Let Go and Move On. :)

Heyy, I know there are many out there who are really disappointed with the grades that they have received. Haha, I'm one of them. But just something to cheer you up. Let go and move on! I believe that you can do better in the future...

Life isn’t all about grades.

So I was surfing the net one day and was scrolling down the news feed on my Twitter account. And then I spotted this tweet which said “Why does it seem that every other student except those from HCI seem to have a life?” And come to think about it, he actually does make a point!

With Hwa Chong being one of the best secondary schools in Singapore, there is a need for it to constantly produce students with good results. Therefore, there is pressure from both teachers as well as peers to study hard and obtain good marks. Unfortunately, this has also resulted in students believing that studying is the most important thing in one’s life and they often find themselves mugging at one corner in preparation for the next test which is in 3 weeks time. That is rather sad, isn’t it? Even after a test, the student does not get a short break or be free from this vortex of frustration and stress. It becomes a never-ending cycle and in the end, we would find ourselves being physically, mentally and emotionally drained, not wishing to continue to 

study any further.

That’s why I’m here to tell you that life isn’t all about grades. Sure enough it is grades that define your success in life. Sure enough it is grades which define whether your parents would be mad or not. But the point is that life isn’t defined by that number on your paper. We only have one life and the main aim of it is to live it to the fullest. Moaning about your grade won’t make it better. Just accept it, move on and keep a positive mindset. There will be successes and failures throughout your life, and every moment is meant to be different. So go out there, have some fun and just enjoy yourself once in a while, cos academics aren’t everything.

77^th Street is a famous local brand which sells fashion goods and even has a mall called 77^th Street Plaza in Beijing. Creative Technology Singapore is a famous company and it sells a large range of products ranging from sound systems to portable music devices. And what about the founders of these two companies, Elim Chew and Sim Wong Hoo? They came from ITE. Who says you’re defined by a grade?

Life is short. Don’t spend time feeling bad for yourself. Don’t spend time complaining. Don’t spend time doing things you don’t like. No matter what, there is a bright future out there and there’s a path which will take you there. Live your life to the fullest and enjoy every moment of it.

This I Believe

Most of the time, people find religion a very “touchy-feely" topic, and therefore they feel uncomfortable talking about it. Well, I understand the perspective that some people are coming from but to me, I'm okay with talking about it openly. So to those who are might not feel comfortable, scroll down to my next blog post, I assure you it's just as interesting and fun to read. ^^

I was born a Catholic but I never really had an opportunity to get close to God for 14 years. Most of the time, I just attended church weekly and sat through the services without getting anything absorbed into my head. Sad to say, it became a routine and I did not know what being a Catholic meant. I did not know who God was and I practically strayed away from Him. However, it was then when my mom's friend invited us to her Christian church's Camp during June. And suddenly, it was like I had a sudden realisation that I knew God too little. I wasn't praying enough and I have not been putting in effort to talk to him for 14 years! It has been so long! 14 years and I never realised this. I made a decision there and then to get to know God better.

Ever since then, my life has somehow been revolving around my faith. Every time I met a problem, I prayed. Every time I was down, I prayed. And to me, God was someone whom I believed in. It felt great after you had allowed the Holy Spirit into your life and you start to lead your life according to God. And whenever you met with failure, you are convinced that our Father above has a different plan and path laid out for us. At times, it would be hard to believe that God is actually looking after you. This is especially so for me, when its such periods of time where you're desperately searching for your purpose in life and want to know what to do with it. Like what my senior once told me, "Being a Catholic isn't easy Raphael, but just be sure that God is always there looking after you." It's only been 3 months of truly being a Catholic, and it has been hard for me to take small tiny steps to get to know God better. Being a Catholic is certainly not easy. but that doesn't mean that I won't try.

Two weeks ago, my mom's friend again invited us to attend her church and she introduced us to the Alpha Course. So I decided to accompany my parents and followed them to the Alpha Course introductory dinner. The introductory video which was screen after the dinner left a memorable impact to me. The speaker said this. "I've waited all my life to find my true purpose and feel that sense of satisfaction. So I thought it would be after I started Secondary school, so when I started Secondary school, it felt great. But after a few weeks, I felt that something was missing. So I thought I would be satisfied when I started working, so when I finally started working, it felt great. But after a few weeks, I felt that something was still missing. So I thought it would be when I got married, so I met my dear wife, got married and is still having a blessed marriage ever since then. But after a few weeks, I still felt that something was missing. I realised that, I wasn't talking to God. It was only when I came back to my faith, did I find this satisfaction, this peace. Stop waiting and looking forward to achieving something, believe in God and enter his kingdom, and you'll find that sense of belonging and fulfillment."

God is someone that I believe in. And despite the various times which I've failed, I know He's still up there watching me and guiding me in His own quiet and special way. I won't stop praying and I will never stop believing. Because I believe in Him, and that is all that matters to me. :)

Shakespeare's Got Facebook!

Interested to see Antonio's, Shylock's and Portia's Facebook accounts?

Check them out here!

Antonio:

http://tinyurl.com/LAantonio

Shylock:

http://tinyurl.com/LAshylock

Portia:

http://tinyurl.com/LAportiaACE

Have fun! Hope you liked them! :)

Happiness 101

Okay this might be weird. And in fact, I'm not exactly giving my opinions on anything at all and not sure if it can be counted as a blog post. It's just something that I wish to share.

Most students believe that life is about academics, and academics only. It doesn't matter what subject it is, but it was always about academics. And rather unfortunately, I too fall into the same trap. We often get so wrapped up in Singapore's fast-paced, stressful and competitive environment that we forget what are the things that really make a difference to us. So unintentionally, we depend on the grades we get, to know how to feel. It's like getting A1s for all subjects would suddenly make us joyful but a single C5 would break our heart and as teenagers like to say, go to a corner and emo.

I used to do this a a lot. Making my emotions depend on the grades I received. And the problematic thing was I didn't exactly do consistently well in my academics. So yea, you can kind of guess how my personality was like. This was especially so when I got the worst grade I had ever received ever since I stepped into HCI. And the worst thing was that I studied real hard for that single test but did not manage to excel. But then my senior kind of cheered me up and gave me encouragement. He passed me a book titled "Everything is going to be OK", in which the entire book is just made out of motivational pictures with encouraging words. He told me this "I've been through quite a difficult time these few weeks and I convinced myself that it was all in the mindset and the way that you looked at things." I guess that kind of inspired me.

Life isn't all about grades. And sadly our education system places too much emphasis on the marks that we receive. Life is more about being with the people that you love, and enjoying the things that you do! Grades are important, but they're not that important to the point that we base our emotions on them! I've come to realise and appreciate that life is what YOU decide to do with it. And unlike many other things, you really really only have one life. Treasure it. Cos every moment is meant to be different. Every downfall, every hardship, every success, every victory. So to all those out there who is upset with their grades, here's my advice to you. It's just a mark. You can do better. Don't waste your life moaning about it. Cos you deserve more and your life is far more worth a single grade. Be optimistic and look at things from a brighter perspective! It's all in the mindset.

Treasure your lives, live it to the fullest and most importantly, live it happy.

Welcome to Singapore, Foreign Workers!

