Gambling

The casino being built in Singapore is supposed to be a money-maker and job creator. However, many people have spoken against it. Talk to a parent or adult and get their view on the casino. Listen to the NPR and YouTube offerings and choose one that substantiates your viewpoint and include a quote from it as well. Your blog entry has to be at least 200 words and you must either support the casino or condemn its construction and ultimately the hardships it will cause in Singapore .

Gambling have cost lives of people and countless money,yet people still gamble.Why?It is due to their addiction.as they become a compulsive gambler,they will become a "compulsive liar"too as stated in one video.They lie to their family where they are going,lie how much they earn or lost.In the end, this addiction cost their retirement funds,life-long investment money,assets and houses.They not only hurt their pockets,but also their family members.

Now, in Singapore, a casino is being built after having the green light from the Government.Is it good? Or is it bad?It is good for compulsive gambler.But I do not support the decision of building a casino.I feel that the casino destroys lives with their long arms,tempting people to gamble.My father said however,"Building a casino is good for Singapore,it creates a lot of jobs for the uneducated, as the uneducated cannot find any job and playing in the casino as work would be easy for them,this decision will help them.It will also make Singapore much richer.Casinos in other countries have brought in huge income to the countries,having one in Singapore will attract people around the world.It would boost the tourism industry.However, makes people lose a lot of money and some may lose all their assets due to gambling.The Singapore casino has a very special feature.If you make a request no to allow a certain person in the casino to gamble as he or she is your relative ,when the certain person comes,the guards will block him from entering." However,my mother was not too optimistic about opening a casino ins Singapore"A casino should not be allowed in Singapore.Even though it may make Singapore richer,It destroys the lives of the people living in the country.People cannot resist the temptation to not gamble.Now,people still buy Toto and 4D in Singapore and people already suffered.With a casino that bets larger amounts,if the person loses,it will be the end of him. This create a lot of social problems like murder and theft for money to gamble"

In the video,Jonny W said he "started gambling at the age of 12 years old .When he first start out it was the matter of having"fun" and "hang out with my friends"Later,he found himself"saving my lunch money" to gamble"He cross the line when "(he)was in college,trying to go to school" and in college "(he)was always short of funds"and he thought he could increased his funds by going out to gamble.In the beginning,he kept winning"but (he) always wanted more"Soon he found himself"going there every night and on the weekends and every opportunity"soon,he kept losing."the more (he)lost,the more (he)wanted to return and reclaim (his) losses.In total losses,he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. He became "alienated by(his) friends"He later got a "divorce"with his wife and she took away the two children.Jonny W said"basically,I was out on the streets trying to survive,

This is a perfect example why casino should not be built in Singapore.It shows the life of a compulsive gambler and the consequences of gambling.He lost everything,House,car,marriage,children and all his money.Building a casino will increase crime rate.When people lose money in gambling,the more they wanted to gamble to win the money back,but they do not have any money left.So,they steal or kill as they cannot resist the temptation of gambling.Some gamblers have been thrown into jail because of this.Hearts will be broken as they are send to prison. I agree,casino does bring many jobs and money to Singapore and would certainly help some people like the uneducated.I believe the reason of building a casino in Singapore is to not lose out in the global tourism industry and want to create a tourist attraction. I must say this,to strengthen a country to increasing tourism by sacrificing and destroying many peoples lives,I do not think it is a good way to do it.Perhaps a little sacrifice must be made to make a country prosper.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is widely known as the greatest writer in history. His poems have spread all around the world. He is not just a poet but also a play writer. I found him very intriguing since he lived from 1564 to1616, yet his poems are able to reach today. Presently many people know about him, even I since young have heard about him. I wanted to find out why his works have been passed down for thousands of years. One interesting fact about him is he more comedies, which he had done in the earlier years, then tragedies, though they never really caught the spotlight. Who would have thought, William Shakespeare was a comedian. He is widely known for tragedies like Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. His poems are put into the play as lines for the actors. This is not really like other poets who only writes and be appreciated by others. William was able to be successful because the poems he wrote was accompanied by a play, which in my opinion would be far more interesting.

Here is a little information and back ground on William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare lived from 1564 to1616, a total of 52 years. It was a short life that influenced many as poets. Yet his poems still remain today. He has 38plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long narrative poems that have survived the test of time. His plays have been translated to each major language and they are performed more than any play writer. William was born and grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon in England. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway who bore him 3 children. He was most likely educated at the King Edward IV Grammar School in Stratford. Most of his known work is from 1589 to 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories; however, at the end of the sixteen century to 1608, his writer was at his peak and started to write tragedies.

I feel that William Shakespeare writing style of being dramatic has made his plays and poems memorable to this day.Let's take Romeo and Juliet for example. That was a story about two people, Romeo and Juliet, not able to be together to the very end. Juliet had to marry a guy named Paris. As Juliet does not want to marry Paris and cannot marry Romeo, drank a potion to kill herself after realising the marriage was forward a day. After Romeo realised her death he came rushing to Juliet tomb, buying a fatal poison. He killed Paris and drank the poison and died by Juliet's body. However, for some reason, Juliet did not die and woke up. Seeing her loved one dead, she kissed him and then she took a dagger and stab herself to death. This storyline is overly dramatic but it is because of this very reason people like it. It is a love story with a tragic ending. It is sure memorable considering the unexpected storyline. William was able to keep the people with the drama with his writing style. All the other tragedies he wrote like Macbeth, Hamlet, and King Lear have been widely known. However, this is not really the case of his comedies. He had written more comedies than tragedies in his writing career, yet not many people know about them. Even I am not sure what comedy plays he wrote. That proves my point on dramatic plays or poems have a larger impact on the minds of the audience than other genres like comedies..

These are some poems from William Shakespeare in his famous plays.

This is a short poem in Hamlet

Marcellus to Horatio and Bernardo, after seeing the Ghost,
Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
This bird of dawning singeth all night long;
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad,
The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.

This is a short poem from Macbeth

The merciless Macdonwald—
Worthy to be a rebel, for to that
The multiplying villanies of nature
Do swarm upon him—from the western isles
Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied;
And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling,
Show'd like a rebel's whore: but all's too weak;
For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name—
Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like valour's minion carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave;
Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him...

This is a short poem in King Lear

King Lear, with the Fool, in a storm
Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks!
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts,
Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder,
Smite flat the thick rotundity o' the world!
Crack nature's moulds, an germens spill at once,
That make ingrateful man!

I hope you learn to appreciate these poems. There are more wonderful poems at this site below.

Reference:
http://www.poets.org/

Picture:

http://rohrbachlibrary.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/william-shakespeare2.jpg

A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow
--You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand
--How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep--while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave
all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

The poem i chose used many hyperbole. It is an exaggerated statement to put it simply. The hyperbole is "O God!". It is used repeatedly at the last end. Also "How few!" and " weep--while weep" All these are exaggerated statements . It is to show how the subject feels at that time. The writer use hyperbole to create a clearer image of which the subject feels. "Oh god!"Portray the subject as panicky and"weep--while weep shows how sad the person really is.

The poem also used personification. Personification is a technique that gives inanimate object in the poem human traits or characteristics. In the poem , personification is used on the sand. "How few! yet how they creep." Creep is used to describe how the sand disappears from his hand. It shows the sand slowly disappears and nothing the person could do. the sand takes on a human trait which is to move slowly or creep.One more example of personification is "pitiless wave". Pitiless wave describes the wave as cruel because it wash away the sand the subject loves. The wave takes a human form of having a trait which is cruel.There is another instance where an inanimate object gains and animal characteristics. It is "Yet if hope has flown away." Hope has taken a bird's trait which was to fly. It shows hope is flying out of grasp, meaning, quickly vanishing.

