Education

Today during our level assembly, we had a principal's dialogue on this year's assessment method. The discussion on this topic brought up certain thoughts that I have made some time ago, which was on the suitable study environment for students to bring out their true potential in them.

In today's education, many students are made to follow a system, which sometimes is not suitable for certain students. Certain students are just not able to adapt to the structural, fast-paced system, therefore "switching off" as they are not able to absorb anything and cannot keep up, therefore losing out. This systems also gives little time to explore and discover their potential in other areas besides academics. These students need to take things at their own pace, to have a personal space, as stress is created to perform well, thus pressure is created, preventing them from unleashing their potential in certain areas. This kind of flexible system is difficult to achieve as this is very costly, requiring a lot of resources.

Therefore, I want to conclude with this, that everyone is good at something, only time will reveal to them their special ability. Hence, you do not necessarily have to excel in academics, an all-rounded to be successful in life, but with diligence in trying to improve your talents, and a little luck, will you be carried far in life.

North West Run!

This event was held at woodlands, in hand with this years' YOG. I was there to run as my coach needed to use this as a gauge to select next year's cross- country.

And so, we arranged to meet at the train station. Then, we did our warm-up, stretching and necessary drills before moving off to the start line. We lined up at the front, and when the siren was blown, we took off! During the beginning phase of the run, I felt relaxed and composed, but soon my legs got tired and and felt like there were bricks being piled up onto my thighs. Nevertheless, I pushed on further, telling myself that the heavy feeling was only temporary. And true enough, when I spotted the finishing line, the weight was taken off my thighs and I flew off.

This one of the most memorable event as the atmosphere there was wonderful. Seeing everyone donning the SYOG T-shirt lining up at the starting line, itching with excitement, unable to wait for the time when they could run. Music blasting at ear-drumming levels, seeing everyone being happy just made it better. Also, I got to spend time with my mother. After the run, we had dinner at together, something that I have not done for a long time since graduating from primary school. It was the best day ever.

Book Review

Hi! Its great to be back again! Now I'm going to with you about a book that I read over the four-day long weekend - Overload.

This 500-page book, written by Arthur Hailey, talks about a possible energy calamity, "when nature's crippling forces and man's dangerous passions merge to create a crisis of major proportions, the fate of Golden State Power & Light (A utility) becomes a matter of life and death for thousands." This story warns of the ultimate catastrophe - a world without light and power - just a terrifying millisecond away.

Basically, this story takes place in California, America, and told through a guy by the name of Nimrod, or Nim for short. It talks about America being in a state where it was running low on oil supplies, as countries that used to sell them oil has imposed an embargo on their precious 'black gold' unless America agreed to trade oil for gold. As a result, the possibility of having no electricity seems to draw nearer, with rolling blackouts occurring and power disruptions going off unexpectedly. Golden State Power & Light (GSP & L) then has to come out with solutions for an alternative source of energy, which was always met with opposition - the press, producing one-sided stories to attack GSP & L's policies, Friends of Freedom, a four-team fanatical terrorist group which constantly plans and organised bomb attacks on GSP & L's substations and power plants, and the Sequoia club, an environmentalist club known for its sound and well-drawn arguments, which would stop at nothing until they accomplish their goal.

In the end, the press switched sides, Friends of Freedom eliminated, and the Sequoia club disbanded.

I know this may sound cliche, but remember to save electricity in any way you can. Though your effort may seem small, but with everyone's effort brought together, the difference is greater. Do your part, for future generations, and for the Earth.

Happy Birthday Cousin!

Hey! I'm back! Now I'm going to share with you on the celebration of my cousin birthday.

My cousin's birthday falls on the eve of national day! How cool is that? Celebrating his birthday brought back all the memories we shared together. When we we younger, and when we vistied out grandmother, the two of us together with our brothers would be at the void deck of the block playing soccer! And I still remembered that during those times, our mums would always made sure that they had brought an extra set of clothings for us to change.

However, when we grew up, we grew distant from one another, as we had more work and so the times we saw each other were lessened. But anyway, the time spent there was great. We managed to catch up by playing soccer and game consoles together. How lucky I am to have such a wonderful cousin!