"Hey! I heard that Singapore is a great place for a great future! It can change our lives!"
"Yeah! Heard about it too! Let's go!"

It's most likely due to this talk which has led to an unending string of foreigners coming to Singapore to seek their future. Unfortunately, this news isn't exactly well received by Singaporeans. Instead, many are actually against it.

"When I step into a train carriage, I don't want to see India or China, I want to see Singapore!"
"Stop them from coming in! Do you want us to show prejudice to them before you start listening, Mr Prime Minister?"

That's the talk in Singapore. And I understand the worries which Singaporeans have if there was an influx of foreign workers. The first worry is that they will take up our jobs. Especially with a recent economic crisis and the sudden plunge in the stock market a few days ago, people are fearing for their jobs and are afraid that they would not be able to earn enough money to support their family. Well, some people don't even have a job! They are unemployed and is already having much trouble finding for one. And what happens when foreign workers step onto our shores? They simply exaggerate the entire issue! They come in, increase the competition for jobs, and eventually, since foreign workers are sometimes cheaper, they get employed instead of Singaporeans! All the jobs are taken up by foreign workers and none are left for Singaporeans.

Some argue that these jobs which foreign workers take up are jobs which Singaporeans would not want. I do agree with this to a certain extent. What jobs do foreign workers take up? They take up jobs such as manual labour, moving of bricks from one point to another, cleaning the toilets in a shopping mall. These are jobs which Singaporeans are unwilling to take up even if they were given the opportunity to. Why? Because many believe we are well-educated and should be putting our skills to full use by finding a better job. So to be able to actually enjoy this convenience that we receive, we have to thank these foreign workers! However, there is more and more foreign workers who are getting jobs which Singaporeans have considered applying for! For instance, being a cashier/waiter at Cafe Galilee in libraries, or serving at the counter at Berrylite. This was just some examples I found from a single trip to Whitesands Mall in Pasir Ris. There are foreign workers getting such jobs which pay well relative to that of manual labour. Thus, foreign workers actually are competing with Singaporeans for jobs!

Another worry which Singaporeans have over an influx of foreign workers is the dilution of the Singapore Identity. These foreign workers who come in often do so just to earn money. They have no Singapore spirit, no sense of belonging to this country, and only see Singapore as a gigantic ATM machine where they can earn money easier. Singaporeans are thus upset over how the strong sense of belonging is going to be diluted simply due to these new additions to the population. However, let's stop here and question? Do Singapore even have an identity in the first place? Perhaps its our multi-cultural society which we take pride in. But even so, do we have a proper Singapore Identity? In my opinion, I believe not. It has been the talk of the country the past few years and up till now, we never once came close to answering the question. Perhaps we could stop and think first before blaming it on foreign workers.

No matter what, it seems that foreign workers are here to stay. That's unless our government finds another solution to solve the problem of an aging population and find Singaporeans who are willing enough to take up low-paying jobs. But all I can say is change your perspective Singaporeans! Perhaps one day you'll find that they actually do play a huge part in building this island we call home.

Singapore's Got Talent!

Okay, perhaps not that game show, but now with the rise of so many new Singaporean talents, ranging from those recording songs in the studio to those painting away in the gallery, Singapore does indeed have talent! Well, at least in my opinion. In this year's Singapore Arts Festival, there has been a great variety of films and music which has been released to the public. And this includes one short film and song which I really liked. It's called "I Want To Remember", which is also the theme for this year's Singapore Arts Festival. It was directed by local film director Royston Tan and I believe that his short film is certainly worth a watch. Check out part of it here! The song is certainly inspiring.

Personally, I never expected much from our local talent. Because let's be honest, when someone talks about music, local pop music isn't something that will strike you first. When we talk about artists, our local painting aren't something which would come to your mind immediately. It was always something foreign, something from other countries which would have a bigger, lasting and most importantly, much more impressive impact on me. I never expected much from Singapore's local arts industry. But sometimes I am proven wrong. Take Royston Tan for instance. I only knew him after my friend introduced the "I Want To Remember" film to me and I did some background research afterwards. It seems that he has actually been a very prominent figure in our arts industry and he actually does make pretty impressive films! So if it isn't the problem of how good our local talent is, that what's the problem?

In my opinion, I believe that the underlying problem is the lack of support for local talent. Unfortunately, despite the local talent pool that we have, people are unaware about their presence. Maybe it's because people feel that such local talent are not outstanding enough and therefore should go unnoticed. However, have you seen our local bands before? Go google "Blackforest", which is such a Singapore band. It does do pretty good covers and I have listened to them before. But yet they are not well-known. I feel that there is a need for Singaporeans to support our local industry more. It is commonly due to Singaporeans' mindset that our arts and film industry is a waste of time which is the reason why there is a lacking presence of locals who support local talent. Local singer and songwriter Oliva Ong recently commented that Singaporeans need to be supportive of local talent or else they will never be able to make a breakthrough and achieve more internationally. And honestly, I agree with her. Even though Oliva Ong is quite successful in making a break in Japan, I have not heard her name being passed about frequently in Singapore. This just shows that lack of support for local talent.

Being Singaporeans, we all hope that one day Singapore would strive for greater heights. And for her to do so, she has to rely on her own people. If there are people who are willing to try to pull up the standard of local music, we should support them along the journey. Because, after all, Singapore's Got Talent!

What's with communism!

So I was watching a really interesting documentary on television today, entitled "Kim Jong-Il: The Forbidden Biography". And I was just staring at how synchronized the way their army marched and the massive performances that the citizens put up to celebrate the graciousness of His Majesty Kim Jong-Il. It was simply spectacular! The performance was on a very large scale and there could very easily be thousands and thousands of performers. And the way their army marched was so straight, so precise, to the point that it made the USA army look bad. In today's present society, the only other country that could pull this off was China. And this could be seen in the 2008 Beijing Olympics when the Chinese put up a beautiful line up of performances during the Opening Ceremony which left viewers stunned. North Korea is communist. China is communist. How come only communist countries are able to put up such a show while the rest of the countries out there in the world can't? That really set me thinking. What made communism so different besides the way that the country is run?

My father told me that it was perhaps due to the large emphasis on discipline which communist countries like North Korea place on, and this is true to quite a large extent. In communist countries, most of the time it uses fear as a weapon to prevent nearby democratic countries from attacking them. In the case of China, it's their massive country size as well as the vast amount of people they have, which greatly increases the size of their army. For North Korea, well nothing else is needed to say about their army. They have one of the largest armies in the world, behind superpowers like USA, and they have rather advanced weaponry including nuclear weapons. The threats from their neighbouring countries are endless. China is constantly afraid of what the USA might do. North Korea has always been at loggerheads with their good pal South Korea. Discipline was of the utmost essence if they needed to successfully boost the status of their country and play down their enemies with the threats of a well-trained, disciplined and enormous army. I think this is a rather valid reason, and it makes complete sense too.