I like this poem because it is simple yet it shows helplessness of the subject even though he may be in a dream. There is very good used of hyperbole. It exaggerates the subjects feeling by using "Oh God!" to describe his helplessness and panic. His description is very well done using words like "Surf-tormented"shore and "pitiless wave.Personification is used effectively to bring out the traits of the inanimate objects. It is related well to the objects. It paints a very clear picture for the reader. The focus of the storyline is the writer panic of not able to save the sand . It is clear from the hyperbole to exaggerate the helplessness. The story flows very smoothly and rhythm very much. However, the description is the part of the poem that I like the most.

REFLECTIONS ON THE FAIR FOX OF BOSTON

Fair Fox, full of grief
sailed away from the Boston shore
she wept,oh my!
For hours and hours, oh my!
Weeping!Oh her grief,
It is a leaking faucet
It is like a pouring shower, and her ship begins to sink down.
She is sinking!
But, the wind carries her tears away,
The breeze is cool and relaxing
The Fair Fox is happy
The boat is now afloat,
and her grief gown gone
Oh my!

This is a poem which my teacher wanted us to learn the techniques used in poems


How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?

Figurative language is almost used throughout the poem. The five basic techniques of figurative language which are used in the poem are Hyperbole, Personification,Metaphor, Simile and Symbolism

What is hyperbole. It is simply an exaggerated statement. It invokes emotion and an image to the poem or the reader. In the poem, the hyperbole are "oh my!', "hours and hours" and "Weeping!Oh her grief" The writer used this to create an overly grievous emphasis on the fox's grief and the sadness to fully express her grief to the reader. It relates the emotion of the poem to the reader

What is personification? It is a technique that gives an inanimate object human traits and characteristics. In the poem, personification was not used on the fox, rather it was only used once. It was "wind carries" The wind gained human traits by being able to "carry" the fox's tears. I believe in some poems, the objects in the story are not always human. I feel that the writer used personification to make the reader feel that the figure is more realistic by having much similarity to humans

What is metaphor and simile.This two techniques are very similar. They both have the same purpose but use different words. They compare seemingly unrelated subjects with or without the use of the word like, as or than. That is the difference of metaphor and simile. A simile uses the words like, as or than while metaphor doesn't. In the poem,"it is a leaking faucet" is a metaphor as there are the words "it is". The simile in the poem is on the next line "It is like a pouring shower" It is a simile because the word like is present. They both relate to her grief. The writer used these techniques to create a clearer image in the reader's mind. By relating an object we know to the fox's grief, we can clearer understand the fox's feelings and can picture the image.

What is Symbolism? It is used as a representative figure to carry additional meaning. In the poem, the "boat" is the symbol.It represents the fox's grief Why? The boat and her grief act accordingly together. When the fox is crying, the boat started to sink. When she is happy the boat stays afloat to the end.The writer used to give more meaning to an object which usually hidden from the reader

I like this poem because it is simple but a very good example of the five techniques of figurative language. It not only effectively used the five techniques but used it at the right moment. The poem flows very smoothly though it does not rhythm much. The focus of the poem which is the fox, grief is very clear. The use of the five techniques really bring out the sadness. The overly exaggerated "oh my!" relates the emotions to the reader. Especially the "leaking faucet" and the"pouring shower" really described her tears to such extent. The one of the techniques used that I never expected was the symbolism. I never thought that the boat represents her grief. The writer must have thought through a lot to relate the boat sinking to the fox grief. Though it is a simple storyline, it is the description of the tears and sadness by using the five techniques that impressed me the most.

How do you know who your friends are?

How do you know who are your true friends? Firstly, there are many types of friends around you. There are the type of friends that live off you, taking advantage of your intellect for their gain, type of friends that mingle around you because you are popular or rich or friends that truly like you for the way you are and are not hesitant to criticise your every movement. So which type are the best. Of course, the ones that criticise you are your true friends that are invaluable to you. They are the ones that will not harm you. They are the ones that like you for who you are. The most importantly, they help you in times of need.

All the other types of friends are not your true friends and should not keep them as your friends. They are the ones that use you to get what they want. They could be bad enough to lie in wait for an opportunity to harm or back stab you so they can surpass you due to their jealousy. It could be quite dangerous to have them around you. In reality, especially the wealthy kinds are prone to having this type of "untrue" friends. Many of them mix with the rich person, befriending him or her for his or her money. So usually the rich person has many friends. They sole purpose is to get their riches from them. They lie in wait for the opportunity and strike like a tiger on the prowl, very vicious and ruthless. They caused the rich person their downfall, and could even make him bankrupt. If they do not cause your downfall, these type of friends will also not help you when you are down and out. They will start to avoid you and pretend not to even recognise you. They will not spare an effort to give you and start to despise you. They would forget all the good times where you help them. That is in the working world, most of the time. So you must be wary of the friends you make and how to avoid these 'untrue" friends.

To this question, how to know who your friends are? You cannot really do much. You must see if this friendship can withstand the test of time. You must see if this friendship can tide over all obstacles. In a lifetime, setbacks are inevitable. These are the opportunities to see who your true friends. They help you, comfort you and encourage you to make a comeback. By then, most or all the "untrue" friends would have fled out of your sight. These setbacks could be a blessing in disguise. It repels the evil and attracts the good. Most cases, these setbacks strengthen the friendship.

Another way to see who are your true friends are is to listen to what they say. True friends are the ones that criticise your actions while the "untrue” ones usually praise you and let you heard what you want to hear. And most of the time, we listen to the "untrue “ones and hate your true friends that advise you for your good because we think that the ones that are" nice" to us are our true friends. This is a misconception. Those friends praise you so they can get closer to you so as to reach their goals which most likely harm you in some way. In contrast, we accept them while we turn away our true friends. To find out who is your real friend, you must listen to their words and not get carried away by their sweet talk. The ones that criticise you for your own good are your friends. You need to take note of words from your friends to see the evil intentions and good intentions. Though this could be quite hard to differentiate, this is one of the few ways to know who your true friends are.

When we have friends, it is not about the quantity of friends but it is the quality of these friends. Out of the huge number of friends you may have, own a few can be considered true friends. Though the numbers are small, you only need these few true friends. All the others are dangerous to keep them by your side. However, to know your true friends is a long and tough journey. You may even need a few setbacks to finally know who they are. No matter how hard it takes to find true friends, one thing is for sure, they are worth it.

What is happiness?

What is happiness? It is something all people wish to obtain. However, true happiness is very difficult to get. Some try all their lives to get it but they never will. Each person has their own definition of happiness. Some say that wealth can bring to them true happiness while others feel that having your family members. I feel that happiness will come when you are contended with what you have now.

Nowadays, people are more materialistic. They have the wrong idea about happiness. They thought that having a lot of money can bring them happiness by giving themselves more luxury to their life. Yes, you can say you would be happy but I feel this is only temporary. This type of happiness will not last forever. Money is not everything, it has its limitations. When the money runs out, that is when the short-term happiness ends. Also, money is used to hide the loneliness and unhappiness of some people. How do people get rich? Sometimes, they sacrifice a lot to get it. They could have severed ties with family members, break bonds with friends as they betrayed them to get rich and did many unscrupulous things to reach their goal. They have the wrong mindset that money can bring them true happiness. However, this is not so. Having to live with little or no family and friends is not happiness. It brings loneliness to the person who thought money can solve everything only to use money to escape from his unhappiness.

Yes, it is true that we still need money to get happiness but money that can help you to carry on living is enough to keep you happy. You just need to be contended with what you have. True happiness comes from your family and friends. They are the ones that take care of you, they are the ones that help you and most of all they are the ones that accompany you through good times and bad times. They stand by you through thick and thin. To have someone to love you, you will never be lonely. These people are important to you as they support and spur you on. To have their accompaniment is better than any luxury money can buy. Unlike the happiness that derives from money, this happiness last you a lifetime. Though one by one these people may slip away from you, the happy memories you spend with them will keep you happy as long as you live. Some people may have little or no family and friends but with that few true friends and caring family members, you just need to be contended with them as you will still be happy.

