National Day 9th August 2011

I have always noticed the way people look like during the National Day Parade---Happy, exhilarated and ... Well, I never feel extremely happy or anything about National Day Parade. I have always felt that the Parade is about the same all the time, with the same marches, same performances and etc. I never felt a true sense of belonging in this country. I always treated it like a land where I have to abide the rule, a land where I will study and spend my life at. Thus, people always say that I am not loyal to my country, a betrayal and etc. Well, I believe I am, in a way. If the country is involved in a war, I may not actually risk my life to save "our"country after all. Is it worth it to risk our life for something that is only a house but may not actually represent a home. There is a huge difference between home and house. However, I believe there is still a certain gratitude that I bear for Singapore. It has helped me in one way or another. For example, Singapore has a great education system that allows me to actually come into such great schools like Hwa Chong Institution. Singapore has also provided me a house where I can live without fear of high crime rates or dirty living environments. Therefore, I would still like to thank Singapore for what it has given me throughout the fourteen years of my life.

Thoughts about SP( Special Programme)

To tell you the truth, after facing the "reality" from Term 3, I seriously doubt that I qualify for a Special Programme. Nevertheless, I will still work hard to actually try to get into one. I actually have some thoughts about going into 3Q before getting out o fit at Sec 4. I know that I do not have the discipline to actually stick to my work and revise independently. I wanted to actually enter 3Q and to actually develop the "mugger" spirit and to come out as a real student eager for knowledge. However, I do not want to miss out the opportunity that entering a Special Programme brings to learning more new things. I have set my mind to only IP- Special Program, not CSE-Special Program as I think it is more or less impossible for me to actually obtain an A1 for Language Arts. I do not despise Chinese Studies in Chinese(CSC) but the requirements are just too harsh for a student like me. I have basically decided on two programmes, namely the Bicultural Studies Programme or the Science Math Talent Programme. The main reason that I do not like the Humanities Programme is because of my fear for History and Geography. History and Geography is scary because of the load of information and statistics that one needs to memorise . I am okay with the literature part though, as reading texts and stories are pretty interesting. Well, Language Elective Programme is mainly studying of China History, Geograohy and literature which I am not interested in. BSP is fun as I get to learn the economy of China and other businesses in China which is relatively interesting and is a potential topic in the future. SMTP is cool as I get to do experiments in the SRC lab. This helps me to develop my science knowledge more broadly as I get to do more hands on rather than studying based on some textbooks and worksheets.

The comparison between the average Hwa Chongian and Samuel

The stereotype goes that Hwa Chong students are nerds. We all are nerds, in a way of course. The average Hwa Chongian "mugs" a lot. We can find examples from my class. Great examples will be Gary, Shao Xuan and Akira. They are well-known or I should say well-known to me in class for burning the midnight oil. They can revise and revise until midnight or even one or two a.m. in the morning to actually study. We can see that they are actually putting in a lot of effort in their studies. This actually make me feel embarrassed and guilty in a way as I sleep at nine thirty at most of the time. I believe in having a good night sleep. Besides, my parents always wait for me. They will only sleep after they see me go to my bedroom. I do not want to make them wait for too long. I am also not exactly the hardworking type. Thus, we can see one difference, lots of sleep(compared to students from Hwa Chong) and little sleep. Another difference is that the average Hwa Chongian is more wealthy. I am not exactly rich at all. None of my parents read university. From that , you can understand my family financial situation. The average Hwa Chong students are much more wealthy. Their parents are og higher rank in their companies and their monthly income reaches 10k. I may feel sad but where am I born to is not my choice. I can only work hard to fight for what I want. The final difference is that they are much more daring. As I am not exactly rich, I try not to attract too much attention. Thus, I am not exactly very daring and brave when it comes to speaking out and voicing my own opinion. I am scared that I will be laughed at or attract negative attention. However, the average HCI students are more open and they are more active when it comes to participating in discussions.

Reflection for R&R exam

I have never expected myself to get this result, truly. Although I hoped to get an A1 or A2 to rescue my MSG, I have expected a C5 or a C6 due to the result of the previous R&R exercise that I took being 5/20. I found the test quite hard as I do not understand a few concepts as well as a few questions. Besides, I have lost a lot of my confidence from the last test which I had only gotten 5. Thus, this made me feel as though everything that I had filled in can be 90% wrong. I was so scared that after completing every question, I will stop and hesitate. I would think about the problems or flaws from the answer that the teacher who is marking can find from my answers. Basically, I feel that the teacher was very lenient when it comes to marking my script. This helped a lot in achieving my current grade for the R&R Test. I would not dare to say that I had put in a lot for this test. I would even like to say that I regret not revising more on The Merchant Of Venice after hearing Ms Huang mentioning the most of the answers can be found from the annotations on the side of the book. Examples are the contrasting difference between the word mercy and the word justice. There was a table showing all the differences between this two concepts or words. My takeaway from this test is that I should study more on the various themes about the book and do annotations on it. I should also read more widely to improve on my vocabulary range and to improve my understanding of various texts.