However, despite how North Korea is able to discipline its people to cause them to become so synchronised, I believe that the government is not doing its duty. Guess what? 850,000 dollars is spent a year solely on the wine intake of Kim Jong-Il. And yet, its people is suffering from famine and are not taken care of properly. And approximate amount of 2 million people died due to one of the famines which occurred in North Korea. That is 850,000 gone down into the drain and not towards the people simply because Kim Jong Il needs his luxurious dose of alcohol. Can you say the government, oh no, I mean the dictator, is doing a good job any longer? But still the people are brainwashed to believe that Kim Jong Il is their holy saviour and worships him to the very end. Where ever you go, you see his face being plastered every where, every household. It's shocking and yet intriguing at the same time. So the only question I will pose is: What's with communism? It doesn't work but yet there are countries like China, Russia and North Korea, which are willing to adopt it. And it seems that these countries (with the exception of North Korea perhaps?) are not doing too badly. Perhaps one day, things will change in North Korea. Especially with Kim Jong Il's son taking over the country's dictatorship in due time, all eyes are on this lonely hermit nation with the hopes of change.

The Singapore Spirit under close inspection...

So it seems that the theme for this year's National Day Parade is "Majulah! The Singapore Spirit." And whether you think it is ironic or not, I personally feel that the logo actually looks pretty cool, especially when it is animated. Take a look! 

Okay but besides that, with such a slogan of "The Singapore Spirit". It wasn't unexpected for netizens to start questioning. "What do you mean by the Singapore Spirit?" "For heavens sake, Singapore doesn't even have an identity at all!" Now lets take the issue into our hands and look at it from an objective point of view. Personally I can understand what these netizens mean when asking such questions and there is actually logic behind their claims. With Singapore having foreigners comprising of at least half of our total population, it has indeed diluted the true Singaporea identity. Now where ever we go, it is unsurprising to at least see foreign talent at every corner of the street, every single MRT train carriage, every single bus. What Singaporeans promised to strive for when the pledge was crafted out, to unite as one and work together as one people, are these the same group of Singaporeans any longer? And without a proper Singapore identity, can the Singapore Spirit even exist at all? I guess after asking oneself these questions, you will start to understand the thoughts running through the minds of not only these netizens, but also of many other Singaporeans. That was why such a slogan was ironic to what Singapore is today.

However, at the same time, we cannot forget the fact that Singapore takes pride in its diversity. Singapore has been time and time again branded as "a multi-cultural society" and the fact that we have so many races and religions in our country is because we house a diverse mix of people with different cultures and different backgrounds. The Singapore Identity is this diversity that Singapore is so proud to have. In fact, we are one of the very few countries in the whole world, if not the only country, where so many people of different races and religions are able to live together in harmony! And with this diverse and unique Singapore identity, also comes the Singapore Spirit, which is that regardless of race, language or religion, we will work as one to achieve our goals. Perhaps this was the reason behind why such a slogan was chosen. Maybe it was also the reason why this year's NDP song is titled "In A Heartbeat". Check it out here!

However, no matter what the reason is, the most important thing is that Singaporeans unite together and not find fault with other Singaporeans of different races or religions. As a country, we should stick together and strive to achieve greater heights. Whether or not it is possible is a question. And it ultimately falls back on whether Singaporeans are willing to do so. This might be too early, but well, Happy National Day! Wishing Singapore another year of peace and progress!

Blame it on Soccer? Nahh.

The question for today's essay reminded me once again to write a blog post regarding the entire issue of Singapore versus Malaysia, something which I keep forgetting to do time and time again. So here it is!

Singapore made an unexpected victory against Malaysia in the World Cup Qualifiers recently, with a score of 6-4. However, this unexpected win has also given rise to many citizens in Malaysia displaying unsportsmanlike behaviour during and after the match itself. Seeing that Singapore had won, Malaysian citizens became upset and started flaming Singapore in order to release their anger. Some netizens even defaced the Singapore flag by drawing on it and writing the word "Loser" on the flag before posting the picture online. Singaporeans, yearning to protect their country, started flaming Malaysia as well. During the match itself, both Malaysian and Singaporean spectators were caught shining lasers at the football players and throwing cups into the field to distract the teams.

In my opinion, I believe that Malaysian spectators should not have started this flaming campaign which gave rise to both sides of the causeway flaming each other. Although it was an unexpected loss for Malaysia, they had no right to be angry to the point that they insult Singapore by drawing on our flag. The flag of one's country represents one's pride and glory and defacing a country's flag is the worst you can do to insult the country. Football is just a sport and no matter the result, whether win or lose, not only the athletes but also the spectators and citizens of the country must respect the outcome of the game and show sportsmanlike behaviour. Whatever happened in the game, remains in the game and in the sporting arena. We should not drag the issue out of its context and blow it up by blaming one another.

However, to be fair, we cannot blame Malaysia entirely for this issue. Singapore also had a part to play in it. Although Malaysian citizens were heavily criticising the Singapore team, Singaporeans should not have responded. Their response only worsened the situation and gave the Malaysian netizens a reason to respond and continue flaming Singapore. If Singaporeans had not said a thing, the Malaysians would have stopped their actions eventually. Unfortunately, this was not the case and it resulted in the worsening of the situation.

Fortunately, the governments on both sides are taking steps and actions to solve this issue as soon as possible. I believe that the reason for this issue to occur is the fault of both countries. On one hand, we have Malaysians not exhibiting sportsmanlike behaviour and on the other, we have Singaporeans who are stubborn enough to spark off even more quarrels. Whatever it is, I hope that the issue would be solved soon and that both countries would not have similar quarrels over a mere sports game in the future. What's the point of sports if the spirit and essence of it isn't there?

Quest for World Peace -- Impossible?

The Power of Y (Youth), the Quest for World Peace.

That was the main theme of the 2nd Chung Ling International Camp which I participated in, in July. The first time I heard of the theme, the first thought that hit me was: impossible. World Peace was such a gigantic, intangible topic which was very hard to handle. How could Youth, who are so young be able to do something which can greatly affect and change the world? However, after attending the various talks that were organised there, I came out having a whole new perspective.

In the talk, Yes I Can!, the speaker came forth and the first thing which he asked us to do was shout the words "Yes We Can" as loudly as we can. Certainly, it came forth as weird at first, but after shouting it, the speaker said: "Who knew you could do that right?" It was interesting cos what we perceived as unable to do and impossible, was what we could actually do in reality if we were willing to do so. The speaker showed us many other similar videos which gave us the self confidence to make a difference, and take the initiative. The only thing which stops us from doing what we can is, fear. We want to change something, but at the same time, we are afraid to do so. And somehow or rather, we had to identify this fear and seek to eradicate it. Unfortunately, the speaker didn't give us a direct solution to this. All he said was "This fear varies from every individual. Seek to find that fear of yours and solve it." Which I have to agree with him.

However, from a different perspective, there are some Youth who don't even want to help out or make a difference. In my opinion, I believe that this is a major problem because if we cannot even find a method to empower Youth, and we start an initiative, no one would follow. To me, the root problem of this lack of empowerment is ignorance. Youth are unaware about the misfortunes that other people out there face, they do not know that there are children out there who are being kidnapped and turned into child soldiers, they do not know that there are people out there who are surviving on two dollars every week. It is due to this ignorance which is why Youth are unwilling to make a difference. And some how or rather, it is the duty of ours to empower them.

Whether we can do it or not, is a big question. But whether we are willing to do so, is a question at a whole new level. Hopefully, when time comes, we wouldn't stand back and watch, but instead step forth and initiate.