Although not all people will agree on my opinion on happiness, one thing is certain, happiness is something you must pursue. True happiness will not easy. You have to fight for it. No matter what kind of happiness you want, whatever money or family members, we need to work hard for the happiness we yearn for. We work hard to support our family, we work hard to earn money so we can enjoy the fruits of our labours. Do not let setbacks ruin your happiness. Although not everyone can be successful in finding their happiness, you should be contented with the things around you. Appreciate them and you too can be happy.

If many people think something is true, is it true?

If many people think something is true, is it true? Another question is if many people think something is right, is it right? These are two questions that really made me racked my brain for a while. Well, what i feel is that there is no correct answer to these questions.It can go both ways. If many people think something is right or true, it could be true or right or it could be the other way around. Let me tell you why it could be right or true. Firstly, man's judgement cannot be that way off. If a lot of people thinks is true, there must be a reason or evidence.Like when in a hawker centre, there is a huge mass of people queuing at the chicken rice stall. The stall must be good,people will think like this. Also, there is another chicken rice stall like not far away from the queue and the business is very bad. So why when two stall selling the same thing, one stall gets the business. The food sold at the first stall must be good or at least not bad for a stall in the hawker centre. People judgement cannot be that bad until they are blinded completely. However, there are times where people are so blinded that their judgement are easily swayed.

In some cases,if many people think it is true or right, it could be false or wrong. The people that just agrees with the majority, are afraid of being rejected. They want to be in the "in" group and not the outcrop. They are afraid to raise their opinions as people could laugh at them for their ideas that are different. They are scared to be rejected and afraid of the embarrassment they would face so they decide they are wrong all the time and choose to agree with the majority to avoid unnecessary trouble and embarrassment. Also there is another scenario that the people are so lazy that they do not give their opinions and just copy people ideas and agree with them. It would cause them less hassle and trouble.

There was one novel I read this year. It is about a village that cruelly stoned people to death that won the "lottery".They did it to sacrifice for their religious belief. Apparently, everyone went ahead with the "lottery" because everyone else was doing it. Many people were thinking of abolish this custom but they were afraid of being rejected,of being the outcrop. Actually many hated the "lottery" but none was willing to stand up and shout out their opinions. It just needed that spark to start the rebellion but none came because they did not want to be out of the ordinary. This resulted in many innocent lives to be lost. This is a disastrous consequence of not having your opinions and voicing them out.Though in this modern society, this would not happened . However something resembling this could arise on a smaller scale but causing as much damage.

Also, many influential people have the power of swaying the majority vote or agreement. Many people tend to side the powerful people in this society because since they have power, they are right. Whatever they say is true. People blindly follow the leaders without opinions. The powerful icons could use propaganda to make the others think something is true or what they are going to do is right when it is completely against the morals. For example in World War 2, Adoff Hitler managed to rally almost whole of Germany to conquer the world. Everyone wanted to fight though they knew many innocent lives will be lost. This is consequence of the people not able to think for themselves and what is best for them. They were blinded by the leader's words as they thought whatever he said was true. This was how the war started.

We should not follow others blindly because everyone is doing it or because a person with higher status says it is right. Everyone has the conscience to know what is right from wrong. We also have a brain to think for ourselves so we should use it. If we follow others because you are afraid to voice out opinions, you will become lazy and reliant on others. When you are left behind, you will be unable to stand up for yourself. In the end, the ones to suffer is the ones that have diamonds in their mouths and refuse to voice opinions. We need not to be afraid people would reject you. You just need that spark. If you voice out your opinions, the odds are that someone will agree with you.

What is Beauty?

Beauty can be classified into two categories, inner beauty and outer beauty. Both types have their advantages and both are important. Outer beauty is only scraping the tip of the true meaning of beauty. Outer beauty is the appearance of the person like whether he or she has combed his hair or showered. It is a beauty that everyone normally noticed and like.It is only on the surface.Outer beauty can be easily obtain from all the cosmeti cs and facial treatment. Sometimes outer beauty could deceived others into thinking that the person is someone you could trust when in reality is the person you cannot trust.Inner beauty is the true beauty that everyone should strive to obtain.Actually, inner beauty cannot be obtain, rather it should come from your heart. A person with a kind heart is what I called beautiful. A person who helps others and donates to charity from the bottom of his heart is really a true beauty. Donations also may not be much but it is the thought that counts.


So which one is more important? I would choose inner beauty instead of outer beauty though both are important. Outer beauty is important as it gives people a good impression. First impression is very important as it reflects much on your personality. It could get you a job so many people use make-up to touch up on their appearance.However,sometimes people used them to hide their true intentions and true appearance. Outer beauty is used as a cover-up for their cold,heartless heart and devious plots. It is all hidden behind the pretty face. In many cases, many rich men married pretty women and it turns out that the bride was not what she seemed to be and cheated his money and ran away. It can go both ways. These people may be pretty but they are not beautiful in my opinion. Some could look good but is so stingy that they do not donate a cent to charity though they are filthy rich. If a person with an not so pretty appearance and with no money is willing to donate like a dollar to charity ever week or so she is beautiful. That is inner beauty, to go out of the way to help others because it is right.She or he does not expect any thing in return.Though not as pretty as others, she is certainly more beautiful at heart. Inner beauty helps others while outer beauty usually helps only yourself. You could say inner beauty is generous while outer beauty is selfish.


To be truly beautiful is not easy. It is not about looks, it is not about wealth, it is also not about status. It is about the kind heart which could reach out to touch and warm others by helping the needy. That is true beauty.

My first semester

My first semester was both sweet and sour. It has not been easy to overcome all obstacles in this fruitful yet painful semester. A lot have change since the beginning of the year , either for the better or the worse.Number of hardships faced are doubled in the hectic lifestyle of a secondary school student. Having to deal with homework, heavy responsibilities, projects and in the end having to sacrifice sleep have not been easy.Though getting used to the tiredness, I hope the day of the heavy burden on my shoulders will be lifted. However, things had not been always bad.I had made new friends in my new school and I had a new CCA.Best of all, the facilities in the school are amazing. This makes boring lessons become interesting,especially during PE lessons.There are many ups and downs in this phase of life. One moment you could be praised by the teacher for doing well in the test but next thing you know, you are being scolded by another teacher for not doing homework to her expectations. This roller-coaster ride is the journey which we all have to experience.

I not very enjoyable thing that occurred to me is that I became the chairman of the class. It is not that I hate the job but it really make me worry a lot. With the heavy responsibility on my shoulder, I have to be on my toes to solve and avoid disaster, especially when the class is noisy, the chairman is responsible to keep the class quiet.I do not know why but my class became very noisy.They just love to talk and are very playful. Though having a monitor, He is also unable to control the class like me and I think he had given up trying to keep the class quiet. Anyway, it is always the chairman fault if something goes wrong.When a teacher steps into a class that is very noisy, the first thing they would say is" Who is the chairman?" Then, I would raise my hand and get lectured that is is my duty to keep the class quiet. No matter how I try, my voice will be overpowered by the class.Also,i had to collect things for the class like magazine and letters. Sometimes, the school gives very specific destination to collect the items or to return them. One of the places is"T204" a number given to a specific room. I am certainly not able to know where the destination is so I have to run around finding it, in fear of being late and get another scolding.

Although it is tough being a chairman, it could be enjoyable too. There is one incident that i remembered . As the chairman, I had to stay back to decorate the classroom with the other CMC.Although we did not do a great job and not all of our classmates like it but we got praised by our teacher for all the hard work we had put in.Our heart and sweat were put into the decoration though it may seemed easy. We too were proud of ourselves and we were satisfied with the decoration. Being a chairman gave me opportunities to help the class and gain experience of leadership. It is tiring but a fruitful experience.

