, wouldn't it leave a very bad impression of Singapore among many people? If that is the case, many foreigners would have a bad impression of Singapore and the tourism industry would definitely be affected.

Nevertheless, with my faith in the Singapore government's efficiency, I am sure they will improve the drainage system in no time or even find a better and more effective solution to tackle this problem soon. As such, Singapore's reputation will not be tarnished and the tourism industry or the people working there would not be affected greatly as well. In the end, I believe Orchard Road will still remain as a bustling place of Singapore and remain as iconic as it has always been.

In conclusion, I hope that such floods will not happen again as it would leave a bad impression on others of Singapore. I also hope that the government would act fast to improve the drainage system as soon as possible such that these flooding cases would not repeat themselves.

Well, this is just my two cents worth on the flooding incident in Orchard Road. So what do you think about the flooding cases in Singapore? Please share your opinions on them. :)

For more information on the flooding incident in Singapore, visit the following link: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_541057.html

Discrimination Against HIV Positive Patients

Recently, I have come across many people discriminating against people with STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases), especially those like Aids. Many even take it as a joke and use Aids as a joke. However, I feel that Aids is not a laughing matter and should not be used to mock at people. Thus, I would like to share my opinions on discrimination against people with STDs like HIV.

Why would HIV discrimination be one of a hot topic in today’s society? I feel that this is because more and more people are contracting HIV each and every day, and the number of discriminating cases are getting more common and prevalent. Even so, when people contract HIV, people try to avoid these people as they see these people as dirty people. However, this is a mindset that needs to be changed.

HIV is actually a disease that cannot be transmitted through sharing saliva, etc. It can only be transmitted through sex, which is a fact known widespread. Therefore, these people should never be avoided because they are seen as dirty. The worst is when children born with it are discriminated against. They should never be discriminated against since it is natural and cannot be controlled. They should be accepted in society just like any other normal person.

Since it cannot be transmitted through other ways, why then do people discriminate against it? First, there is no cure for HIV and if it is serious, death can result from it. People with HIV are therefore seen as dirty people ill people whom people do not like to associate themselves with. Next, this topic involves sex, which is very sensitive and many immature students like to joke about it. However, are these reasons for discrimination against HIV positive people?

I feel that everyone should be responsible for his or her actions and since they did not want to have safe sex, they should bear the brunt of contracting HIV. However, they should not be discriminated against just because of this. They should still be accepted into society. Can you imagine yourself in their shoes, contracting HIV and still being discriminated and not socially accepted by others? After all, these people are humans and humans make mistakes. Don't you think they deserve a second chance? Look at the picture below. Don't you think that removing discrimination would already be a very big help to their emotional and psychological well-being?

I feel that it is still safe to interact with HIV positive people since the disease can only be transmitted through sex or blood. We should not avoid them just because we are scared of these people, but help them instead to live the rest of their lives fruitfully. Before we discriminate against them, always think, what is the point of discriminating against them? Do you feel better? Do they feel better? I feel that there is nothing to discriminate about and they should not be avoided. They are part of the Earth. They have lives. We should be kind to them and accept them, and not be so cruel to them.

Thus, I feel that the ‘red ribbon’ project is an extremely essential project carried out in Singapore. It reminds people to give the HIV positive people a second chance, and accept them into society instead of discriminating them. So I would like to emphasize my stand that I feel that discrimination against HIV positive people is not right. Instead, we should help them, encourage them, give them a second chance.
In conclusion, we should always give people chances, even if they commit a mistake, and not discriminate against them for it. So how far do you agree with me? Do you think agree with me that discrimination against HIV positive people should not be condoned? Share your opinions with me.

Result-Oriented Society

My title pretty much sums up what I will be going to talk about today. Results. Yes, many people are very result-oriented, and I admit I am pretty much one of those people. However, are results all that important?

Recently, I have already had a few tests. For these few tests, like the recent unseen poetry and mathematics test, I witnessed many of my classmates studying really hard for their tests, some even making thick, comprehensive notes for themselves in order to study in a better and more efficient way. For example, I have seen many classmates studying for their mathematics many days before and practicing a lot, even staying in class during recess to do their revision. Yes, this might be a little exaggerated, but it is true. They are willing to sacrifice their break time just to squeeze in that last bit of revision to get favourable marks and meet their expectations.

Yes, this can be said to be a very "kiasu" attitude held by these people, and it has also been a very prevalent trait in Singaporeans. Many Singaporeans are very afraid to lose and live in a very competitive society, thus putting a lot of pressure on themselves. But what for? What is the point of being so competitive? Does being this competitive help you to get better grades? Does putting this extra pressure on yourself let you obtain better grades?

This then brings me to my point with regards to Singapore being an overly-competitive society. I feel that people should not be this "kiasu" and being so result-oriented. For example, if one focuses only on their results, what is the point? I feel that one should not only be too fixated on their results, but on the character development as well. What would be the result if one does not show any gentlemanly behaviour, but has stellar grades? Would he still be able to become a successful person in the future? Personally, I feel that if you do not show any traits of being a gentleman, nothing you do in the future will succeed. The certificates are one thing, but the character is another and it is definitely much more important in the future when it comes to job interviews, etc. Thus, I feel that being too result-oriented is not necessarily a good thing, because having very good results does not guarantee you a high post in society in the future.

Next, I also feel that one should not put so much pressure on themselves by being so result-oriented. If one is too result-oriented, he would just have unnecessary pressure, which is something I admit I have occasionally. But what is the point of having this pressure? Does it help you with your grades? I do agree that putting this pressure on yourself would force you to study harder, but at what cost? You could have the grades, but psychologically and emotionally, would you be able to take the burden and pressure? Over the years, there is this sentence you hear extremely often by your teachers and coaches, "Your opponent is not your enemy, but you are your own enemy." I could not agree with this sentence more. What is the point of competing with others and giving yourself pressure? Why don't you just do your best and strive for the best by yourself, and overcome yourself instead of comparing with others. Only if you are able to do so, would you be able to study happily and carefree, constantly trying to get better grades by competing with yourself, but not so result-oriented that you would have to get the best in class for everything. This is something I have been trying to achieve all this time.

In conclusion, I feel that results are not everything. Character development is also something you need to have. If you feel that results can give you everything, you have to change your mindset. In addition, what you should aim to achieve is not to beat your friends, but instead, to better yourself every time and strive for excellence, just by studying hard on your own and not because you are trying to compete with your friends.