2nd Chung Ling International Camp

Taking that flight to Penang, I had mixed feelings of what I would expect when I reached Chung Ling High School. I never participated in an exchange programme before and thus didn't know what to expect. However, throughout the course of 7 days, I enjoyed every single moment of the camp and never regretted spending an entire week in Penang.

On the first few days, we went for sight seeing around Penang, going to beautiful places like Kek Lok Si Temple, one of the grandest temples in Malaysia as well as in South East Asia as a whole. This was also where the gigantic statue of Buddha reclines in, on the 3rd level. It was one of the biggest statues of Buddha in the world. The scenery here was stunning. Although it was slight hazy, it gave us a birds eye view of Penang and its mountains. Besides Kek Lok Si Temple, we also visited George Town, the UNSECO heritage town which is home to various historic places, such as Fort Cornwallis and the Peranakan Mansion. It was certainly something different for me, besides going to Malacca all the time every single year. And guess what, there were many other places in George Town which I didn't visit, such as Chew Jetty and others. I hope to visit them when I return to Penang in the future!

Of course other than just sight seeing and other fun activities, we also engaged in talks and discussions to solve global issues. Such as that of  global peace. It was certainly an eye-opener experience as I never expected others to be so much more unfortunate than I was. At the end, the participants were yearning to make a difference and to change what we could. "Yes, I can!" was one of the talks which I attended and it was really inspirational, convincing us Youth that yes, we could make a difference.

2nd Chung Ling International Camp has indeed been a wonderful experience. Being the first exchange programme which I have ever participated in, I have also gained a whole new circle of friends, including friends from Malaysia, Vietnam, China and even Nigeria! We still keep in touch via social media platforms like Facebook. I would never forget all the friendships forged during that camp, and I look forward to similar opportunities in the future!

Stop STOMP!

STOMP is a Singapore website which was created with the purpose of allowing Singaporeans to voice out their opinions and comment on the actions of other Singaporeans. The Singapore Seen section is a citizen journalism platform for Singaporeans to contribute news tip-offs, photos and videos. And very sadly, this Singapore Seen section has resulted in a Singaporean taking out his hand phone, snapping a picture of Hwa Chong students in uniform eating an ice cream on the bus, and posting it on Stomp, attracting tons of attention.


Personally, I believe that the entire situation lies in the fault of these students for the plain fact that they brought the ice cream up the bus. It was good that these students was brave enough to step forward to admit their mistakes and face the truth. However, although I do not approve their actions, I still believe that the presence of Stomp itself has caused the entire issue to flare up. In my opinion, I feel that Stomp is a disgrace to the image of Singapore. Go to www.stomp.com.sg and scroll down the home page. What do you see? There are headlines that talk about "Singapore's best love stories", "Meet Singapore's hottest pole dances" and "Grammar ninjas: Spot english errors anywhere!" If a foreigner somehow or rather sees the Stomp website, what image of Singapore do you think the foreigner would have? I am afraid it won't look very good on us.


What scares me the most is that Stomp was not set up by any random Singaporean or Singapore company. It was set up by The Straits Times! The Straits Times which is owned and run by the government! Though I understand that the government is trying to allow Singaporeans to practice their right of freedom of speech, I believe that this is not a good way to do so as it just reflects very badly on Singapore. Who knows, perhaps one reason why The Straits Times set up Stomp was because they just wanted to earn more money and make Singaporeans think that the government is giving them the liberty to have the freedom of speech.


That's just my opinion on Stomp as a whole and I am very sure many out there have same/differing opinions on this issue. And one clarification, I am not criticising the government in any way, just presenting my opinions on the setting up of this internet platform.

Social Media + GE 2011 = Excitement.

Surprisingly, this was my LA essay test topic. I personally have very strong opinions on this issue and therefore would like to bring the discussion online to talk more about it informally. In addition, I would also like to narrow the scope to make it easier to understand. Thus it would be the impact of social media in the recent General Election 2011.

With regards to GE 2011, I presume that everybody agrees that one reason why the GE was more exciting than all the previous ones was due to the presence of social media. During the entire course of the election, many political parties, especially the Opposition, tapped on social media and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook for the spreading of information. Such an example is the National Solidarity Party who created a Facebook page to garner support for every single constituency that they were contesting in. In addition, other parties like Workers Party also created Twitter accounts to keep followers and supporters up to date about their upcoming rallies and walkabouts. Due to social media, many has thus been calling GE 2011 "the watershed election". From these examples, I think one advantage that we can find from social media is that it helps in improving the ease of the spreading of information. Just because of the presence of social networking sites, they has thus contributed to the fact that the General Election 2011 is so exciting. With Youtube, now anybody and everybody can post videos of the entire rallies online. Simply type in "Singapore General Election 2011 rallies" and I am sure you would have an entire list of rallies from various parties in a blink of an eye. With such accessibility with just a click, this has thus connected and made Singaporeans up to date with GE 2011 issues.

Another thing which I think contributed to the fact that General Election is so exciting is because social media has allowed many videos and pictures to go viral. Such an example is Tin Pei Ling's "I don't know what to say" line and her posing with a Kate Spade bag. Another example is the very unexpected returning officer, Yam Ah Mee, who became an overnight sensation after people kept hearing him repeat "Pursuant to Section 49, sub-section 7E, paragraph A of the Parliamentary Elections Act..." over and over again. Some even made a video of him repeating the line over and over again! See below for the "I don't know what to say" and "Yam Ah Mee" remixes.

With such videos and GE craziness, how can the general election not be exciting!

In my opinion, I believe that many Youth are addicted and hooked onto social media. One might not think so but if you think about it for awhile, we can actually consider ourselves addicted. I am sure that everybody has the tendency to go onto Facebook at least once everyday. And most of the time, we just keep it on as one of our tabs as we open new tabs to surf the web or complete our homework. This can be considered addicted to social media because we are already unknowingly spending many hours on the internet and Facebook. However, at the same time, I believe that social media also has many advantages like allowing friends to interact and discuss issues online. For instance, me and my friends were rapidly discussing the GE results online on polling day for 5 hours non-stop without the need to meet up physically. I think that social media can be put into good use, like has hyping up the entire GE atmosphere. However, I presume it all falls back down on how social media is used in order to reap the benefits from it.

Aljunied - A New Beginning.

Just a clarification before I start this post, this is just my personal opinion and thoughts on the victory of Workers Party in Aljunied. Anybody who has similar or opposing views, do comment! I would love to hear your thoughts on a similar issue.

I believe that Workers Party taking Aljunied is a historical milestone in Singapore's political history. Not only because it is the first time a GRC has been taken by the Opposition or that there is a record number of 6 elected Opposition members of parliament, but more of because this shows that Singapore has a viable Opposition. PAP has been holding a strong foothold ever since Singapore's independence and although many do not openly question their power, some do secretly hold grudges against the party and are silently, hungry for change. The Workers Party's victory in Aljunied has thus shown that change might finally begin for some Singaporeans. However, what some might not know is that Aljunied, can be very simply considered a guinea pig.

