The Pain of Hunger

Today was an unpleasant day.I did not get scolded or fell down or something like that.I experienced something that I had not experienced in a while,extreme hunger.People may feel hungry but they usually eat before they do or fill their bellies when their stomachs growl.However for me,this time was different.School had become a torture,not because the dread of learning or doing homework,but the hunger I needed to tolerate for the day.

It turned out fine in the morning,I ate a slice of bread(I cannot eat much in the morning)How I regret not to eat more.As it would be the only meal excluding dinner.I had awaken at 6.00 am and ate somewhat around that time.Then I made my way to school.I was actually thinking what to eat during recess and it never occurred to me that I would be forced to sacrifice my recess for the greater good(exaggerating),my schoolwork.Yes,recess had arrived,but I had no time to take it.I had to meet a teacher and it took up 15 minutes of the recess.The rest of the recess was used to finish my Chinese composition given by the Chinese teacher the period before.As everybody could not finish,he extended the deadline till recess was over.Thus,I frantically scrambled to complete the composition while ignoring the annoying growl of the stomach.To comfort myself,I thought I could eat my lunch later in the day.Well,at least I thought I could.

As the lessons went by,I realised it was harder for me to concentrate.When I stood up,I felt weak in the legs. Paying attention was a drag.With the growling stomach,it was worse.The last lesson was Art so we had to make our journey back to the classroom.As the Art teacher let us off about 10 minutes late and the journey back to class was 5 minutes. It only left 15 minutes of lunch time to grab a bite.However,it slipped my mind that my form teacher wanted to handle some administrative matters.And "SNAP" another 10 minutes was gone.A meagre 5 mins was left.I had a workshop at 2.10pm which was only 5 minutes later.The workshop will end at 4.10pm,Therefore,I had skipped recess and lunch in a day.Without eating for 10 hours,more than twice the time taken for food to digest,is definitely not good for the stomach.

But who am I to complain.There are thousands or in fact millions who are worse off than me.These people have perhaps less than a bowl of rice in three days.Then again,they may not have the privilege to eat rice at all.They struggle everyday with starvation as they barely make ends meet.If they could eat and survive,,they are contented.Yes,they are the children and adults in Africa.My hunger is nothing compared to theirs.They have suffered so much more than any of us combined.They really deserve our sympathy and yet people of today still waste food when there are people out there dying of hunger.

Today,I learnt that to be able to eat is a luxury while to bear hunger is a torture.We should not take food for granted as others are contented with the little food they have.Hunger makes you weak and unable to focus.In this fast-paced society,it is common for people to skip meals.However,it is highly recommended not to.As I say once again, to eat is a privilege so we must treasure it.