What are your opinions on this topic? What do you think about one being too result-oriented? Do you share the same opinions as me?

Integrity

Looking at this topic, you should already be bored. However, I feel that although this is a very common topic, it still has to be reiterated. You should already know about the importance of integrity. However, do you think that you are able to practice integrity properly? Are you able to resist all the temptation? You claim you know what is integrity, so why can't you practice it?

Integrity is an extremely important value one should definitely possess. It is part of our school's moral values in J-TIGERR, with the "I" being integrity. Having integrity is not just being a person who doesn't steal things and keep your hands to yourself. Integrity is more about being morally upright. Whenever you do something wrong, you should have the courage and honesty to admit your mistakes, face up to reality and admit whatever mistake you have. I feel that making mistakes are fine, best if it is minor mistakes. However, the worst ever mistake you can ever make is to make a mistake and not admit to it. My class has been having many theft cases since last year, and the thief is yet to be found. This shows that integrity is extremely lacking in this person, committing so many thefts and not admitting to it. The most frightening part of it is that he does it without even a blink. It is clear as when teachers ask time and time again, nobody shows any signs of regret or repent or struggle. It is almost impossible that someone can do something wrong and act like this, showing no integrity whatsoever. However, that is the case in my class.

Enough talking about my real life situation. I feel that having integrity is an extremely important thing. Integrity would not stay with you temporarily, but would follow you throughout your life. With integrity comes change, your desire to admit to your mistakes and to change. Can you imagine if you do not admit to your mistakes and drag someone else down with you when they have not done anything? Ever considered the detrimental consequences a simple action from you can make? It is extremely important to think before you act, exercising the value of integrity.

Lastly, integrity is also very important because it teaches one how to be down-to earth. If one is able to exercise integrity, then he will be an honest person. Honest people normally are morally upright and do not commit any crimes. In this way, one would not use the short-cut to gain success, through underhanded means. And this, in turn, results in inculcating a down-to-earth character in oneself. With this honesty and down-to-earth attitude, one would then be able to work himself up the rankings and eventually gain success. Thus, it is extremely vital to possess integrity.

In conclusion, I feel that if one has integrity, it would be extremely good for him. Having integrity also means being very honest. If one can have integrity, then he is able to work with a down-to-earth attitude. Even if you have made a mistake, you have to admit to it. It is impossible to hide it and if you keep hiding it, many detrimental effects would rise as a results. If you are able to practice integrity, to admit to your mistakes, you have already made a big leap to becoming a better person. The fact that you are willing to admit to your mistake, which takes huge courage, it means you are trying to change, to have the utmost desire to change and start afresh as a person with no tainted past records. If this is the case, he can still be able to change for the better and eventually become a person useful to the community and a person with a bright future, only if he decides to change before he makes another wrong move and everything is too late.

Well, what are your views on this? What do you think about the emphasis on the importance of this value?

What a holiday!

Finally, the long holiday is over. It has been a very long period of time since I last posted on this blog, since before the holidays. I hope that all of you have done what you set out to do, whatever homework, revision, gaming, anything. The holidays are the best time to do whatever you need to do. Now, I will share how I spent my holidays, having such a busy schedule despite it being the "holidays".

In primary school, when the word "holidays" comes into your mind, all you can think of is eat, play, sleep. Very few people see the holidays as a time where you will be so busy that you barely have any time to even do anything else. For me, my holidays was spent in quite a fruitful and busy way. First of all, like all other holidays, I have my waterpolo training that schedules us to train three times a week, occupying the entire morning. Furthermore, after every training session, I would already have been worn out by the strenuous training elements, falling onto my bed immediately when I get home, just wanting to sleep. However, throughout the entire holidays, it is impossible to sleep in peace. When you sleep, you think of all the work, the piles of work you have to complete by the end of holidays, and mine being reading novels and researching on war poetry. To be truthful, I procrastinated this and left almost most of the work to the end of the holidays. As a result, I always go home, knowing that I have all this work to complete, but I would have always been too exhausted to do anything, even too lazy just to get out of my bed. On other free days, I would spend those days going out, playing at home, or simply just slacking. However, from this holiday, from the way I spent, from how I had to rush everything frantically at the last moment and spending some late nights, my only piece of advise is that procrastination is bad. Seriously, procrastination will never lead to good things in this type of situations. It only gives you the psychological burden, having to think that you haven't done something throughout an entire month would make you extremely tedious as well.

Another main reason why I have been very busy during this past holiday is because of my project for Project's Day. As you should know, the semi-finals are approaching really soon and most of the project work should already have been done. Doing two projects, I had to carry out the necessary research and experiments for both projects since both involve scientific procedures. One of them, I had to be present in the lab only once, which was the entire afternoon. However, for the other project, it involved many protocols that I had to do, and they were extremely time consuming, honestly. I took many afternoons doing these protocols and preparation work and it spanned over the entire holiday. I really hope that both these projects can go far since we have really put in a lot of effort for both projects. However, still, if we cannot go far, it might just be fate and we have to live with it and face reality.

Well, this kind of sums up my entire June holidays and how I spent it. Although I got some work done, I am still not contented with the way I spent it. I should not have procrastinated so much and left everything to the last. It is a bad habit and I have to change it. Moreover, I should have used my holidays in a more fruitful manner, getting some revision done as well, instead of leaving everything to the last minute. So, how did you spend your holidays?

LA June Holidays Assignment

Now, I will be doing my other assignment, which is to discuss the effects of war. My teacher instructed us to either read or watch war novels or movies respectively. Not being a fan of reading, I decided to choose the latter. I watched the famous war movie, "Saving Private Ryan". To be frank, it was one of the most grotesque movies I've ever seen. The gory, bloody scenes are very disturbing and I cannot imagine placing myself in one of those soldiers' shoes, watching your own friends die right in front of your very eyes, at the risk of being killed, and killing others. I can imagine just how traumatising this would be if I were there. Right from the very start, we are already introduced to the horrifying scenes of the cruelty of war, where the Germans kill the Americans at Omaha Beach. In on of the attacks, three of the four Ryan brothers in the movie were killed, showing how one war could ruin an entire family. How easy it is for all to get killed. After the small journey just to save the last Ryan, 2 out of the 8 people in the rescue team survived, with the leader being one of them who got fatally wounded. This just shows how easy men can lose their lives just for saving a man in a war. In the end, the leader died as well while Ryan survived and got home. This movie shows us the cruelty of war and the risks involved in it, so is it worth it having the war? Personally, I feel that it is not worth it having a war, thinking of all the negative consequences a war would result in. I do not understand why people cannot settle their disputes amicably and must always resort to violence. War would be the last thing on my mind to settle a dispute or conflict. Besides, war doesn't settle everything, it only makes the problem go away for the time being, with the winner being the last man standing, but there won't be an agreement reached ever. Rather, war increases the number of problems, causing such great damage to society. Thus, I believe war should not be introduced at all.