The Opposition has never had such a large number of candidates elected into parliament. They were often the underdog and some doubted their ability to rule the country. I think one of the reasons why Singaporeans voted Workers Party into Aljunied was because they wanted to personally see what the Opposition can do. This 5 year period until the next election in 2016 is thus a very important time period for them. If they do well, they might gain more support from other Singaporeans and this could eventually lead the Opposition in creating an alternate government, However, if the residents at Aljunied are not satisfied with their 5-year performance, I feel that this would be a big blow to the Opposition as Singaporeans would know that they are unfit to rule the country. Therefore, Aljunied would be used as a gage for the voters in 2016.

Just presuming that Workers Party does do a good job, I believe that if I was the PAP, I would be freaking out, worried that I would lose my foothold of other constituencies. Look at Joo Chiat, the Opposition lost it due to a mere 300-400 votes. If Aljunied is run well, Joo Chiat and East Coast would next have the fear of being lost to the Workers Party. The Opposition would thus very slowly, constituency by constituency, try to win the votes and trust of Singaporeans. And who knows! One day they just might take over Singapore.

Tricky and sneaky plan? Yes I have to say so. However, this does mark a new beginning in Singapore. Looking forward to a strong fight by the Opposition in 2016.

Tin Pei Ling - Disgrace?

In the recent General Election 2011, there have been lots of talk on the various candidates which both the PAP and the Opposition had presented. This was especially so for Tin Pei Ling from the PAP. Many criticized her for being "immature" and "childish". Some also believed that she did not have a good grasp on the topics which were raised in the GE. Videos and photos were circulated around, showing Tin Pei Ling posing with a Kate Spade bag, with her now famous "I don't know what to say" line. In addition, Tin Pei Ling's reply to the "What is the greatest regret of your life?" question by the media has already attracted a lot of attention. Many Singaporeans have criticized her for not understanding the problems that an average Singaporean face. This was ever since she told the media that "the education for children in Singapore is already very low".

Personally, I think that the main aim and reason why the PAP decided to put Tin Pei Ling as a candidate was to have candidates which could connect to the Gen Y population of Singapore. In my opinion, I believe that it was a fantastic and ingenious move on behalf of the PAP, because the votes of the Gen Y Singaporeans in GE 2011 would have played a big difference. Therefore, by putting a candidate of the same age to contest for them, it would have been extremely applicable and such candidates could appeal to the hearts of Gen Y supporters.

However, whether PAP unveiled the right Gen Y candidate was the big question. I think that Tin Pei Ling is completely unsuitable to be a member of parliament. She is unable to fully grasp the issues raised in the GE, she did not act like a matured 27-year old, and Tin Pei Ling was not completely convincing or articulate when speaking in front of the camera. Some Singaporeans say that Tin Pei Ling was just young and that she could grow up and become a more matured individual. However, I believe that if Nicole Seah, who is 24-years old and younger than Tin Pei Ling, can show a higher level of maturity than her, this cannot be used as an excuse for her immaturity. Although I have to respect Tin Pei Ling for being brave and daring enough to take on the challenge to enter the world of politics, I feel that with regards to the future of Singapore, the PAP should seek out better Gen Y candidates and groom them into becoming the next batch of leaders of Singapore. It is then can the PAP successfully earn the support of Youth.

I personally believe that the PAP is too stuck in their old ways and are becoming more old fashioned. Such an example is how PAP does not heavily tap on the connectivity which social networking sites and the internet has provided. On the other hand, the Opposition tapped on this medium as a form of communication. It was highly successfully in spreading information to Singaporeans, especially for the more tech-savvy Gen Y voters. In order to gain the support of these Singaporeans, I feel that the PAP needs to change their ways to allow Youth to relate to them easier.

So is Tin Pei Ling a disgrace? Sorry to say, I think so. However, good job to the PAP for attempting to bring the next generation of leaders into playing a part to improve Singapore. I am sure everybody would be eying on Tin Pei Ling. Let's see if she does a good job in Marine Parade GRC.

MYSTERY DEATH SURROUNDING BOB EWELL...

Haha yea that's the title of my newspaper article.

Here's the link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/54600448/Mystery-Death-Surrounding-Bob-Ewell-Newspaper

Enjoy!

Cheers,
Raphael

LA Expository Essay

Whew... Expository essays are really hard. Need to start seeking help from my peers. Going to study hard before next week's test! To my classmates, please give some comments so tha I can improve on my expository essay skills!

It is sometimes suggested that young people owe their parents nothing at all. Do you think such a statement is true? Write an essay giving your views.

As a new generation of youth appears, many issues have risen over the statement of whether young people should be filial to their parents and that everything they have is due to the hard work of their parents. This is especially so for Asian communities and societies where heavy emphasis has been placed on filial piety. However, the new generation of youth has adopted a mentality that young people do not owe their parents anything at all and this has thus sparked off much debate over this topic. Personally, I do not agree with this statement. Since young people depend on their parents for their needs and wants and parents raised their children up since young, young people owe everything to their parents.

The choice to have children lay in the hands of parents. Although parents foresaw the many difficulties of having children would bring, they still made the choice to raise a child. For most parents, they put in a lot of effort in creating an ideal environment for their child to grow up in. In addition, most of the time, it is due to parents’ efforts which has created and led young people to the right path in living the rest of their life. Therefore, this clearly shows that parents are responsible for both the future and well-being of their child and these young people thus owe everything to their parents.

Another reason why young people owe everything to their parents is due to their reliance on parents for basic needs. Due to today’s high-tech society, this has created a mind-set among young people that there is a need to be in possession of the latest game consoles, latest mobile phones and latest electronic gadgets. In order to obtain them, young people would thus have to fork out sums of money to pay for them. Young people often forget that this money which they are spending is money which their parents have earned. It was through their own hard work which allowed parents to manage to earn enough for the family. Young people often forget where the money that they spend come from and this causes them to believe that they owe their parents nothing at all. Therefore, as young people constantly rely on their parents for basic needs, such as money, Youth owe everything to their parents.

Some people might disagree with my stand as there is an increasing amount of Youth who are finding their own jobs to make money and therefore, parents do not solely support the young people and provide them with their needs and wants. Although I agree with their claims, one must also accept the fact that the reason why young people today are able to find a job and live comfortably in today’s society is because their parents had created a stable foundation of which these young people are allowed to progress and excel in life. In addition, before young people are even eligible to go out and work, their parents have been supporting them and providing for them ever since young. Therefore, this ultimately leads back to parents playing the biggest role in young people’s life and therefore young people owe everything to them.

 No matter whether one might agree if young people owe everything or nothing to their parents, the most essential thing is that young people accept and respect their parents for nurturing and bringing them up since they were young. Most importantly, young people must take care of their parents no matter the situation, just like how their parents did so when they were young.

A Day of Life in World War 2

Personally, I cannot imagine living in one of these wars. Especially after looking all the videos which we were recommended to watch, such as the "Saving Private Ryan - Omaha Beach Part 1", all that you actually want to do is just break down and cry. The videos are not only superbly saddening, but superbly disgusting as well. Looking at the guy pick up his own bloody hand which is detached from his body? That's... just disgusting. Here's my assignment for imaging myself being in one of the wars:

Crouching in the shadows, running away in the dark, having German soldiers trailing you like dogs. At every single point of day, every single minute and every single second, my family hid in our secret home which was located inside an office. The bookshelf the only way into our private and hidden home. German soldiers were outside every day, breaking into homes and dragging them out, taking them to places which were never spoken of. Those Jews were never seen again. Living in a fear of being caught, living in a fear of death, that traumatises the entire life of a child as young as me, forever. But will I even survive?

