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!