From the movie, we can thus infer some impacts of the war, as well as other kinds of impacts from witnessing the wars happening in other countries right now. This brings me to my task of crafting a mind map with the effects of the war. Hence, I append my mind map below.




Take a look at my mind map. Do you think there are more types of impacts in a war? Do you think having a war can solve all the problems? Share them with us.

LA June Holidays Assignment

One of our assignments for the June holidays is to read the book, "Merchant of Venice", by the renowned William Shakespeare. After reading the book, we are supposed to make a mind map on the plot of the book. This book is a play, a romantic comedy. After reading the book, I find the plot very interesting, having a twist in the end. The characters are extremely dramatic and it pokes fun here and there. Being the first play I have ever read, this gives me a very good impression of plays, making me more interested in drama and plays. Well, of course it is expected since it's by the great WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. So below I append my mind map.

Take a look at my mind map and enjoy it! :)

Home Learning Task 2

Rainbow Death

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

Point of View --> First-person.
Unbiased / Candid / Truthful
Evidence:"America did not foresee / Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
"Expecting others to pay a high price. / Now thinking twice?"
"Nefariously America led astray"
"Execrable effects of agent orange spray"
Elaboration: The poet is an American who fought for America in the Vietnam war. However, here he says that America makes a mistake, being "led astray". He also sets this poem after he himself has experienced the effects of Agent Orange, and is very infuriated by it. Hence, we can tell that this is an unbiased and truthful point of view, not siding with his own country, saying that there is nothing wrong.

Situation and Setting --> In a war, the Agent Orange had been used and the effects are dire, to both sides fighting the war. In this poem, the poet feels emotional for the use of Agent Orange after seeing the aftermath of the usage of it. He clearly feels that Agent Orange should not have been used as it causes great damage to both sides in the war, and the damages affect not only his generation, but subsequent generations as well, being born with defects, etc. In a sentence that covers it all, it means that the war doesn't end even when it is said to have ended. In simple words, it means the damages done in a war carries on even after the war is said to have ended.

Language and Diction --> Oxymoron
Emphasis or words
Evidence: "Rainbow Death"
"Death potpourri"
"Nefariously America led astray"
"deceit"
Elaboration: The usage of the title, "Rainbow Death", is an oxymoron. Rainbows normally connote something joyous and positive, but it is put together with "death", making it an oxymoron altogether. It gives the reader suspense as they will wonder, a death due to a rainbow? In the end, they will realise that it is true, death due to the different agent colours.

Next, "death potpourri" is also an oxymoron. Death is used to show something negative, which is described with something solemn. However, Hubert uses "potpourri", something fragrant. He should be being sarcastic at this point, showing that death can be so colourful and pleasant, caused by the different agent colours, but it is untrue that death will be colourful and pleasant.

On the other hand, emphasis of words are used in this poem. Hubert writes the word "WILL" in capital letters. This is to place emphasis on the line itself, showing that the subsequent generations will definitely have to suffer due to the effects of the war and America's rash actions of using Agent Orange.

Lastly, Hubert displays America in a negative light, saying that America was "led astray" and that she uses "deceit". This is showing how much Hubert disapproves of America and is furious about the fact that America used the extremely harmful Agent Orange.


Personal Response

Hubert is trying to criticise America in this poem, showing how it "did not foresee" the "execrable effects of agent orange spray". He also says that America is "omnipotent and [disregards] who will mourn", showing how heartless America is, causing great harm in the war, to subsequent generations who are innocent people as well. Hubert is trying to make known to everyone how America's actions could affect the world greatly and hopes that war will not enfold again, because the war does not end when it has ended. The damages carry on to subsequent generations. He wants to show that war is nothing but harm to both sides and there is no absolute victory, because both sides will have a huge amount of suffering after a war. I personally sympathise with all the Agent Orange victims, "all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead" and that those "generations untold WILL pay". I support Hubert in feeling that America should be held responsible for this great damage done. If it was not for America, the damages wouldn't have been so dire for both sides. I feel that his main message here is to say that war is harmful and war should not occur, and I totally support his view about war, because war causes great damages and if war doesn't erupt, the world will have a much better peace and people will not be subjected to such gruesome suffering.

Home Learning Task 1

Rainbow Death

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

This poem is about America making use of a poisonous substance, "Agent Orange". The poet is saying that America used the Agent Orange, in a bid to make the enemy in the war suffer, but in the end, it backfired and the Agent Orange was used against herself. In the end, both sides of the war gets affected and it causes negative impacts, like how Agents "Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri". This Agent Orange affects not only the generation itself but the future generations as well, when he said that "generations untold will pay". In this poem, the poet, Hubert Wilson, is trying to say that in war, it causes great damage and the damage will never be only to one side, but to both sides. And when the damage is done, it does not only affect on generation, but the damage can carry on for many subsequent generations. The conflict depicted in this poem would be how America's plan backfired and caused great harm to herself, being "nefariously... led astray", and how the damage done will carry on to subsequent generations. This conflict shows that there will always be damage done to both sides involved in a war and that a war is not over even when it is over because the damages of a war will carry on even after the war has ended.

Now, to understand better what the poem actually means and why the poet would write this, we have to first look at his background information.

He is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service. He, along with many others, prepped for about 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, before anticipating being sent to Vietnam or elsewhere in Southeast Asia in 1970. About half ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. The rest of them were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron, a more contaminated environment than Da Nang.

His health problems started with unexplained headaches and limb pains. His central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinson type tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains, etc. No physician has ever diagnosed the specific illness. His number one educated guess is the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during his year there as an intelligence analyst. Organo-phosphate toxins may not run their toxic course until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure.

According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.

From 1962 to 1971, Agent Orange was by far the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the herbicidal warfare program. During the production of Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, and Green) dioxins were produced as a contaminant, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed.

