Saturday, January 22, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
"Mum, Singaporeans are very kind"
I feel that the writer is trying to say that Singapore is actually a very pleasant and nice country to live in. The people here are indeed very friendly, although no country is perfect, and we do have our fair share of black sheeps.
In fact, I can feel the contrast of the situations. In Dubai, it was a very unfamiliar place for the writer and his family. His situation is only made worse by the fact that his son is often ill-treated.
Upon returning to Singapore, he finds the place very nice and the friendliness of the people here helped improve the conditions of his son.
What I really liked is the realisation that some Singaporeans do have a sense of belonging to the Singapore spirit, contrary to what others may say. In fact, Singapore is multi-racial country and all people are treated equally, so it is very easy to blend in.
It is also very heart-warming to find out that the writer's son's friends are very kind and accept him for who he is. That definitely cheered him up and gave him a sense of motivation. I really hope that all Singaporeans can get this acceptance and enjoy his life in this beloved country.
I am proud to be a Singaporean.
In fact, I can feel the contrast of the situations. In Dubai, it was a very unfamiliar place for the writer and his family. His situation is only made worse by the fact that his son is often ill-treated.
Upon returning to Singapore, he finds the place very nice and the friendliness of the people here helped improve the conditions of his son.
What I really liked is the realisation that some Singaporeans do have a sense of belonging to the Singapore spirit, contrary to what others may say. In fact, Singapore is multi-racial country and all people are treated equally, so it is very easy to blend in.
It is also very heart-warming to find out that the writer's son's friends are very kind and accept him for who he is. That definitely cheered him up and gave him a sense of motivation. I really hope that all Singaporeans can get this acceptance and enjoy his life in this beloved country.
I am proud to be a Singaporean.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Loss
Is it better to have never known something than to have known it and ultimately lose it later?
I feel that I is better to have never known something than to have then lose it. Actually, when you have lost something, that feeling of loss will be there. In fact, the feeling of the gain is not as much as felt than compared to the feeling of loss.
For example, which will leave a more lasting impression on you? Losing $10, or finding a $10 note?
If the lost is very great, you may even live in pain all your life. Isn't it better to live normally than to live half of your life happily, and the other half in pain?
Take the story "All summers in a day" for instance. If Margot did not experience the Sun before, will she still feel the pain and loss of it not being there, and live miserably for a long period of time?
To me, it is not worth it...
I feel that I is better to have never known something than to have then lose it. Actually, when you have lost something, that feeling of loss will be there. In fact, the feeling of the gain is not as much as felt than compared to the feeling of loss.
For example, which will leave a more lasting impression on you? Losing $10, or finding a $10 note?
If the lost is very great, you may even live in pain all your life. Isn't it better to live normally than to live half of your life happily, and the other half in pain?
Take the story "All summers in a day" for instance. If Margot did not experience the Sun before, will she still feel the pain and loss of it not being there, and live miserably for a long period of time?
To me, it is not worth it...
My Past (True Story)
Have I ever been in the company of a group of which I was clearly not a member? The sad answer is yes.
This all took place in my primary school, from Primary 4 to Primary 6, since the same batch of "classmates" will stay with me for three years. When I was in Primary 4, I was somewhat very plump and not very tall.
My results were quite good that time, which made most of my classmates very jealous. They also said that I was fat and was very different from them. At first, I thought nothing of it, since they only did childish things like refusing to play with me during recess, and I had good friends from other classes to talk with. So, I ignored them at first.
I even tried to make friends with them, by attempting to play with them during their games, helping them with their schoolwork, inviting them to my birthday party, etc. However, they only got worse in their actions.
Imagine how hurt I was when they spreaded messages not to invite me to birthday parties, not to accept me as a friend. They even went around telling my own friends that they should "un-friend" me unless they wanted to get treated like me. The worse part came when they told one another to call me "Pig".
In school, at the shopping mall, on the internet... they always greeted me as " Pig".
Whenever during project work, I would be the only one without a group, and the reason they gave for not accepting me is "Cause he is fat" or "We just don't like him". I was like a toy being passed around group after group, with the "super unlucky" group ending up with me. Furthermore, during group discussion, I was not allowed to speak or voice my ideas, and all the negative comments my teacher gives will be blamed on me. This carried on until it was decided that I would do all project works on my own.
I still remember an incident when I sought help from a "classmate", he simply brushed me aside and said,"Shut up! I'm busy". However, when his friend came along with a question as well, he spent some time patiently teaching him before he went off.