Descriptive Paragraph on War

The ground shook with every blast and explosion. Soldiers dropped to the ground as a rain of bullets flew above their heads. "Get down! Get down!" The commander spat out orders. A soldier covered in blood, took out a grenade and time instantly slowed down as he stood up and threw it at angle. The grenade soared across the sky just as a bullet flew straight into the head of the soldier and he collapsed onto the floor. As the grenade exploded, blood flowed out of the soldier's head. He was dead.

Mississippi BURNING!!!

Ms Huang showed us this fantastic film during Language Arts class for the past few lessons and I really enjoyed the movie. The main reason I felt so was due to how interesting the movie was and also how successful the movie was in bringing out the events that occurred in 1964.

Mississippi Burning was a movie about the prejudice to the Blacks and also about the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) who went extreme measures to vent their anger on them. The KKK believed that "White Anglo Saxon Protestants" (WASPs) were superior to the Blacks and there was a need to get rid of these Blacks because they dirtied the image of a pure WASP community. The KKK was then formed with this intention and therefore they burned down many Black churches and lynched many innocent Blacks just because of their skin colour. To show this situation, the producer of the film went quite in depth to relate the story and provide background information on this prejudice towards the Black. Due to the strong emphasis on history and also the interesting use of camera angles to keep the viewers at the edge of their seats, I enjoyed the film alot.

In my opinion, after watching Mississippi Burning, the main burning question I had was why did the Whites hate the Blacks that much? Was it just because of their skin colour? Unfortunately, yes. >.< Being someone who believes that everyone should be treated equally, I could not help but empathize for all the Blacks who appeared in the movie. Especially when there was this one specific scene which showed the lynching and hanging of a Black man in front of his burning house in great detail while his son watched helplessly from afar. At that moment I really felt for the coloured community and the Blacks as a whole and from time to time, I even had this hatred against the Whites. I think Mississippi Burning was a film which was slightly tilted more towards the Blacks. The Blacks were portrayed as holy, spiritual and pure while the Whites were portrayed more of being cruel, heartless and merciless. I think the director of the film purposely shifted the focus of the film to allow the audience to empathize more for the Blacks and lesser for the Whites in order to cause the audience to view the entire situation from a different point of view. As the Blacks were the victims in this situation, I think it was also sensible and logical to film the show from the perspective of one who was receiving this prejudice. This would make a greater impact on the audience and thus cause the film to be more touching and emotional.

Cheers,
Raphael

Blog Prompt 6! xD

Question:
Did the ending of the novel surprise you? If you were the author, would you have ended the story differently? Explain.

Personal Response:
I have to say that the ending of the novel certainly surprised me. Firstly, I never expected Bob Ewell to target Atticus's children, Scout and Jem, and of course I didn't expect him to take revenge on Atticus to the extent that he will actually attempt to kill his children. This was the part which surprised me the most, the extent which Bob Ewell took to take revenge on Atticus. Although I understand that Atticus actually defamed Bob Ewell's family name by showing the rest of the Malcomb society that Mayella Ewell actually liked a Black, I never expected him to be that mad with Atticus to the point that he would actually kill his 2 children and in order to gain revenge.

Another section of the ending which surprised me was the fact that Bob Ewell died at the end. Something else which adds on to this surprise was that he died by FALLING ON HIS OWN KNIFE. I find that although this part is quite hard to believe, it is still quite startling because I never expected Bob Ewell to die. Furthermore, how he died is actually quite weird and in fact quite... stupid. It keeps occurring to me that Bob Ewell wanted to kill Scout and Jem, but instead, he killed himself in the process without even achieving his aim. That was just my feelings when I read the ending.

If I were the author, truthfully, I would not change a single aspect of the ending. Firstly, the ending is UNEXPECTED. Most good stories have unexpected endings which surprise the reader and in this story, Harper Lee manages to achieve just that goal. She surprised me with her ending and it adds more excitement to the story and makes it more interesting. In addition, with an unexpected but yet interesting ending, it also allows the reader to remember the story constantly since the ending leaves the most impact. The second reason why I won't want to change the ending is also how it actually fulfills its goal as an ending and actually sums up the entire story in a very nice way. I especially liked how the story ends off with the interaction and conversation between Atticus and Scout. It neatly packages the entire story as a whole and brings out the purpose of the story in a quiet but effective way from just that one conversation.

So that's my opinions on the ending! What are yours? :D

Cheers,
Raphael

Blog Prompt 5! :D

Question:
As you followed the action in the courtroom, which character did you empathize the most? Explain.

Response:
Personally, I loved the court case section of the entire book. In fact, it was my favourite part of the book. One reason for this is perhaps due to my strong interest in court cases, lawyers etc. Another reason is due to how the writer managed to paint a vivid and realistic image of the court case in the reader's mind and make them relate to it and feel part of it.

I think the second reason which I listed above also led me to empathize for Mayella Ewell the most. Although we are constantly hinted that Mayella Ewell was at fault and that she was actually lying, Harper Lee managed to paint the entire issue into one which seems to show that Mayella Ewell was actually the victim. Especially when Atticus Finch continued to question her and make her admit that she was in the wrong and that Tom Robinson was innocent, Mayella Ewell burst into tears and said "That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards, stinkin' cowards, the lot of you." After that, Harper Lee when in depth into describing how Mayella Ewell cried.

"Then she burst into real tears. Her shoulder shook with angry sobs. She was as good as her word. She answered no more questions, even when Mr Gilmer tried to get her back on track... Atticus had hit her hard in a way that was not clear to me, but it gave him no pleasure to do so. He sat with his head down, and I never saw anybody glare at anyone with the hatred Mayella showed when she left the stand and walked by Atticus's table."


I think this was the most important part of the court case which caused many readers including myself to empathize and feel for Mayella Ewell. The words which Harper Lee chose to tell this scene played a big role in conveying the feelings to the reader. The description on how hard she cried also made me empathize for Mayella Ewell very easily. Most of the time, readers empathize for the victim and not the prosecutor. However, in this case, although Atticus Finch can be considered the "victim" and Mayella Ewell is the prosecutor, we instead empathize for the prosecutor instead! Harper Lee's style of writing causes readers to empathize for the most unexpected of characters! In addition, although Atticus Finch is portrayed as one who seems to be at fault for questioning Mayella Ewell to this extent, the writer still hints to the reader that he is actually not at fault. This can be seen from "Atticus had hit her hard in a way that was not clear to me, but it gave him no pleasure to do so." Therefore due to these reasons and Harper Lee's style of writing, I empathized for Mayella Ewell the most.

Cheers,
Raphael

Blog Prompt 4! Superstitions!

I'm writing this blog post because I was inspired by Kee Xuan's post on the same topic. Basically he addressed many common superstitions such as Friday the 13th (bad luck) as well as finding a four-leaf clover (good luck). However, another aspect which I feel is very related to superstitions and which I would like to touch on is also those superstitions that are actually related to religion.