Hence, this poem was written because he personally experienced the feeling of being attacked by Agent Orange and how it could affect not only the original target, but you yourself as well. He is aware of these harmful consequences of war and hopes that war will stop because it will affect the subsequent generations as well. The title suggests how harmful war can be, causing "Death". "Rainbow" symbolises Agent Orange, Purple, Pink, Green, etc. These agents are what caused the death and harmful consequences of many, and the poet is showing that war is harmful and it never ends when it ends because the damage will carry on even after the war.

Global Warming -- Is it that Pressing an Issue?

Hey guys. I'm back. Today I am doing this extremely important topic on global warming. As most of you might know, global warming is become an important issue these few years. However, is it as important an issue as it seems in the newspapers and reports?

You might have seen advertisements or posters or even heard from your friends or teachers to perform the 3 Rs, Reuse, Recycle, and Reduce. Let me give a brief introduction on what these three Rs are about. Reuse. What does it really mean? It is to tell you that instead of using a new item everytime, you can reuse it if it doesn't cause much harm. For example, toothbrushes can be reused until a certain period of time. Recycle. When you use something and find no more use of it, you can recycle it and the material can be made into something else for another purpose. As for reduce, we have to reduce the usage of natural resources as we have a depleting supply of natural resources, with the only resources coming from imports.

Why then, are we asked to preform these 3 Rs. It is important to know the importance of these 3 Rs so that there is no wastage of materials in this world. For example, plastic is not biodegradable. This means it takes a very long time for plastic to be removed from the world, maybe a few thousand years. Therefore, instead of wasting our plastic by throwing them away time and time again, we can actually use the plastic for other uses by recycling or maybe reusing, unless you want a plastic filled world.

However, this is not the main focus of my topic today. My topic is about global warming. Global warming is when the world temperature is increasing, causing dire consequences, such as the melting of ice bergs and glaciers. How is this going to affect us then? Once the ice melts, it turns into water and soon, the Earth will be covered in nothing but water. Then, we will have nowhere to live. You might think that that will be in the future and we need not care about it now. But there is more to it.

Studies have further proven that in a few decades, the situation will worsen by a lot, and everything will turn for the worse, unless we take action now. And for those who think that global warming is in the future, can you live with this conscience? This is just irresponsibility on your part. This is an extremely selfish thinking! You should always think for your future generation because it is very important, your future generation carries your blood and maybe, your family name. You shouldn't be so heartless to leave them to die.

Hence, the main gist of this post is that, global warming is a pressing issue which can cause dire consequences in no time. If it isn't controlled, the world coming to an end will be within a few decades. The only method to solve this problem, to me, is global cooling. But as far as I know, technology and science have not proven this theory yet. Thus, I plead with all of you to start performing the 3 Rs, in order to slow down the process of global warming, so that there is still time for technology and science to think of ways to solve this problem, hopefully.

Smoking

This was the topic which I did for my Chinese current affairs session. Smoking. There are many smokers around the world. They do it for many reasons, despite the negative impacts smoking has on people.

Smoking causes many health problems. It may result in lung cancer. Smoking causes you not to be breathing in fresh air, but all the smoke and polluted air. Cigarettes contain tar, the substance which is present on the roads where cars drive over everyday. Can you imagine them breathing in tar? These people are actually smoking tar. Knowing this makes smoking seem disgusting, I know. But why then, do people still smoke?

People should have been educated that smoking causes many health problems, in the heart or in the lungs. Even if they don't know about the health problems about smoking, the cigarette packet is always there to deter people from smoking. It shows disgusting images of the result of smoking, dirtied teeth and many mouth ulcers, etc. However, why do they want to smoke? There are many reasons why they smoke.

First, cigarettes contain nicotine in them. Why is knowing this fact important? Nicotine is addictive. Many people have never tried smoking before and they want to try once, thinking that it would be harmless. But little do they know the nicotine inside is addictive. One puff is all it takes, one puff and you can be addicted. If you smoke and you don't know how to control, the addictive nicotine in it makes you addicted to smoking. And once addicted, you never stop and continue to smoke.

Next, people smoke because they think it's the "in" thing. They feel that the cool people smoke and therefore, they should learn from them and take up smoking as well. They want to be part of the cool clan, so that they have status, although they are aware of the dire consequences smoking might lead to. This can be categorised under peer pressure. People smoke because of the pressure they undergo from their friends. They also feel that smoking is a thrill. They can get to play with the smoke and they think it is cool, but little did they realise their health is actually at danger.

Smoking is an expensive activity. One packet can cost up to $10. However, when the youngsters realise in the adult years, it is already too late because they are already addicted to smoking. Others realise their health are deteriorating but it is just too addictive. One example would be my grandfather, smoking for many decades and in the end, suffering heart problems and had to be hospitalised. He did not take the initial warnings to quit smoking seriously because he did not expect one day, he would fall because of smoking. However, it was too late when he realised it as he had already fallen sick. Now, his illness would relapse from time to time.

My main point in writing this post is to say that smoking is bad. Smoking has many negative impacts on people and you should realise that from young. If you only realise that when you're old, it would be too late already and coming to regret it only when you fall ill would be a little too late as well.

Family Ties

Ok. So I was watching the Star Awards on television just now. I witnessed the many celebrities going up the stage, collecting their prizes, and making their "thank you" speech.

Looking at them and listening to some of their thank you speeches, I noticed that the speeches were mostly talking about spending a lot of time and effort in filming. For the celebrities with kids, they will say that they have spent so much time filming that they have no time for their families and kids. For the married couples, I really take my hat off them for being able to be both celebrities and have a child at home. I feel that many of them have no time for their families and this might cause a strain in their relationship ties. I really wonder how they cope with such a busy schedule but still have to spend time with their kids. This brings me to my topic about family ties today.

There are many celebrities who are couples and they spend most of their lives filming and being in our television screen for our entertainment. Some of them spend so much time filming and performing for us that they actually even forget to spend that time with their children. As a result, they neglect their children. This has become an increasingly important problem in our society nowadays. Many people spend time working and working. They leave the house early in the morning and come home in the wee hours, like many celebrities, having to go out and film or record, even going for interviews. Some children don't even get to see their parents everyday. As a result, when the parents are with the children, it becomes awkward and the atmosphere would be very tense.

What parents nowadays are not able to see is that children need their attention. They crave for their parents' care and attention, because they need it. They want their parents to cane them or scold them, but not parents who don't even see them or talk to them often. They become neglected children who just need the love showered on them. Parents become workaholics and they think that by providing well for their children, they are doing their role as parents and their children will be happy. But obviously, they are wrong. As a child, I know that what children crave most is their parents' support and care. They need guidance so as to determine the direction of their path. Without the direction, chances are more likely that they will take the wrong path and mix around with the bad company.