One change that I dislike is the workload. I never imagine that this amount of work was even possible. The workload from term one had increased significantly when term two arrived. No matter how I slogged and worked, the homework just pile on top of each other, never stopping. It just keep increasing. In the past, I could do my very best to complete each and every piece of work so it was usually well done as the amount of work is little. Now, it is a race against time to complete the pile of work so the effort is spread out and so some work are done in a hurry. Even though, I tried hard to cope with the homework, I could never finished them before 10pm.I have to sacrifice an hour or more of my sleep time to finish the work. my usually sleeping time is at 11.30pm and the time I need to rise is at 5.45am so the time i rest is only little more than 6 hours.This is a change I need to get used to as when i get older, more such challenges awaits.

It may seem my secondary school life is horrible, it actually is quite enjoyable and fun.Many events like camps are organised for the secondary 1. I went to a camp during the March holidays.Despite the exhaustion, I made new friends and tightened the bond between existing friends. We had much fun doing the team-building exercises and ate and slept like never before.My CCA which is tough yet fun at the same time. It is the sport I like, tennis. My coach is quite sociable and my teammates are fun to hang with. We have to do much physical training which is very difficult to complete but in the training, we have many races to see who can run the fastest who could skip some physical training. We have a game( like other racket sports) called " King". It is basically a game that if a player could earn points by beating other players and become the king of the court . After becoming the king,other challengers will come and try to betroth you.To earn points, you must win the challenger when you are the king.The person with the most points do not need to do any physical training while others suffer the training.

After the whole term of working hard, studying hard and playing hard, the fruit of my labour had ripened. The results of our test were out,and I did fairly well. I was very satisfied with them and I am proud of myself for working so hard for the past few months. I am glad that all of them did not go to waste.

Though the road so far had been considerably smooth compared to the later years,I cannot be be overconfident and let pride overwhelm me. As the saying goes" a pride comes before a fall". I must remain humble and work equally hard or harder to maintain those marks. I also must improve on my time management. If I had better of that ,I could rest more and you better time to complete the work. Furthermore, I need to train harder for my CCA. Half the year has passed with half a year to go before the competition. I have set a goal for myself to be able to win a match in the competition.

The semester had gone and passed. I have to moving forward. I anxiously wait for the next term to arrive to see what road awaits ahead.

Accepting grades

The exams are finally over and the holidays are nearing, but I do not feel happy at all, not one bit. The results have already been known and I am not pleased with one of my subjects. Even though my other subjects did fairly well, it was because of one subject that just ruin my day. I know that I should not let one paper to saddened my holiday mood but what can I do. I admit, I am quite " grade-hungry"( it is not a real word, I just made it up from the word" power-hungry")I am not contented with an A2 for the subject that I excelled in Primary school and term 1. People would say that A2 is very good ALREADY, that I should be contented.Many of the other students that had poorer results would say that I am very. Then parents will go on about the lecture on grades is not everything , just that next time need to do better. The fact that people keep saying that grades are not important sometimes infuriate me. I agree that grades are not everything but they are still very important. In the future,when you apply for a job, the first thing the interviewer look at you is your grades. Yes, it is your grades that help you to be employed. If a person with no education and a person with a secondary school education are competing for a job, naturally the one the has an education will get the job.Similarly, the one that have better grades have a higher chance of getting the job.

My parents always console me that if I failed or did not so well, you should just study harder for the next test. This grades are not important. I disagree with them. All the test must be done to your best of your capability and I know that I can do so much better yet I didn't. It was due to carelessness that made me very disappointed. The subject I was disappointed was Science. All along my science was always one of the best and in the last term,I got an A1.This time, I only got a 29 and a half /40. What made me so sore is that I missed half a mark from an A1. It was so i infuriating. My test paper was filled with careless errors. Also, my last page had a big fat zero as I had no time to finish the paper. If I had added a zero to one of my answers, I could have gotten what I want. It was because of that single digit that pulled me down to and A2. People would say I am very" bad", not contented with and A2 which some people yearn for but I still cannot accept the fact that I got an A2. Seeing more than half the class able to get and A1 and see them jump for joy made the pain worse. No matter how many word of condolence cannot make me accept my grades.

Grades are important to me as it gives me pride which is the reward for myself of all the hard work I had put in. It is the fuel that keeps me up to continue to strive for excellence. Without the fuel, even the best cars or any type of vehicle cannot travel far.The fact that people continuously say it is alright,never mind the grades, they are still good, you should accept the grades, you should accept failure. It is easier said that done. The biggest hurdle is to overcome oneself. Like in war, the greatest hurdle is not to kill the enemy but it is the courage you need to muster to go to the front line and fight. Similarly, it is not the journey to get good grades but the ability to stand up from failure and continue is important. I know this, I have heard this countless times but when I come face to face with the situation,I am still unable to apply this. It is just to hard accepting facts that I do not want to face. You may say I am a coward not facing the music but I know many of the people cannot face their results and their parents. It is naturally that you want to avoid reality as it is too bitter to handle. However, life is like that. Sooner or later,I need to face the music. Soon, I have to accept the grade. It is unchangeable. What is done is done. It will always be like this though sometimes you do get a second chance.Those are the lucky ones. Now the greatest hurdle I have yet to overcome. I just hope I have the courage to face it.

Tragic Wars

Have you ever wonder why people have wars? Why do people still engage in such senseless fighting? Wars have destroyed our world, leaving many homeless and hungry. The after-effects of wars are as devastating as the number of people killed in the front line. I do not understand why people are willing to sacrifice their lives to fight. What do they get? Peace? No! This may lead to more fighting. More people are killed,tortured or starve to death. After watching the episode on World War Two on History Channel, Many questions are raised in my head, " Why do we have wars"

Is there a good war. I say that war is never good, no matter the circumstances.Firstly, it affects greatly the economic growth of a country. When war breaks out, people live in terror of being attacked. People stop going to work and others fled in great numbers to other countries. Much of infrastructure will be destroyed to bits. The industry will come to a standstill and a recession will occur. With nobody working, the country cannot grow and prosper. Even after the war, as much of infrastructure are destroyed, large amount of effort must be used to build up the industry again.

Another problem is that there will be a food shortage. As news of war breaks out, people flock to provision stores to stock up on food as they fear they will have a shortage of food.As demand for food increase, prices of food will increase. As prices soar, poorer people cannot afford these food items and they starve. It is not due to war in the early stages that cause people to go hungry but it is the people who flock to stock up food that caused the shortage. Also, during war, most of the food will go to the army as they take priorities over civilians.They need their strength to fight and defend their countries. As more food go to the soldiers, less food will be available to people. Furthermore, enemies fighter planes would tend to destroy plantation as it will cut of the their enemies food sources. This will slowly destroy the enemy as they need food and without it, they are useless. If the army suffer, the civilians follow suit.

The biggest problem is they many people die in war. In reference to Animal Farm, a book that is an allegory of the Russian Revolution, showed the the invasion of Russia by Germany. In that single war, 55million people, including civilians and troops ,were killed. The number is 11 times more than the total population of my country. Enemies bomb the cities with bombs, blast the infrastructure to the ground with tanks and the uncountable rounds of bullets of machine guns punch into the bodies of people, killing innocent life. That is the true tragedy of war, people sacrificing their lives.

With so many disadvantages of war, why people fight and engage in war? Many of people will say to defend your country. It is understandable that you want to be patriotic and defend your home from invaders. They want to protect the people, the people they love. The main reason for the start of war is that higher ranking people power-hungry. Some people just want to be more powerful than others so they can get control and rule the world. Power will come with money so their greed sometimes blind them from the devastating effects of war. Now, in the real world, many countries are building up on their weapons. They may say that they want to protect themselves from invasion but who knows, some countries may be plotting to engage in another war.They want to have an edge over the other countries. These people yearn for power as they make use of other people to their benefit. Also, people start war was to regain their dignity. In World War 2, Adoff Hitler hated the Allied Nations because of World War 1. After the fall of Germany of World War 1, the Allied Nations took most of their land and destroyed all the weapons in Germany. There was a recession in Germany and many people starve. It was humiliating when Germany lost the war, so the hatred grew within Hitler to regain Germany's dignity and show the world the power of Germany. That was the cause for World War 2.