Looking forward to OBS

I have been looking forward to OBS for a long time since last year. The thought of having adventures on a near-no-technology place gives me the excitement that a teenager should have. As everyone knows, next year will most probably means separation of friends and classmates. Most of us have basically built up strong friendships over the two years of "hardship" and good luck. We have been through so much together and the thought of separation makes me feel really sad. I really hope that this OBS Pulau Ubin can make our last gathering a nice and memorable one, one that will capsule all our good memories. We would be able to bond there and carry out fun activities at the camp. We can also laugh at the lousy and the fat ones ( not serious, of course) and admire the "buff" and strong ones who can make through the certain courses with ease. Anyway, we had past experience at St. John Island during our Secondary 1 Annual Camp. I would say that it was a considerable fun experience except for the part when we slept at the tent. It was a horrible and unpleasant experience as we had to squeeze 5 people in one tent. It was not exactly very fair as I had to share tents with Wang Jinhui, Tsai Mingchin , Zhao Boning and Seah Shao Xuan. You can get what I am trying to int here, right? I only caught 3 hours of sleep and it gave me sores all over my body. I would just like to conclude that I hope the Secondary 2 Annual Camp will be much more fun and enjoyable. I hope that I can also end this year with picture perfect memories. I am also looking forward to the various water and land activities with my very best friends!

About my CCA

In my CCA, I am nothing but a member. I shall define reserve. In the Volleyball Club, there is the main team and then the substitutes. After these two groups come the members of the club who does nothing but train during training sessions. Members also do not go to competition and pick up balls most of the time for the main team and substitutes. Therefore, you can understand how my life is at volleyball. Although I would not say that Volleyball is very fun and entertaining, it is indeed enjoyable to me as I enjoy team play sports and the thrill when I get to play. It is always a long wait before I play and I seemed to always mess things up when I finally get the chance to "shine". Thus, wasting my chance. I would not blame anyone for this as I am not exactly very tall, skillful and posses certain personalities that make one a good player. However, I am also not exactly very happy and satisfied by just being a ball picker all the time. Thus, there is some sort of a mixed feeling. I guess I will have just have to work harder to fight a place in the team for myself! Sometimes, I feel like I am being underestimated by everyone all the time and that makes me feel upset. I will have to work really hard in order to let others change they way they look at me and also to find my own pride back.

FICTION WRITING

A Memo for the juniors


My dear juniors,

　　There are three main reasons why I am writing this memo：
1)You will face a lot of troubles in your Hwa Chong life.
　　 2)I am your senior, if I do not tell you about these, who will?
　　 3)Everything in this memo is based on the lessons that I had learnt from my past painful experiences. This memo can make your life in Hwa CHong much easier.
　　The following are what you should keep in mind at all times：
　　1)There are many bullies in school and try not to get onto their nerves 。Classmates who treat you exceptionally nice may not be your true friends. They may just want to get something from you or want to ask something from you. You must never have evil thoughts, but you must also be aware of the people around you.
　　2）In Hwa Chong Institution, you must never be lazy.There is a lot of homework and tests are frequent.If you are a lazy person, life there will be exceptionally hard and tedious for you.In addition, you also have to do ACE homework and Project Day making you even more busy. Thus, I hope you will be hardworking and control your own leisure time.
3）Life in HCI is extremely short, you should enjoy your time here now, or else the next time you look back, you will find yourself leaving the school for Nationl Service.Therefore, if you realise this earlier, you will get to enjoy "more" secondary school life.You may feel that the life here is extremely boring and tiring now but just give it a few years, you will learn that life at HCI is unforgettable and one of the most enjoyable time of your life.　　
4）Puppy love never lasts and it will change or disappear as you grow older and mature. If your so-called true love leaves you, do not be upset. Stay calm and let time heal you. The "love" that you are experiencing is only infatuation, do not be too upset.
　　5）I believe that there are some students in HCI that were born in a poor family. I hope that they will not despise themselves or feel that they are not good enough.There are lawyers and doctors whom were born in a poor family. They worked really hard to get to their current state. As long as you work hard and out in effort, you will still get somewhere in the future.
　　6）I do not expect you to thank me for leaving this memo behind.I only request you to respect your teachers and parents.Although these few words are mentioned in the community song， I would still like to emphasise on this words.This is because our parents and teachers have spent a lot of time raising us up and teaching us. You cannot deny that they had done a lot for you , therefore, you have to remember the kindness and care that they had bore for you.
　　7）Treat people around you in a nice manner but do not expect the same from them.If your peers need your help, you should try your best to assist them.Since everyone is classmates, we should help one another and not fear others that they will overtake you in studies. We should not be narrow-minded and I hope that u=you will accept this advice. 　　
8)I hope that Hwa Chong gentlemen will not use their pocket money to purchase answer keys of their homework or hire others to help them do their homework.When I was still a student, I noticed one of my classmate paying another classmate $50 to help them do their homework for a week.Their ways will stop them from learning.Thus, I sincerely hope that you will not do something like that.
　　9）It is fate that you and your classmates are actually friends and classmates. you should cherish your times together.In your next life, regardless of how good or bad is the friendship, you guys may never meet again!
　　Your senior