Because children want the attention so much, they commit crimes like vandalising or robbery just because they want the thrill out of it and the attention from their parents. It is always then, that the parents realise their children are taking the wrong path and are mixing around with the bad company. However, it is too late as their children will be given a record. Parents should realise as soon as possible, even better before they become parents themselves, what children really want, not wealth, but the care and love. This way, they will be able to satisfy their children's needs better.

What I am trying to say here is, parents should not be too preoccupied with their work and neglect their own children. Once their children are neglected and if they take the wrong step, everything would go wrong and the consequences would be dire. Therefore, I want to tell parents that they should always show care and concern for their children because these are what their children really want. But of course, it should not be overdone too. What do you think, readers from all over the world?

Smiles

Today I witnessed a usual sight every week. I was in the MRT station because I was on my way to tuition. As I walked out of the MRT, I saw a man making a living just by playing his guitar and singing songs in the MRT station. Every week, I would see him. He would be diligently playing the music. A week without him there would feel weird to me. As usual, I asked myself the same few questions.

I looked at the man. Why would he want to make a living this way. I saw the many commuters of the MRT walking past him, although enjoying his music, but did not make the effort to reach out into their pockets to retrieve just a dollar to donate to him. Since this man could not earn so much, why would he want to do this? Why did he want to do something which could not earn much? Is it because this is something he enjoys? Is it because he is trying to earn just a bit of money to help his family? Or is this just because he has no other choice or path to take? I looked at him again. He was perfectly normal, and could sing. However, why was he here. What is he doing here all day long just playing his music and getting money? Was this his only job? Or is this just a scam beggar? I asked myself time and time again, what is this beggar's main aim? What was his background? Many question marks filled my head, but they all faded away when I saw what unfolded next.

A girl, about 6 years old, took a dollar from her dad and donated into his donation box. The man smiled and said thank you to her. She smiled and I could tell that made her day and she was extremely thrilled by the fact. She skipped off to her father and was jubilant to tell her father that the man smiled and said thank you to her. I was extremely shocked at that moment that such a thing could actually make people's days. Then, I could have a better guess why he wanted to choose this path although he seemed such a normal person.

It was not because he was poor. It was not because he had nothing to do. He did this with a purpose. I believe that one of the minor reasons which could be possible is that he wanted some side money. But this could not be possible because he didn't look too poor. I believe the main aim of him being here is to bring joy to people. It is to bring smiles to the public. And by doing so, it can make people's days. He doesn't want the money, but if he didn't take the money, he had no reason in being there and he couldn't tell if he was bringing joy to others. I believe this was just a side income. He couldn't possibly be living on this because I believe he doesn't earn a lot from this. Many people do not donate, including me, because we are selfish and too simple-minded to go into the further step to try to comprehend the goodness of this, that is to bring joy to our lives with music, and not because he wants to earn money from this, not because he wanted the money so easily. I was extremely touched by this and donated a dollar.

It is these small things that bring joy to the world. These small things bring happiness. You guys might call me stupid, call me and idiot, why would I be thinking this way. Why would I donate to some guy who might just be a scam, that he was not actually very pitiful. But do beggars really have to be defined in that way, that they can only do this for money because they are pitiful and poor? This is being unfair to such people as they want to bring joy to our lives as well. It is very unfair to say that beggars can be defined as a scam or not. A scam where the beggar is already rich and want to earn easy money. Actually, such people are just like singers. Singers also earn our money through concerts. This man, for example, would be a form of a concert, but a small scale one in the MRT station. And you can choose whether you want to give them money, but their main aim is to bring smiles to you. If you say that rich people who do this are swindlers because they want to earn easy money, then you might as well say that the singers are all swindlers as well.

In conclusion, I feel that smiles and joy can be brought to this world just by such small things. And I believe in the goodness of people, that they want to bring happiness to the world. What are your views on such people who get money from singing or playing the guitar?

Rugby Match Gone Bad

If you guys have been reading the papers, this piece of news shouldn't be new to you at all. At the B Division finals of the rugby competition, ACSI and SAS athletes from the rugby team were found to be fighting on the pitch right after the final whistle. Many people then became involved in the fight, including parents, etc. In the end, many players were found to be injured badly by the fight. For example, Leonard Wee, a player from ACSI, suffered facial injuries after being punched.

Now, you might seem to be showing pity for Leonard Wee. However, if you looked at the full picture, you must know that it was Leonard Wee who started the fight, insulting one of the SAS players.

Leonard, calling one of the SAS players a loser, should be blamed and rather, not pitied at all. He insulted the SAS player at such a horrible time, right after the match when the SAS player must have been feeling dejected and depressed. It was really stupid of him to be doing that at that time when the SAS player was already so emotionally-distressed. By insulting him further and even insulting his mother, he only made things worse as the SAS player would be infuriated and filled with rage, wanting revenge and therefore, starting such a violent scene. Leonard should really have thought twice before he spoke because what he spoke really caused a great impact to the whole situation and dragged so many other people down with him, resulting in a large scale brawl and so many people suffering injuries.

However, I also feel that the SAS player should be partly blamed for this. I understand how one would feel right after losing a competition in the finals, sad and disappointed. What's more is that you have to bear the emotional hurt from the other school when he insults you and your mother. The SAS player should have controlled himself and found other ways to try and report the ACSI guy instead of losing his cool and starting to beat up Leonard. I know how hard it is to control your temper at such a time but even so, you have to. Or else, if you start the fight, bad things will follow and the incident here is a perfect example. If the SAS player was just able to control himself during that split second and not act rashly, maybe this brawl would not have broken out and this would not result in the sheer bitter rivalry between both schools' rugby teams.

For me, I have been hurled at with verbal abuse before, sometimes, I know it is really hard to control. But still, you have to control. I understand that if you just so happen to make that false move and start out with a fist, a brawl will happen, a street fight will unfold and only bad things will happen.

In conclusion, I feel that people should watch their words before they say anything. Even if they say anything, you should always control yourself and don't fall into their trap by getting angry, if not you have lost the battle against yourself.

Friendship

Friendship. It is defined as the state where two people are friends. But this brings us to another issue. What are friends? To me, friends are seen as two people communicating with each other, recognising each other and acknowledging their presence. However, friendship is not as simple as it seems. There are two sides to friendship, one being positive while the other, negative. There are true friends and bad friends. These two different types of friends are really extremely different and worlds apart.