This is one reason that I thought of but I know that there are many reasons for the cause of it but is hidden. With so many disadvantages, I can't understand why people still blindly fight. In the course of war, many people kill each other mercilessly.It is a gruesome sight. As the saying goes" a lion will never attack her cubs"Even a fierce lion will not attack her cubs, so why humans attack other humans. We are all of the same kind, we are all humans. If we kill each other, isn't it showing we are no better or worse than a beast. Why can't we sit down, talk and come to an agreement. Peace is the only way that will benefit the human race. War will only destroy our kind. If all these fighting just stop and have world peace, everyone will be happy. Nobody will die and everyone wins. This a what everybody wants. However, this is a utopia state and it will be inpossible due to human nature of being power-hungry. I wish the fighting would stop.

I blew it

Recently, I got very worked up over a misunderstanding. It was very trivial matter but I certainly did not think so at that time. It was something that made me very angry. However, after I had cooled down, I reflected on my behaviour and felt I was being unreasonable. This matter had actually weaken friendship. It is something I am not proud of and all these unnecessary conflicts should and could be avoided if I remained calm. Now, I am regretting my actions and felt rather guilty about it. I certainly blew it this time.

A few days ago, my friend wrote something about me concerning my flaws. When I had read it, I felt " betrayed" in a sense and got very angry. I could not accept the fact other was criticising my shortcomings.He actually did not disclosed my name but I knew it was me. Yet,pride inside me forced me to do something that portrayed me as a petty fool. In a fit of rage, I sent an sms to rebut and scold him.I think I wrote some hurtful remarks at him and wrote it in an offensive manner. I wonder if my friend got insulted.I am ashamed of myself,for what I had done. It not only leave a bad impression of me, also and more importantly, I weaken my friendship with him.

After, cooling done, I did some reflecting. It was very stupid of me to scold my friend for writing about me. What he did was to write what he felt and that was all. He did not deliberately intend to spite and or my patience.I should be thankful that people point out my shortcomings. It is only by knowing your flaws, then you can work and improve on oneself. Yet, I just had to rebut my friend. Why did I do that? What could I gain from it. It was I who was unreasonable. It was my pride and anger that caused this hold ordeal. Anger had clouded my thoughts and provoked the side of me I never knew.I had not thought through thoroughly before acting.My words could have hurt his feelings and my actions could have hurt our friendship. I am utterly disappointed at myself. Now, I do not really dare to face him. He may seemed not disturbed by the matter but I know he had be affected in one way or another. I just HAD to spout hurtful remarks at him. Sigh...

In our daily life, we will come across matters that infuriate us. It just make our blood boils. We always like our anger get the better of us. This result in unnecessary conflicts that we do not benefit from them at all. It cause hassle that could affect us physically or emotionally. All these can be avoided if we just kept calm. With a clear mind, it is natural that you can solve the problem with ease. Anger can affect our judgement in all areas. We are clouded with angry thoughts resulting in prejudice or hurling hurtful remarks. One must know how to control his anger so he can make the right decision. It is because of anger that made us do things that we regret. After the ordeal have passed, if you sit and reflect, you will think " Why did I do this? Why didn't I just do this?" So we must take things with a calm mind to decide and act accordingly. This time I have made the wrong decision but I am willing to change. Next time, when I meet with conflicts, I will not act rashly anymore. Sorry, friend for my childish and foolish act. I apologise if I had insulted you in any way.

My Arch Foe

I struggle with it everyday, trying to overcome it, to suppress it. But somehow or another, it reveals itself, causing me much worries. My enemy is not a being, rather, it is something people detest. It is forgetfulness. Yes, forgetfulness. It had brought me pain and much worries ever since the start of school. Oh how I wish I had a better memory, remembering what to do. Recently, it is up to mischief again. It once again never fail to land me is trouble...

Yesterday, I was suppose to hand in a science worksheet. In the end, I did not hand it in to the science representative who was suppose to collect and give them to the teacher. You know why? It was my forgetfulness. I am not trying to push the blame. Yes, it is my own fault that actually cause my blunder as forgetfulness is a part of me. This infuriates me even more. I remember that morning, I remembered to hand the science worksheet in. However, as it was time for assembly, I hurried to the meeting point and thought that I would hand it in later. Then... sigh.. Forgetfulness was up to its tricks AGAIN! I forgot to hand it in. I had the whole day to hand it in including recess and after school. Yet, I could not remember to do it. Curse my forgetfulness. Now I have yet to face my punishment from the teacher.

I remember there was a time that my forgetfulness caused quite a damage. I was in Primary school, going on an excursion to the Old Folk's Home. It so happened to fall during the June holidays. Guess what? I forgot! That day when I woke up, I still did not know that the excursion had slipped my mind. It was only when my friend that went on the excursion told me about it then I realised what had happened. Amazing how forgetfulness can wipe your memory. I was quite excited about the trip too.

Even during my daily life, I have experience much forgetfulness. For example, while studying in my room, I realised I need to take my books in my bag downstairs. So I made my way down. Many times I make a detour to the kitchen and snack on some chips or bread. When I have had my fill, I rush up to my room, forgetting what the real purpose of going downstairs. Then, I will become frustrated and return downstairs to take items from my bag. See how forgetfulness had cause me to waste time.

Forgetfulness is something everyone tries to overcome. Sometimes we are just to busy that we forget meetings, goals, things to do and things to remember, especially meetings. Meetings are very important and once you fail to turn up it is most likely to cause you to be fired by your boss in the working world. In school, you may be blasted my your teachers as they feel forgetfulness is an excuse. Yes, you may say that you can control it and it is your fault that you forget to do something. Sometimes, it is really out of your hands. For example, I keep a diary so that I will remember to do homework, hand it up or go for meetings. However, I am so forgetful that sometimes, I forget to check my diary or even forget to take notes in it. See the logical? Forgetfulness is something you can be avoided but not totally prevented. It is only after a lesson then you put more effort to remember. But how I wish I need not face the bitter confrontation. Why can't my enemy just leave me alone and disappear?

Cleaniness is important

I never thought cleanliness was important. I thought it was something could be neglected. I was wrong. I never knew that because of dirtiness, people may lose their lives.Many innocent lives could be lost because of it. In other countries, diseases are abundant. These diseases are easily transmittable. It comes right down to the root of the problem, which is peopel neglect cleanliness. The conditions there are very bad. There are poor sanitation, rubbish on the floor, rats running wild in those countries. It is not hygienic as the food get contaminated by pests. The water which is the source of live, is polluted. Many innocent lives had been lost every year because of the fact that their place is not clean. You may not see it now but sooner or later you will realise the importance of cleanliness

Recently, there have been a food poisoning case in my country. It happened at Gelang Serai, a market and a hawker centre which stood side by side. Many people came down with the serious case of food poisoning. The stronger people just went to the toilet to do big business while others could be as bad as vomiting and dizziness. In the worse case, food poisoning could result in death. A few people have already lost their lives because of this case. The authorities had investigated the cause of the problem. Guess what? It was due to cleanliness. The place was very dirty and the cleanliness record of the stalls were C and D. They were not clean to even get a B. Soon, it was found out the rats roamed the area. After much hard work, the pest control captured more than a hundred of rats. No wonder people had food poisoning. Imagine when nobody is looking, the rats ate the food or pooped in the food which was served to the customers. Diseases would be passed to the victims too. Rats thrived in filthy places. If the place was clean, this horrible case would have been avoided. If only, people realised the importance of cleanliness

In school, my class is one of the dirtier ones. There are torn paper and a lot a lot of dust collected on the floor. All my teachers had commented that our class was very dirty. Some even refused to teach under the filthy condition. Yet, nothing much have been done. People still dirty the classroom. People also forget to do their duties to clean the classroom. Under these circumstances, the classroom will never be clean. I now understand the importance of cleanliness. I understand why my teacher spend so much time lecturing us on keeping the classroom clean. The cleanliness of the classroom actually affects our mood to learn. In a dirty classroom, pupils cannot concentrate due to the dirt and therefore learn less. They may get easily frustrated.If the class is clean, everybody is happy and we can learn better. If the classroom is dirty, we may easily fall sick. By missing classes, we learn lesser. However, my classmates are still oblivious to the dirty surrounding. They do not feel it is a problem . They do not know why keeping clean is important.