In Primary 6, I lost a lot of weight and looked like an entirely different person. However I was still treated like an outcast because "once a Shawn Chan always a Shawn Chan". I became fed up with them and only concentrated on my studies.
On the day the PSLE results were released, I got 4th position in my class. So, I made it, came into my school, and left those hooligans once and for all.
This all took place in my primary school, from Primary 4 to Primary 6, since the same batch of "classmates" will stay with me for three years. When I was in Primary 4, I was somewhat very plump and not very tall.
My results were quite good that time, which made most of my classmates very jealous. They also said that I was fat and was very different from them. At first, I thought nothing of it, since they only did childish things like refusing to play with me during recess, and I had good friends from other classes to talk with. So, I ignored them at first.
I even tried to make friends with them, by attempting to play with them during their games, helping them with their schoolwork, inviting them to my birthday party, etc. However, they only got worse in their actions.
Imagine how hurt I was when they spreaded messages not to invite me to birthday parties, not to accept me as a friend. They even went around telling my own friends that they should "un-friend" me unless they wanted to get treated like me. The worse part came when they told one another to call me "Pig".
In school, at the shopping mall, on the internet... they always greeted me as " Pig".
Whenever during project work, I would be the only one without a group, and the reason they gave for not accepting me is "Cause he is fat" or "We just don't like him". I was like a toy being passed around group after group, with the "super unlucky" group ending up with me. Furthermore, during group discussion, I was not allowed to speak or voice my ideas, and all the negative comments my teacher gives will be blamed on me. This carried on until it was decided that I would do all project works on my own.
I still remember an incident when I sought help from a "classmate", he simply brushed me aside and said,"Shut up! I'm busy". However, when his friend came along with a question as well, he spent some time patiently teaching him before he went off.
In Primary 6, I lost a lot of weight and looked like an entirely different person. However I was still treated like an outcast because "once a Shawn Chan always a Shawn Chan". I became fed up with them and only concentrated on my studies.
On the day the PSLE results were released, I got 4th position in my class. So, I made it, came into my school, and left those hooligans once and for all.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Personal Targets 2011
1) What went well for LA last year?
Although my grades for Term 1 was very bad, I felt that I managed to improve my grades constantly throughout the year.
Our LA teacher Mr Teo also made the lessons very fun and interesting by continuously engaging with us. He often prompted us to voice our opinions whenever we discuss a particular topic in class. Furthermore, he also kept encouraging us to do better and assisted us in our work when we needed it. For some of us, he was like a godsend.
I managed to improve my narrative writing and comprehensive skills thanks to our class' "buddy system". My LA result at the end of the year also came as a surprise for me, as I did not expect to do that well.
2) What went wrong?
Actually I was not very attentive in class during the first term, and I did not practise enough narrative writing and comprehension. This caused me to panic during the exam period and I did not revise much before my tests. Thus, I was very unfamiliar as what to do during the test and this probably caused my grades to go downhill.
3)What is my LA target for 2011?
My target score for LA is an A1, and I hope I can achieve this by working hard throughout the year and get exempted from the LA End Of Year exams, although it is very difficult to do this.
4)How do I achieve this target?
The most basic things to start off with is probably to pay more attention in class and do more revision before the exams. I can also read more composition and search for other learning resources such as "Sparknotes".
I also hope that there will still be a buddy system this year so that we may study as a group and share some ideas and strategies.
Although my grades for Term 1 was very bad, I felt that I managed to improve my grades constantly throughout the year.
Our LA teacher Mr Teo also made the lessons very fun and interesting by continuously engaging with us. He often prompted us to voice our opinions whenever we discuss a particular topic in class. Furthermore, he also kept encouraging us to do better and assisted us in our work when we needed it. For some of us, he was like a godsend.
I managed to improve my narrative writing and comprehensive skills thanks to our class' "buddy system". My LA result at the end of the year also came as a surprise for me, as I did not expect to do that well.
2) What went wrong?
Actually I was not very attentive in class during the first term, and I did not practise enough narrative writing and comprehension. This caused me to panic during the exam period and I did not revise much before my tests. Thus, I was very unfamiliar as what to do during the test and this probably caused my grades to go downhill.
3)What is my LA target for 2011?
My target score for LA is an A1, and I hope I can achieve this by working hard throughout the year and get exempted from the LA End Of Year exams, although it is very difficult to do this.
4)How do I achieve this target?
The most basic things to start off with is probably to pay more attention in class and do more revision before the exams. I can also read more composition and search for other learning resources such as "Sparknotes".
I also hope that there will still be a buddy system this year so that we may study as a group and share some ideas and strategies.
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