True friendship are those that include friends who are of no negative influence to you, but only positive. They influence you only in positive manners. For example, a true friend would actually help you in areas they are better than you. They will find all ways to help you whenever they can and are do not mind sharing all of their knowledge with you. They are of positive influence to you. And you reciprocate their kind intentions by helping them whenever you can as well. With this, you friends are helping each other constantly and influencing each other positively. True friends are also friends who are really honest with you, giving you their true comments. They are not shy to tell you that your way of doing things is wrong. However, when doing so, they take into consideration your pride as well, applying the most tactful manner to tell you so that they do not hurt your feelings. This, to me, is what true friendship is, influencing each other positively.

On the other hand, there is an artificial type of friendship. This type of friendship is seen almost everywhere among many people. These friends take advantage of you and use you to commit crimes. They are the givers of the ideas while you are the strength to fulfill their wishes, without you even knowing that they are using you to do the wrong things. Artificial friendship are those that gives you a negative influence on your life. Many people even tell you the wrong things, in hoping that they mess up your life while theirs would be successful. This type, is what I call artificial friendship.

In life, you never know when the friendship you have with your friend is true or artificial. It is by the instinct that tells you so. You can choose to trust your friend, but you can also choose not to. It is all up to you to how you want to view your friend, whether they are reliable or not. It is up to you to view your friend, whether they look truthful to you and whether you want to trust them or not.

My purpose of writing this is because in life, there are many friends you can have, but having a true friendship is very rare. So, whenever you have a friend, you must always be wary of them, but of course, being too suspicious is also not healthy for your friendship. Take me for example, I have friends too. But I don't know which ones are true friends. Some "backstab" you while others truly mean well. However, you never know what they are thinking. The only way to make a friendship true is to choose to trust them. But on the other hand, being too gullible is not good as well.

In conclusion, true friendship does not come by easily. If you have a friend who treats you and is better than others, accept them as your true friend and get close to them, because if you lose him or her, you will regret it for the rest of your life as no replicas of them will ever appear in your life again.

P.S. Maybe you could tell me about your experience with your friends?

Risks -- Unavoidable Part of Your Life

Everyone takes risks in their lives, whether they want to or not. Risks are not very appealing to many people, however, they take them at many instances. Some risks taken have dire consequences, while others have positive ones. Risks are unavoidable in everyday life and nobody can possibly evade them. Many times, people understand the risks involved in whatever they do, the repercussions, the possibility of something backfiring, but they still do them when they have the confidence in succeeding.

For instance, risks are taken in academical instances. Everyone takes risks in their daily homework without even knowing them. When they do their homework, they will think of the possible answers to the question and answer them. At this point of time, they have inevitably taken a risk. Risk in the sense that they do not know the answer to the question, so they are in a sense taking a risk by answering it, since they might make a mistake. However, this type of risks are necessary to take because if they don't, they will also take the risk of getting scolded. At this instance, you are faced with two risks you need to take. Therefore, people will definitely go for the risk which causes less dire consequences, that is answering the question and take the risk. This type of example is an uncontrollable type of risk that everyone has to take in their lives.

Another type of risk is one where you get a choice whether or not to take a risk. An example would be in class. When the teacher asks a question, you have the choice whether or not to answer it. By answering it, you are actually taking a risk. I feel this way because when I answer a question, I am constantly under the pressure that my answer would be considered stupid and my classmates would laugh at me, giving me peer pressure. But if you choose not to answer, you are actually not taking a risk. Another example would be when you are choosing a CCA. When choosing a CCA, you know that every one of them consists risks in them. For example, my CCA, water polo, has risks in it. I am aware of them and it is a decision made. I am constantly at the risk of getting scratches or being hurt when playing the game. However, I made this decision.

These are just minor instances of risk taking activities. Major ones would be those which include life and death. Everyone would have at least taken a risk in their lives. Some might be major ones which could affect them drastically while some will be minor ones which do not affect them much. Nonetheless, whether the risks taken are major or minor, there will always be something to motivate you to take the risk. For me, I took the risk and joined water polo because I had the burning passion in that sport. I enjoy playing water polo and this motivated me greatly to take the risk and join water polo.

In conclusion, what my main point is, is that everyone would have to take risks in their lives. And whether the risks taken would be able to be overcome is all up to them. Risks are normally taken when they are motivated by something. With this, I end this post and by posting this, I am actually also taking a risk because what I say may not be appealing to everyone and I might be condemned for an illogical post, if you feel this is one...

Spirit Like No Other

Today marks the day of the end of the high school Water Polo Championship. I saw what true water polo is today and it really gave me a complex understanding to water polo. Water polo is not about the technique or the swimming, oh well guess it might be, but today, I finally understood what my seniors always meant when they say, "Go down there and play like there's no tomorrow."

I went to watch the B Division water polo championship today between HCI and ACSI. At the preliminary round, HCI lost to ACSI 6-2. With this result, it seemed as though ACSI were the favourites to beat HCI in the finals, already proving their mettle. ACSI were all extremely fit swimmers and there was no doubt their team was one of the best in Singapore. With all these factors, ACSI were extremely confident of winning.

However, HCI, not being wavered by the preliminary performance, went to CCAB with high spirits, knowing that if they worked doubly hard, they had a chance, and that chance wasn't a small one, that they could just well walk away with the gold. Furthermore, with the fact that HCI has had a drought of the B Division gold, my seniors really wanted to place their names in history to be the batch to break the drought. In addition, the supporters for HCI was really awesome, cheering their hearts out, not minding to break their vocal chords. They were really great, supporting as best as they could, and with their vocal support, it overwhelmed ACSI till ACSI's drums and props which were used for support instead of voices, was nothing compared to us. With these great motivations, there was really a urge and a craving in them to snatch the gold.

ACSI, with their victory over HCI in the preliminary round, thought that this would be an easy fight, but they were proven wrong, when HCI took the lead over ACSI with 2-1 in the first half. It was really a very tough fight, with ACSI taking the lead several times, but HCI really wanted the gold and fought really hard, when the centre back did his best to snatch as many balls as possible, fighting so hard, but unfortunately got a permanent sack, having collected three sacks. HCI did not back down without a fight, they persevered, defended and attacked. They equalised many many times and the score was finally tied at 4-4 in the last quarter. Heartrendingly, with about a minute or so left, ACSI put in a shot and made the score 5-4. And that was the final score, with ACSI grabbing the gold. At this moment, everyone in HCI were heartbroken, inside all of us, we knew we emerged the better team, but were unlucky that we lost. The entire water polo team was in low spirits, but we still congratulated the ACSI team. This sportsmanship was something every athlete should equip themselves with no matter what sport you play.