I hope people would start to realise the importance of cleanliness.We do not need to do big things to keep the surroundings clean like working at the rubbish dump to incinerate the rubbish. We just need to start with small things like cleaning your room or pick up big pieces of litter when you come across it. Do not turn a blind eye to these little things as they are the ones that contribute to the great filth on earth. So keep clean as it helps not only yourself but others too.

Valuables disappears! Where is the honesty...

One minute it is here , the next minute it vanishes. How could this have happened. I thought such situations never occur in school like mine.Never would I thought my valuables could have been at risk of being looted. Recently, there is a series of valuables disappearing. This is most likely due to theft. This is a very serious case happening in class. Many people are losing money ,wallet and even files. The class is not a safe place to put your valuables in. I wonder why the culprit is doing this. Is it because of financial difficulties, love the thrill of stealing or is it he cannot control his greed. Where is his honesty?

As the saying goes" Honesty is the best policy" We people should be honest.This is the only way we can get the trust of people. People like others that they can count on. Honesty is a value that should have been inculcated in us long time ago. Then why is there thefts happening in my class. Don't he know the dire consequences of his actions. He may be expelled and sent to the police station. It is a very serious offence and it should never be carried out. His future will be completely destroyed. Is it worth it to take the risk of being court for small sums of money. Definitely not. Greed is the biggest hurdle for man to overcome. It is because of greed that change people. They control you, making you make the wrong choices. For example, in the society, there are many cases of embezzlement . Why this happens? People are greedy. Greed is a horrible thing. It actually cause the downfall of man. If the culprits do not learn his mistake, he will follow in the footsteps of the greedy people and may embezzle funds from the company when he grows up. No criminal can escape the long arms of the law. He would one day be captured, then his future looks bleak... I do not understand why people steal from others. I am disappointed with the culprit's behaviour.

Not only the culprit of the devious act is at fault.The victims are the root of the problem. My classmate have the habit of not carrying their valuables when they are in the classroom or not. It is even worse when they put their wallet and mobile phones on the table, helpless to greedy hands that may swipe them away. What they are doing is very bad.They are not only risking themselves to be victims of thefts but also cause them. What they are doing is unknowingly tempting people to steal. Creating opportunities for the culprit to steal is wrong. If they had brought their valuables with them in their pockets, everything will be fine and nothing will be lost. Putting valuables in the bag is not a good idea. Some of my friends had put their valuables in their bag but when they return, they had vanished, never to be seen again. This thief is a cunning one. He even search bags for valuables. My teacher now is more than certain someone in the class is the culprit but she does not know who. This thief has swift hands, capable of steal under everyone noses. As a class chairman, I have to do something. But how are we going to stop this elusive thief. My teacher suggested that when we go for PE lessons or leave the class for another lesson, I have to collect the people that want to give their valuables for safe keeping in a bag. I will then give the bag to teacher. People are not supportive of this idea because it is troublesome as they will get their valuables back at a slow speed. They feel it is safer with them or in the bag. If we do not resort to this tactic, then what am I suppose to do to cease the numerous thefts occurring in the class.

Today, the school have installed a surveillance camera in our class. The school have been aware of this case and have taken action. It is very saddening to see the school resorting to this last-resort that cost much money. It is placed in our class to deter the culprit from repeating his act. This showed that the culprit have no self-control of himself. He does not know how to admit his mistake and turn over a new leaf like a real gentlemen would. He does not know when to stop. Seeing the school resort to this, it has become a very serious case since the school used money in a last attempt to stop the thief. If the thief still continues, then nobody can help him when he is caught. I just hope he still have a conscience to spare a thought for not only his classmates but also himself. I may not understand his reason for stealing, but I hope he will put a stop to stealing and confess to the teacher. It takes a person with great courage to admit his mistake, like my teacher once said" If you have the guts to do it, you must have the guts to admit it" If he is willing to turn over a new leaf, I know the teacher would forgive him.

Why me?

Why did the teacher had to change now? Why is it had to be me? I do not think I am up for the job. I am afraid I will mess up. Leading a class is not an easy task. Why must it be me? I have no courage . I feel like a chicken leading a pack of wolves. How am I going to lead them? What am I going to do?

On Friday something happened. It is not a terrible news but I have been pondering about this for a few days. I was suddenly burdened with a heavy responsibility. The Teacher had only the hour before she announced it. Upon hearing the decision, I was momentarily stunned. Me?Why? I was very worried about the decision made by my teacher. I was afraid of being the chairman...

Yes, I was chosen as the chairman of the class. I wasn't totally willingly to be up for the job. My teacher said she wanted to change the CMC as she wanted other people to have a chance to be a leader. At first, I tried to tell her that I am not the right person, but later I was somehow persuaded into doing it. I do not hate it but I fear that I cannot bear with such responsibilities.

Being a chairman is no walk in a park. He has many responsibilities to carry out. For example, he has to ensure the class is all present when the class go for an excursion or taking part in an event in school. If one pupil is not here, he has bear the responsibility. He has to collect work or consent forms. Collecting work is the hardest. People tend to forget to bring their work then the chairman has to go after them. Some people are so irresponsible that they can hand in about 1 or 2 weeks late. Then the chairman has to pass it to the teacher. When the teacher questions, the chairman has to answer to it.Sometimes, the teacher is not at his or her seat in the staffroom. He has to wait patiently for the teacher. The teacher may still have other classes to attend. In some cases, the chairman has to leave as he has CCA or other commitments. Being a Chairman is not a easy as you think. People tend to think being a chairman is fun. This is not true. Yes, you get happiness as you can help your friends but with the many problems you face as a chairman, you may think twice. People want to be chairman because they feel they have authority. However, this authority is to lead the class and not to be abuse like bullying others.

I feel being a Chairman has his advantages. As a Chairman, you could be well-liked by your classmates if you are responsible and carry out your duties. You have many friends to hang out with and talk with so you will not be lonely. Having this position trains you to be responsible. With the responsibilities the chairman carries, he has to carry them out dutifully. This will prevent him from getting scolded and also get many praises from friends or teachers . Being a chairman gives you and opportunity to gain leadership skills. These are the skills that great people in the future possess. The chairman has to lead by examples. He has to set a good example for his classmates. The chairman has to be kind, obedient,conscientious in his work, respectful to teachers and many other good values. The best of all, he has to be helpful. That is what makes a good chairman. As an important figure in the class, he has to behave at all times.

After the first day as chairman, I was already tired, I had to chase people after consent forms which half the class had forgotten to bring. They all said that they had lost it or some other excuses. I realised I was afraid, afraid to make announcements in class. I did not have the courage to raise my voice to announce to the class to pass up the forms. I was indeed like a chicken clucking in the mist of the dogs barking incessantly. My voice could not overcome the noise level to get my message across.

I am AFRAID. I fear that I would not live up to my teachers expectation. When someone has to be blame, it is always the chairman. I fear the teasing of my friends when I cannot carry out my duties. Now when the class is noisy and is out of control ,my friend will say sarcastically" president, control the class!"I do not know what to do. I do not mind being a chairman, but I need the confidence and the strength to lead. Being a chairman can be a fruitful experience, but I keep feeling I do not have the X factor to be the chairman. What to do? What to do?