So basically, besides all the normal superstitions which we can say has "western influences", there are also many superstitions which arrive from culture and particularly religion. These superstitions appear mostly in the East where we concentrate a lot on preserving tradition and following them strictly. Some of you might think that although we do live in the East, there aren't actually many superstitions that we know of and do follow strictly to. But what you don't know is that even the mere things that we do during festivals are actually superstitions! Let me give you an example. During Chinese New Year, do you know why we use Red as the colour for lanterns etc.? Do you even know why we think Red is a lucky colour? That's because the superstition is that the colour Red will scare away the monster 年 who would come out every year to devour humans. Even up till now, when most of Chinese might not believe in this, they still continue this tradition.

Personally, I've also known other superstitions which I do follow. For instance, my Mom has told me before about the superstition which is related to moths. She said that if we ever see moths in our house, we cannot chase them away, because they are actually our ancestors visiting our home. Though we didn't really believe in it, my mom still said that it was best to play safe. I think this also speaks for all other superstitions. Most of the time, superstitions are actually created due to the influence by others. However, as our entire society rapidly evolves and becomes more modern, we learn and find out more about the true scientific facts behind the superstition itself. Therefore, this results with a superstition that does not actually exist and which has no real facts to back up its claims. However, even so, most of us still continue to stick to it. The main reason is due to the fact that we already have a fixed mindset and this mindset is very had to change. And for those superstitions which cannot be proven whether they're true or not, best thing to do is PLAY SAFE! :)

So that's my personal opinion! Hope you enjoyed reading them. I look forward to hearing your own opinions too! :D

Cheers,
Raphael

Blog Prompt 3 :)

Question:
What memories of your childhood come to mind as you read about Scout's experiences?

Response:
Basically, I think Scout had a rather interesting and enjoyable childhood. I mean let's look at her life, although she might have faced many problems and complications constantly along the way, she did seem to enjoy her childhood a lot. Especially with Dill and Jem, when they acted out all the various stories that they knew like Dracula and attempted to make them as realistic as possible. And especially the addition of the Radley place and the rumors of it being haunted spiced up Scout's childhood and added excitement as well as suspense to her life.

Personally whenever I think of Scout's experiences as a child, the first thing that always comes to my mind is the many times I spent playing with my brother when I was young. Just like Scout and Jem, we used to play every single day, using up all the free time that we had. However we didn't act out any stories we knew xD, instead we played with these building blocks which we kept in this gigantic sack in the storeroom. Often that not, we'll try to build long bridges using the bricks and make toy cars cross them. However, since my brother was older than me by four years, he soon grew old of the games that we played and didn't play with me anymore, similar to how Jem treated Scout when he grew up and thus spent more time with Dill instead.

For haunted places, sadly no rumors were shared with me when I was in my Primary School. But I did hear about haunted places in my brother's Secondary School which I actually believed in since I was more innocent then. The rumor was that every night, at around midnight, there will be this ghost who would appear on top of the 4th lamp post from the front school gate. People claimed that they have seen this before and this led me to believe this rumor. However, after I grew up, I didn't believe it anymore. Parts and parcels of growing up I guess. :)

So those are my experiences. Hope you enjoyed reading them. :)

1st Person POV or... 3rd Person POV? Hmm...

These few days during LA lesson, we have been touching a lot on the 1st and 3rd person perspectives which are used constantly in stories. Therefore, I decided that I should do a blog post on it and tell you my opinions and feelings of both perspectives. :)

So basically, the 1st person point of view is used in stories only when:
1) You want to bring out the feelings and perspectives of ONE character, the main character which you have placed the most emphasis on.
2)You want the reader to experience the situation from the character's point of view.

And you use the 3rd person point of view when:
1) You want to show the feelings of all the characters in the story.
2) You want to make more emphasis on the development of the plot and description of the setting.

Most of the time, if we would want to develop on the character and show a complex idea or theme in an interesting, entertaining but yet simple way, we would choose to use the 1st person. However, if you would like to focus on the plot of the story, the 3rd person would be a better idea as it allows the narrator to be omniscient.

Actually, in my opinion, I love to use the 1st person point of view because most of the time, stories which I write actually happened to me in real life. Therefore, when I write them, 1st person would be easier as I can easily convey my feelings and perspectives of the situation. I also prefer using 1st person because I find that stories are usually more interesting and exciting when they are written in 1st person. Most of the reasons for this includes how 1st person can be more suspenseful then 3rd person. However, I think that my view of this has changed. After viewing the stories of "The Apprentice" and "Red Letter Day" in the Narrative Viewpoints Package, I find that by writing in 3rd person, it can be equally as exciting and interesting! :) So I guess I should trying using 3rd person soon yea? xD

So that's all for today! :)

Cheers,
Raphael

Describing Setting: A Beach :D

Hi everyone!

We had a very fun LA class today with a very interesting assignment. :) It was about describing a picture of a beach and then receiving another of your classmate's picture with the need to match up the description to the picture. Alton got my picture and he managed to track my description down! :D

Here it is!

The sand gleamed under the wrath of the scorching sun, like jewels sparkling in the lime light. The water engulfed the sand near the shore, painting them a darker colour. John and I were bursting with excitement. Without a second to spare, we leaped onto the sand and felt the softness of the sand within our toes, the warmth of the sun under our feet. We ran all around the beach and jumped into the sea, just to feel the cold water wrap itself around our dark coloured skin. The crystal blue water along with the winds billowing across the sky brought along with them the smell of the saltiness of the sea. While the blue sky blanketed the background, the outline of a small island filled with the robust colours of tropical green broke the horizon of the sea. 

Hope you liked it! (:

Cheers,
Raphael

Home Learning Assignment! TOON DOO! :D

We had a very interesting Home Learning assignment today. :) To make a short story/plot and showcase it in a comic strip. Thus this is my product after using the internet programme, ToonDoo. :D

  

- Why did you choose the different pictures or background(s)? 

 I chose the different picture and backgrounds to represent the actual situation and scene which is happening in that panel. For instance, in panel 1, it shows a meeting room as I wanted the readers to understand that Pear Inc. is a company. In panel 3, I placed an angry mob of people in order to show their unhappiness towards their boss' treatment of his employees and in panel 4, I wanted to mimic an actual chart which is drawn on a piece of A4 size paper, thus I made the background a piece of foolscap paper.

- How do they contribute to the elements (plot, setting, characterisation) of your narrative?

I believe that the different pictures and backgrounds of my comic strip help to bring out the plot of my story. I spent most of the time making the comic strip trying to choose the most suitable background which suits the panel of my comic and only after much consideration do I finally make a decision on the background which I want. I think that the backgrounds chosen helps to make my story and comic strip more realistic like how a chart should be on paper and a meeting in an office. It would be kind weird if I chose to hold the meeting in the middle of a park, won't it? xD

-  How did you make use of the different elements to contribute to the theme you have chosen? 

I have to admit that I had much difficulty with bringing out the theme, which is the importance of good leadership. Especially when I am only limited to only 6 panels, I have to compress my entire story into a very short comic strip. I actually didn't use many elements in most of my panels as I wanted the reader to concentrate on the more important details like the characters and dialogue and not the miscellaneous props like chairs, tables, and shapes here and there. However, I did apply some elements in the 4th panel as it was necessary to show the dip in the sales report, making it more interesting than just dialogue telling the story. 