When I saw the rough fights in the pool, the sweat, the pain from the tough match and the scratches they endured, I was really emotionally moved by this scene. It seemed as though all the blood they bled, all the perspiration they sweated out, they all went down the drain, but in our hearts, we know who was the better side.

In particular, I noticed the B Division vice-captain. He had a medical history, and almost had to stop water polo. However, he persevered, with the support of his teammates, and he came back to play. He could well be said the man of the match, playing extremely hard for the team and snatching many balls from the opponent. The effort he put in although he almost could not play water polo anymore. I saw his chest, with scratches on it, and blood oozing out, but I could tell he didn't mind all this anymore, he was only heartbroken about the loss, because he really gave it his best and felt that they should have won the match. But at this time, it was all over and what's done was done. They accepted it and moved on, although it would be etched in their minds for eternity. At that time, I could really feel that sense of being in a team, that in a team, there was no blaming each other. You rise as a team, and you fall as a team. This time, they fell as a team, but they were able to pick themselves up and present themselves in front of their supporters to thank them. It was really a true spirit of athletes.

I really felt sad at that time and comforted them. Although they lost, I have never seen a fighting spirit like theirs before. It was extremely impressive and I aspired to be like them when I become a senior myself. Since they couldn't break the drought, it would be up to us to demonstrate and see if we can break it.

Lastly, I would like to talk about the purpose of this post. The purpose is to show that no matter what happens, whether the odds are stacked against you or not, you must never feel demoralised and should go all the way, not backing down a single bit at all. You should have the fighting spirit and determination to fight all the way. Because, you never know the result of a match till it's played, everyone has an equal 50/50 chance of winning the match. So, can you'll discuss with me what feelings have you'll felt when you lost or won a competition?

A New Beginning

Today marks a new beginning for several things. Today is Wednesday, 24th April, a day memorable to me. I will be listing out the several issues that happened today.

Firstly, yesterday was my finals for the National Water Polo Championship 2010, C Division. Before we went down to play, I will be honest with you, I was feeling quite nervous, as it was my very first time playing at the Finals of the water polo competition. The match was against ACSI, a strong rival of my school. At the preliminaries, we lost to them 8-3, with ACSI then moving on the emerge victorious in the rest of their matches and proceeding to the finals. For us, because we lost, if we wanted a secure position in the finals, we had to win the rest of the matches. I became quite nervous as Raffles won ACS(Barker) by almost the same margin as we did. However, we did emerge victorious against Raffles and proceeded on to the finals, much to my relief and satisfaction. At the finals, I can say that I fought hard in the pool, and of course, with the help of my teammates, the score in the first half was 2-1 in favour of ACSI. However, we started to let in free men and counter breaks in the second half where ACSI increased the margin and finally the match ended with 10-4 in favour of ACSI. Although the margin is quite big, I feel that we have really tried our best to win this competition, but I have to admit that the other side was fitter in terms of stamina, enabling them to win us by such a huge margin in the second half. However, today marks a new beginning for my water polo life, being able to fight for the B Division gold next year, ending the drought for more than a decade!

Next, it is a new beginning for all of the students in Hwa Chong. This is the start of the new term, for everyone to start mugging for better results in the new term to pull up their results from term 1. In addition, it is also a new beginning for Hwa Chong as Founder's Day just passed and the celebration was today. I was helping out as a councillor and did not attend the CIP my class had to do. I helped out at the College auditorium where all the awardees collected their prizes. My brother was one of them, being an ARE winner. Watching them go up one by one, especially my brother, it really inspired me that I could be one of them, if I worked hard year after year. They really inspired me, especially my brother. Therefore, it's a new beginning for my school, having another year and more years to go by. It is also a new beginning for me, my journey to strive for excellence.

In fact, it is not just this day that marks a new beginning for everyone. Everyday is a new beginning for everyone. It just depends on how serious people treat their days. Everyday, there is a chance, a new hope that something good might happen. And what happened yesterday, whether good or bad, is now history and it is no point thinking about it. Therefore, the last message I would like to say to my friends are, no matter what happened yesterday, whether you lost a competition, whether you failed your exams, whether a tragedy occurred, life moves on. There will be better things ahead of you. There will be a better tomorrow.

Believe. Confidence. Success.

Before I begin my post, please take a look at the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X6_KJeDioY&feature=PlayList&p=D58D5A9C6B3098E3&index=52

Are you intimidated by the gladiators shown in the video? If you are already intimidated, how about going up close with them and battling with them in various events? Will you immediately back out of the competition?

Well, to the competitors in the American Gladiators, they are willing to give all they have to fight with the gladiators and pull through the entire event just for the pride and prize. I am sure the prize money of $100,000 US dollars does tempt the competitors, but I feel that the pride to win and the true interest in overcoming various challenges and feats do make them want to win this and really fight their way through to win this. Many competitors have participated. Many have failed. Many have encountered many setbacks. Many have went through various challenges just for the gold. But only one will remain standing strong on the podium, only one will bring back the gold of $100,000 US dollars.

Who then, will eventually win the prize? I feel that this game is more of mental than physical. If you go head to head with the gladiators, the immediate feeling will be, "This guy is so big! How do you expect me to win him hands down?" I feel that it is natural for people to feel this way. In order to win this competition, I feel that mental strength is the most vital factor to win this competition. Without the basic mental strength, where will you get the boost to win this competition? Without the confidence, nothing will be possible. It is all in the mind, the mindset.

I was watching this show just now. Before every event, the gladiators will say some mean and intimidating words to shake you off your feet and lose even the little confidence you would have. I could see the fear in the competitors' eyes, especially one of them. However, before the event, he said some confidence-boosting words to himself and to the camera. I believe these words were really the vital ones and he finally managed to conquer all difficulties in the event and reached the final spot by the designated time, even overcoming the gladiator in the end. This is really a tough feat to overcome if not for his confidence level. This really motivated me a lot and showed me that with will comes great power.