Tired...

I am so tired. My arms feel like it is going to break, my lungs feel like bursting. My tennis training is just over for the weekend. We had to do so much physical training.Push ups, shuttle run, jumping ,sprinting, leg raise and many other physical training that never fails to exhaust me,especially running. We had to run from one fence to the other fence until the coach says stop. There is a shuttle run training called," Five line Suicide" Now, I know why it is called like this.We had to touch all five lines on the tennis court, each time touching a line going back to touch the fence.After doing like for 5 times, there was almost nothing left in me That was what I hate the most during training. My body is aching so badly. After the training session, I came out of the tennis court limping. This was not due to injury but the exhaustion I felt then.I was pushed to my limits. Tennis training is indeed very tough and harsh.It is not that I dislike tennis, but I wish I have a break from time to time. Furthermore, the day after was my NAPFA 2.4 km run. I knew it was going to affect my timing. I was so exhausted that day that I had trouble getting out or bed or walking down the stairs. Luckily, I did a bit of warm up or else , I may fail my NAPFA. In the end, I was did not do that bad but it wasn't good either. I was even more tired that day.

Even now in school, school life can take a lot out of you. I had to stay up to 12 to finish the piles of homework the teachers have given. This is considered lucky. Some of my friends need to stay up to 2am to complete all the assignments. It is term 2 now and everything has change. The homework increased significantly and I have been busier ever since. As Projects Day in nearing, we had to stay back on many occasions( not to mention the days of my CCA)I realised I have been running more than usual. With more responsibilities, I have been running around the school meeting teachers and handing up homework that I forgot to hand up in class. I am so busy that I became more forgetful like forgetting to bring homework and one time I left my wallet in the canteen!With all these problems, I feel mentally drained.Even on weekends we have to finish homework that never seems to end. How I wish I could have a day's break to recover from my tiredness...

In life, we all get tired. The path of life is very long and winding journey. We tend to run out of gas sometimes.Obstacles that we inevitably meet drain our energy, making us so very tired. We need a break. Having breaks is very important.Without them, we are goners. Working non-stop can actually make you lose your life. Overexerting your body will have many consequences. Some people fall sick, others lose their concentration on work and other people even had lost their lives working. We need to take time off to relax and get ample rest, that is the way to actually get work done faster. Many people think taking breaks is unnecessary as they only slow work progress. In fact, taking breaks help you complete work faster than not taking breaks at all. Not taking breaks make you tired and lethargic, you may have a mental block and cannot think properly. You may even fall asleep unknowingly and all the tome is wasted. Slogging, working tirelessly is not the smart choice. Sleeping is an important break especially at night. The recommended duration of sleep for children is 8 hours and adults for 6 hours and 5 minutes. Sleeping will make you feel rejuvenated and refresh. With a clear mind,you are able to think creatively and logically. Our lives will be much affected if we do not get sufficient sleep.In the day,when you feel sleepy and tired, take a short nap.It is named"power nap" It is very effective as it gives you a fresh mind to think.

I feel that it is a shame that I am so busy. I know that sleep and rest is very important but I still do not have time to even slow down and catch a breath. How am I supposed to make time for breaks.( I am writing this blog post because today I do not have much work to do)I really want a vacation to escape the homework and the stressful life in my country.With such a competitive society, we work to our limits to be the best which in turn tire us.Now, I long for the big break which I can never get. How I wish I could slow down and to smell the roses along the path of growing up.How I wish I was not this tired.

Knocked out

Even though the event have passed like two weeks ago, it is only now that I start to write about it. After that event, I do not know why but I feel more determined than ever. That feeling inside me is difficult to describe. I don't know why I feel this way but I know I want to train, to become better...

A few weeks ago, it was a very sad day that day. My school's tennis team was knocked out.I was one of the team members though I did not play. The team was unable to advanced to the nationals.The team that stood in our way was ACSI( Anglo-Chinese School(independent))Their team was too strong. Even their reserves could be seed-players. Their team seem unbeatable. Our team needed one more win to advanced to the nationals. However, our dreams were short-lived. The opponent was just too good. No matter how we play, we just cannot beat them. Failure was inevitable. We were utterly trashed 4-1. Luckily we manage to savage one point we had to win by 9-8. It was a difficult match but at least bringing back some dignity to my school. The opponent for that game was a boy much shorter than my teammate, but he was very good. He was a reserve yet he could almost beat us for that point. Our team seemed weak compared to their team. Seeing my seniors being thrashed 9-1 or 9-2, I was very disappointed. Yet... I was determined. I want to train harder. I wanted to become better.I do not want to lose, I want to win.This failure have motivated me.

Failure in life is inevitable. In life there is always a person better than you.When you meet with a failure, do not be discouraged. Everyone fails from time to time. Failure is the mother of all success. It is because of failure that push people to their limits and out of their comfort zone to strive to become better.You will never succeed if you feel discourage and give up hope. To fail is human. But if you are able to learn from failure and persist, success will be within reach.Many people are not able reach their objective because they lack determination. When they fail, they feel that all hope is lost and success can never be reach. That is their mentality.The people that had succeeded had tried umpteen times before they actually succeed. They do not give up after they fail once. Like Alexander Bell, the creator of the telephone, he had to experiment thousands of times to get the result which is the modern day telephone. It took many years to succeed. He met with failure like thousands of times, yet he did not give up.He learned from each failure and improve on the telephone. A failure is not just a failure.He felt that a failure is a way not to do something and he gained from it Why was he able to succeed? Because he was determined. Without failure, people will not be able to learn from them and succeed, bringing the progress of the earth to stop.

Though my team and I failed this time, I know we can win the next time. We must learn from our failure and persist towards our goals. It is because of failure that bring out the determination in us making us succeed. Now, I am training very hard to improve on my skills. I am pushing my self to the limit because I know I can become as good as the other team. Now I am anxiously waiting for the competition next year. Wish me luck!

The Little Water Puddle

A few days ago, something happened in my classroom. Somebody had knocked down a water bottle. Water spilled from the bottle and onto the floor. It so happens to fall onto the front of the door.A puddle was formed. Nobody tried to cleaned it up. Only the culprit tried to clean it up. He did not do a good job. He only put a few rags to dry the puddle, to no avail rather, yet nobody bother to see it as a problem. People were still chatting heartily with one another, while others were playing with their hand phones. They seem to be oblivious to the water puddle.

It was when the teacher came in, then came the "wake- up slap". It was obvious that she was not happy at all. First came the stern face, then came an awkward silence. There was much tension in the air. When she finally spoke, she did it in a quiet and not screaming tone. She reprimanded us that we should have cleaned the puddle up. Why didn't we take the initiative to clean it up. Leaving the puddle will cause many problems like people slipping and dirtying the classroom . She said that it is because we felt that it was not our problem so we did not help to clean it up.It was only then 3 pupils came out to clean the puddle. It was obvious that my teacher was very disappointed that we still did not learn our lesson. We just stood there like a statue, waiting for the puddle to be clean up. The teacher only resumed the lesson after the water puddle was cleaned up by the 3 pupils. Self-centred we stand, selfish we sat.

I am ashamed of myself. I did not help to clean the puddle. I should have done it, but why didn't I. It was the right thing to do, but yet... I was selfish,i must confess. Standing there not helping is selfish and self-centred. I thought people would clean it up or at least the water will dry up. I was wrong to think that it was not my problem as other people had spilled it so they are the ones that should clean. I remembered that i saw the water puddle but i just walked across it.Even though it was not my fault, i know I was partly responsible for getting scolded by my teacher. We, as a class, must be active to help one another. When the 3 pupils were cleaning. I wanted to help, but I did not have the courage. After being reprimanded, i was so ashamed of myself. I did not dare to look the teacher in the eye and just kept looking down.My face became a bit warm, yet... I still did not help.The teacher had given us a chance to repent , sadly we did not seize the opportunity. Embarrassed had overwhelmed me at that instance. It was what i felt at that moment and i am terribly regretful that I took no action. I am not proud of what I have done.