Yupp so that's my comic strip! Hope you liked it! :D

Cheers! Raphael :D

Blog Prompt 2 (:

Well we were given our second blog prompt and it was:

1) Have you ever been in the company of a group of which you clearly were not included? Describe the circumstances. How did you act? How did the situation / event affect you?

So here's my reply. :)

I have to say that no matter what happens, everybody once in a while would be clearly excluded from a group or company. But I have always felt excluded from this specific group of people. Since I am a Catholic, every week I would go to a church at Siglap, which is in the East. And teenagers had to go for Cathecism which was something like Gospel Class. And just because I was in the Gifted Education Programme and studied in Hwa Chong Institution, I would sometimes feel excluded from the class. You would need to understand that the students in my Cathecism class came from neighbourhood schools and most often than not they will possess the mentality that GEPers are smart and geniuses UNLIKE themselves. So they would be slightly hostile towards students who are from schools like Hwa Chong Institution. Fortunately my Cathecism teacher and the majority of the students accept me for who I am. :)

So yupp, that's my response and it's true! However I guess sometimes we would just have to live with it and despite all the criticism about you, just continue to trust in yourself and keep persevering on. :)

Cheers!
Raphael (:

Tough tough week...

Oh gosh I'm so glad the week is over. I have to say its the TOUGHEST week ever! And it's only the first week of Sec 2... *Faints* I guess the first week is always the most screwed up. :P

I mean like considering I left school at around 7 on Monday, Tuesday, 9 on Wednesday O.O, and 6 on Friday, with loads of work and council stuff and debate stuff, quite a lot of pressure yea? But I'm not giving up! LET'S KEEP THE SPIRIT UP! :D

Lemme tell you my awesome personal motto: "Be Yourself! Stay Positive! Keep Fighting!" Whenever I feel down, I think about it and sure enough, I keep persevering through. And guess what, I was right! The week ended of pretty well with a successful CCA Orientation for the English Debating Society. :)

I'm still looking forward to TWO OH ONE ONE. :D Give me any challenges and I will still be able to overcome it. With my awesome classmates behind me, I know I can make it. :)

Cheers!
Raphael :D

Prejudice Explanation: Lesson on 14th January 2011

Ms Huang really cleared up my messy concept on Prejudice today so here's my notes for the day. :)

Prejudice comes from the word Pre-Judge. And the definition of Pre-Judge is to judge someone or a group of people before you establish the true facts, understand the true situation and know the person. Most often than not, the source of prejudice is from a single opinion which spreads and influences others, resulting to discrimination in the end.

During the lesson, Ms Huang also talked about generalisations and stereotypes. Stereotypes being over- generalisation. xD Such stereotypes include saying that all Americans are white and more easily related to: all Hwa Chongians are communists or that all Rafflesians are superior in English.

Generalisations on Prejudice (which my group came up with):
1) Prejudice is a biased opinion that has no reasonable basis.
2) Prejudice causes a group of people to have an advantage over another.
3) Prejudice inadvertently leads to discrimination.
4) Prejudice arises from idealisms of superiority and uniqueness in people against others.
5) Prejudice arises from differences among people.
6) Prjeudice leads to tension and unrest in the populace.

That's all for today. Cheers!

Raphael.

Know, Want, Learnt (KWL) :D

Hehe Ms Huang shared with us this format of reflection (well you can refer to it as a reflection...) and it's called as Know, Want, Learnt (KWL). So this is my KWL for the Language Arts lesson on 13th January 2011. :)

Topic: PREJUDICE


Know: What do I already know about?

• Definition: Prejudice is like showing biasness towards a group of people. The group of people are most often then not different from the rest and possess different psychological or physical traits.
• Example: Black people are treated differently from White people, where the Whites are given more advantages, a good job and a good lifestyle while the Blacks are poor, have difficult jobs and hard lives.

Want: What do I want to know about?

• The specific definition of Prejudice.
• Other examples besides the example of the Blacks and Whites.

Learnt: What have I learnt?

• Prejudice is not only related to the issue of discrimination of the Blacks in America. It can also be related to issues like the persecution of the Jews and the Holocaust. Prejudice can even be associated with gender issues and discrimination of females.
• Other examples are like the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. Jews were discriminated just because Hitler thought that they were weaker and unclean. They were not allowed into certain areas like playgrounds, made to stay together in ghettos and etc.

Yupp! So thats my KWL for my LA lesson!

Cheers,

Raphael :D

Blog Prompt 1 xD

When Ms Huang told us to go home and find a poem which we really liked and talk about it. I was really excited cos I knew exactly which poem I would choose. So here it is. (:

Cloony The Clown by Shel Silverstein

I'll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown
Who worked in a circus that came through town.
His shoes were too big and his hat was too small,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes,
He had a green dog and a thousand balloons.
He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
And every time he did a trick,
Everyone felt a little sick.
And every time he told a joke,
Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke.
And every time he lost a shoe,
Everyone looked awfully blue.
And every time he stood on his head,
Everyone screamed, "Go back to bed!"
And every time he made a leap,
Everybody fell asleep.
And every time he ate his tie,
Everyone began to cry.
And Cloony could not make any money
Simply because he was not funny.
One day he said, "I'll tell this town
How it feels to be an unfunny clown."
And he told them all why he looked so sad,
And he told them all why he felt so bad.
He told of Pain and Rain and Cold,
He told of Darkness in his soul,
And after he finished his tale of woe,
Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no,
They laughed until they shook the trees
With "Hah-Hah-Hahs" and "Hee-Hee-Hees."
They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks,
They laughed all day, they laughed all week,
They laughed until they had a fit,
They laughed until their jackets split.
The laughter spread for miles around
To every city, every town,
Over mountains, 'cross the sea,
From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee.
And soon the whole world rang with laughter,
Lasting till forever after,
While Cloony stood in the circus tent,
With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent.
And he said,"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT -
I'M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT."
And while the world laughed outside.
Cloony the Clown sat down and cried. 

This poem was actually introduced to me by my classmate Goh Xian Fong during Poetry "Nite" in 2010. He did mention parts of the poem here and there and what it means but I actually had a personal connection to the poem itself. Though it actually started off on a light note, sounding quite cheerful, it is actually a pretty sad poem, which I weirdly gained a liking for. I don't really wish to start talking about what the poem is about from the surface, so instead I'll actually tell you what the poem really means to me.

This poem actually allowed me to feel how other people might react if I said something hurtful to them, no matter whether I knew that I hurt them or not. Sometimes, we really need to just step into the shoes of the other person and personally feel how they feel. I actually feel lucky to have been exposed to this poem before I actually felt how Cloony The Clown felt in real life. It came to me that we shouldn't do things to others if we know that they won't like it. If they are different from the rest, we still have to accept them into society and make them feel welcomed. Cos they're differences don't make them inferior, it only makes them unique. :)

So that's my favourite poem which really touched me. Hope you liked it :D

Cheers, Raphael :)

Yesh... Back to a Whole New School Year :)

First few days of school was excellent. Really enjoyed it. :)

Wondering why I'm reviving this blog? Haha, the URL address of my blog tells everything xD

Gonna write a new post on one of the poems that I really liked soon. :P

Cheers,
Raphael

P.S. Feels pretty good to be chairman of 2i1 xD