In the show, what I remembered the deepest were two sentences before the grand finale of the competition by two separate contestants. They are, "Get back up! Do not give up without a fight!" and, "Half the size, twice the heart." These two sentences really motivated me greatly in showing me the confidence level the competitors had to finally overcome the various challenges. The first sentences is to explain that you have to be determined and should not give up if you haven't even tried, but feel contented only when you have given it your best. The second sentence is to show that although you might be on the disadvantage physically, you should have the great mental strength to face this competition. These two sentences were apparently said by two separate competitors in the grand finale. I believe that this mindset was what brought these two great competitors to the finale and fight for the gold.

Why did I want to write this post then? Is it just purely because of teaching people morals? No. This is because I would like to motivate myself and also to motivate others, especially my water polo teammates who are currently going through the nationals. No matter what you do, just know that you have to have the confidence. What I am trying to say to my teammates is, be confident, treat every game seriously, with the mindset that you can bring home the gold. But also, no matter what we get, just know you have done your best and be contented. Working hard in the future will definitely pay off. This is just the exposure and we are still learning. If you think you will lose even before the match, the match is a goner. Just do your best and work hard. Last but not least, nothing is impossible! So, to all my brothers out there with me in the war, work hard and we are fighting not as one individual, but as a team and we have to support each other through thick and thin, hopefully bringing home the gold in the end!

Multiple Intelligences Test

My multiple intelligences profile clearly shows that I am more inclined toward the interpersonal and math-logic intelligences. However, for my previous assignments, as I was not able to do on math-logic, next would then me linguistic. I feel that this is quite a good depiction of myself as I feel that it is true. Through this test, I learnt more about myself and I do recommend you to take this test as well. With this, I have an extremely vital task which I need you to help me with. It is none other than helping me to see if this test is an accurate depiction of me and whether I interpret them correctly! Now, I will be discussing about some of the intelligences.

Firstly, I have a very high math-logic and I could not agree with this more. I am not trying to be boastful, but I feel that my maths is my strongest subject and I have always gotten high grades for it, with a few exceptional and accidental slips due to a little complacency. I feel that math is a very enjoyable subject, where practice makes perfect. It is also true that once we know the formula, it helps to make everything so much simpler for us. This explains why my strongest point is in math-logic.

Next, I will be talking about interpersonal skills. So what is interpersonal? As the name suggests, it pertains to the relations between people. I feel that this is actually quite accurate. I am able to guess what people want. I am able to guess what people are thinking. I am able to guess what they are going to do. These are traits of a person with interpersonal skills. It best describes me as I am able to guess pretty well what other people really want. In several cases, I was able to guess what people are thinking and act according to the situation. I am able to understand people's emotions and see why they are feeling in this way. This has occurred to me several times. Thus, I would be glad to say that I am strong in interpersonal skills.

Lastly, I would like to post on my weakest intelligence, kinesthetic. Why then, some of you might be wondering, is my kinesthetic level so low but yet I am able to join water polo. I don't know about this sharing of mine but some of you might find it illogical. It just seems to me that in the swimming pool, I have a better stamina than on land. I am unable to do long-distance running. That is clearly evident in my NAPFA tests. However, by joining water polo, it has certainly aided me in improving my kinesthetic level, improving my 2.4km run timings. There is a reason why I joined water polo, in fact many reasons and this is only one of them. I hope that in the future, my kinesthetic will rise up and not be like this anymore. Hence, this is the reason why I have such a low kinesthetic level.

Ok, I will not continue to blow you away with my long sharing of my intelligences, lest you find me self-centred, making such a long post revolving around nobody but me! So, now I would like to place the attention onto you readers out there! What do you think about the multiple test, if you have done, and is it a reliable and verified source? Please drop a comment!

Last but not least, I would like to recommend this test to you. It is very accurate for me and I trust it will be for you as well. You just have to answer the questions truthfully and don't cheat yourself. I mean, what is the point of even cheating in this test? It is just purely ridiculous, unless some of you might be shy of showing low intelligences and want to 保持形象? I recommend you to take this test as it really shows you your strengths and weaknesses such that you can work on them and in the end, unleash your full potentials to the fullest!

Linguistic TKAM

Imagine you are one of the characters. Deliver a speech on what you think of the above question.

Is Maycomb a good place to live in?

Character chosen -- Tom Robinson

Are you asking me if Maycomb is a good place to live in? Well, the answer is pretty obvious, isn't it? If you are thinking that Maycomb is a good place to live in, there really must be something wrong with you! Maycomb, to some people, might be a peaceful and small town which is enjoyable, but to me, well, it is in fact a peaceful town, but certainly not enjoyable! In this state, it is impossible for the citizens to have equal rights! Just take a look at me, a perfect example, being accused of having raped a woman, Mayella Ewell, just because I am black, just because I am of a different skin colour which has been discriminated against all this while. We blacks have no right to speak. We have no right to justify ourselves. We have no right to decide our fate. Finally, we suffer and get discriminated by the whites. We are not even given the chance to fight for our rights against the whites, supposedly of a higher class. What we can do though, is to suffer and just hope for a better tomorrow, which will never come.

Look at my recent case regarding the raping of Mayella Ewell. I am a handicapped person. I have a withered arm. Do you think it is even possible that I am able to rape a able-bodied girl like Mayella? This is nothing but a big fat joke! However, the jury believed Mayella's account that I actually grabbed and slapped her at the same time! How ironical is this? No righteousness and justice was served. Just because I am a black, they gave me such a sentence, a sentence to death, even when I had not done anything and could not have raped a person. How could they have such discrimination against we blacks? Aren't we just like other whites? Aren't we human beings to them?

Despite all this, I must thank a person who gave me his full support, who stood up for me, who stood for what is morally right. This person is Atticus Finch. Although he is a white, he withstood pressure from others and stood up for me, fighting for me. This display of courage is so remarkable and I am really grateful for this. Skin colour was not what mattered most to him. What mattered most is what is right, what is just and what should be done. It really took him lots of courage to do this and I really know that he tried his best to protect my rights. However, what is this place? Maycomb. The prejudice against blacks still prevail and Atticus changes nothing for me. In the end, I am bound to be sentenced to death.

In Maycomb, courageous and morally upright people like Atticus are almost extinct. People just follow the norms and discriminate against the blacks, thinking we are the lower echelons of people. We the blacks can only wait, waiting for the day when justice will be done, waiting for the day when there is equality among everyone, no matter who you are, and finally waiting for a better tomorrow. However, when will this day come? 10 years? 100 years? A million years? I think it only comes when we leave Maycomb and seek for a better environment where there is democracy and equality. Thus, I would like to reiterate my point that Maycomb is definitely not a good place to live in.