This small water puddle incident had inspired me to become more considerate and helpful.This mistake may seem small yet it has a large influence on me. We must learn from mistakes as it is only through mistakes that we learn and mature. We help people is not because it help us or it concerns us, we help others because it is the right thing to do. I had made a mistake and I want to change, to change to become a better person.Many small incidents in our lives actually teach us life lessons that are very important, though many are ignored. This time, I have gained much from the little water puddle.

A report on a leader from the past

This is an assignment.

There are many important leaders in history. However, not all of them are great leaders. My definition of a great leader need not mean he or she is a high in morals. A great leader is a person that is powerful in a sense that he or she could influence the people able lead to his or her people. Adolf Hitler is one of them. Though he was evil and cruel, it is no doubt that he can lead his people, making him a great leader.

Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party ,popularly known as the Nazi Party. He was the ruler of Germany from 1933 to 1945. He maybe the one that start World War 2

Adoff Hitler is a notorious villain in history. People hate and despise him for his atrocious acts during the World War 2 until today. Many innocent lives were killed because of his goal.He left his name in history is a bad way.Although he is dead and defeated, this man is frightening. People still fear at the first mention of his name. He is cruel and heartless but he possesses traits of a good leader.

Hitler had amazing oratorical skills. He was able to convince the crowd. Hitler could brainwash them by speaking to them. It was not a machine that could brainwash them into thinking his way. A machine could never had done that. He had the power of speech. This is a very important skill great leaders must possesses. Hitler was able to convince the almost whole nation to support him in the quest to regain their pride which they lost when they lost World War 1. Many people were willing to die for the country because Hitler influenced them to do so. The people's mindset was to support Hitler in the war. Speech is a necessary life skill to get your way.That is why Hitler was so formidable. People's morale were boost hearing his speeches and therefore making the soldiers high on morale too, which made the German army powerful when at war. It is unbelievable that one man could influenced the nation.

Hitler also was very determined to conquer other countries. Determination is the key to victory. This is what many people lack. It is because of that that they will never succeed. Hitler had to make much preparation for the war. At that time , Germany's economy was crippling due to the after effects of World War 1. He had to boost the economy in a very short time if he wanted to attack other countries. As many countries are still recovering from the previous war, it will be to the Germans advantage if they could attack first.Hitler had to violate the Treaty of Versailles, which limited the German army to 100,000 men. Hitler embarked on a rearmament program of massive scale: fighter planes, tanks, submarines. This in turn create much more jobs for the people and therefore led to a significant boost in the economy. He had to brainwash the people to think that he is right to prepare for a another war ( see the previous paragraph for more details). He had to make not once or twice but countless speeches to get the majority of the people to be influenced by him. It consumes much time to do that but that was one of the important reason why he was successful in the early part of World War 2. Hitler was playing a gamble.Actually he was playing against the odds. To conquer Europe, he had to conquer the superpower countries of Europe. They are the United Kingdom and the French empire, not to mention the Americans that had increasingly became a threat to the Germans. Germany had Italy,Japan on her side and other smaller countries. ( The Soviets helped Germany in the first part of the war but later when Germany attacked Russia, they fought back). But he was not discouraged. He was determined and confident to win the war. He persevered in conquering the countries that fell. No matter how the great the resistance, he and his army persevered to advance. This evident that Hitler was a determined person.

However, Hitler was very evil and cruel. He hated Jews and felt it was a need to get rid of them as they were very smart. Hitler was afraid that they may form a rebellion. That was when the holocaust was planned. Many people were killed in gas chambers, concentrated camps. About six million Jews lost their lives in these camps. Children with physical disabilities were not spared as the Nazis felt that they were not worthy to live.Prisoners of war and civilians worked as slave labourers. In total, 11 million to 14 million people died. When he started the World war 2, many soldiers and civilians were killed, both from Germany and their enemies. Hitler did not care and continued with the war, causing much more casualties from both sides. From this it is evident that Hitler was cruel.

Hitler was over confident that he will win the war. Although there were many superpower countries resisting the invasion of Germany, he still went ahead with fighting. He is against the odds to win the war. Secondly, when he was about to invade Russia, he underestimate the power of the Soviets. he made the very insulting comment on Russia,"We have only to kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down" This shows that Hitler was over confident. As the saying goes,"pride comes before a fall" This saying is indeed true. The Germans failed to invade Russia and eventually also lost to the Allies which were the British, the United States and many other countries opposing the Germans.

Hitler is considered a great leader but he is great in the wrong way. He ruled his people with fear.He is morally bad and evil in nature. Despite all the negative vibes and his evil wrongdoings, people still want to know more about him and some may even " admire" him. His name goes down in history as a infamous leader until today.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/hitler1.html

http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/hitler2.html

http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/hitler3.html

:http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/hitler4.html

The Lottery

I have just read the short story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson. I must say it is a very unusual story yet at the same time interesting. There are many messages the author is trying to get across. I feel the story is very meaningful though it has a shocking and chilling ending.I recommended it to my mother as I had enjoyed the story. My mother did not like the ending saying it was too cruel for the people to stone their friends. There is a question my teacher had requested us to brainstorm.

Question 5

What can we learn from this story?( How is it relevant to our society today?Do we have our own form of" lottery" as in the story?

I have learnt that silence is not golden. In the story, everyone followed the ritual blindly. Those that were against it kept quiet and even pretended to like it. Mrs Hutchinson, a character in the story, was like any other villagers in the village, not willing to make changes and not willing to voice their own opinion.If they found the ritual unfair and ridiculous, they should protest, speak up for themselves and not be like a dog, listening to the elders and leaders of the village. They should have stood up for their own beliefs. In the end, Mrs Hutchinson was chosen as the sacrifice. It was only then did she start to protest. It was by far too late! People will think she is just trying to save her own skin and therefore ignore her pleas. In the first place, she did not really like the idea of the ritual, she should not comply but instead should put a stop to this madness. If she had voiced it out , people would listen to her and may decide to abolish it. Many lives could have been saved, including hers as well. It was only when the misfortune had befallen on her before she started to complain. By then, it was just too late. We should learn from this story stand up for our own belief and not follow blindly traditions and rules. We each have a mind to think for ourselves. That is what the brain is for, to think! If we feel injustice, voice it out! People may agree with you. Many People do not voice their feelings because they are afraid of being laughed at or punished for it. If you are the first to stand up, people will tend to follow.

The story is quite relevant to our society. In a company, there are many rules and regulations, some set by the law while others set by the company itself. Imagine there is a rule that everyone hated but do not have the guts to say it to the boss. For example, the boss want everyone to wear a pink tie as he likes pink( this is not a real example. I am trying to think of a ridiculous rule) The tie is very ugly and the material too stiff making it uncomfortable. However, many people just kept quiet and do their job. Though they hated the tie, nobody dares to do anything. As the boss has power, they are afraid if they voice their opinion, the boss may be furious and fire them or give them a huge pay cut. If people are willing to stand up for their own opinion, people will follow. You just need that little spark to start the fire. If everyone supports your opinion, the boss will be overpowered and have to comply. It is because of fear that everyone follow the rules blindly.

Likewise in school, there are traditions or school rules and regulations that students must follow.Some of the students are not agreeable to these rules but they have to follow or suffer the consequences of being punished.Principals and teachers should be always willing to lend a listening ear to students with good constructive ideas so people are encouraged to voice out their opinion.

I agree that in a society, rules and regulations or traditions can exist so that there will be order in a country. However, these rules and traditions must be flexible and there must be rooms for negotiation, discussion and improvement. It is only then before the country or society can progress.