Laughter and merry conversations filled the dining room as everyone was waiting for the food to be served. While her most of her daughter-in-laws were in the kitchen, busy preparing the last dish, my aunt was fussing over every little detail.
“Don’t be a fool,” yelled the matriarch. “Who would serve the soup in such a plain bowl on this important occasion?”
Nodding their heads as they hastily correct their mistake, my cousin-in-laws did not dare to look at my aunt in the eye. After a minute of checking the food, my aunt nodded her head with approval. As their mother-in-law was out of kitchen, my cousin-in-laws heaved a sigh of relief.
The sight of my cousin-in-laws rushing to serve the food to the rest of the family made my heart ache. Smiling while the food was served, my aunt turned and asked her daughter-in-law, Ying, “Is everything to your liking?”
Obviously contented by the amount of attention my aunt had given to her, Ying returned a picture perfect smile.
Everyone had gathered to celebrate the first month of Ying’s baby boy. Unlike my other cousin-in-laws, Ying was the first to deliver a male child – the family jewel.
As my aunt kept placing the best bits of every dish in Ying’s bowl, the expressions on the rest of my cousin-in-laws darkened. This sight made me feel uneasy. Oblivious of the fact that the rest of my cousin-in-laws hated her and my aunt, Ying ate the food placed on her bowl delightfully.
Throughout the meal, the dark expressions across the table made me wonder about my aunt’s actions.
“When will favouritism tear the family apart?”
Sunday, March 20, 2011
5) DISAPPOINTMENT
It was three o'clock in the afternoon. I woke up and I realised that I was running late for my lessons in school. I quickly dressed up and rushed to school. When I reached school, history lesson has already started. I was punished by my history teacher for being late for class. He sent me out of the class and told me to copy the whole textbook. I was very upset of this punishment as I was only late for a minute. My classmates were laughing at me for being punished. I was often bullied by my classmates. For the one hour lesson, I was busy copying the history textbook. Soon the history lesson ended, I handed up my work and went for my recess.
I was walking to the canteen. I was walking through the school’s garden. My school was famous of its garden because it was beautifully decorated with plants and it also had a very large pond with fishes living in it. I quickly walked through. Suddenly, I felt a force from the back, I lost my balance and fell into the pond. I was struggling to stand up as the pond was very deep. I could see fishes and tadpoles swimming beside me. I finally stood up, I saw hundred pairs of eyes looking at me. Some were laughing at me and some was worried about me. I was very angry, I was suspecting that the person that pushed me could be still in the crowd. I looked around and I saw the bullies from my class. I was sure that it was them that pushed me into the pond as they were laughing extremely loudly. I went to the toilet to get myself washed and dried.
After that I went to the general office to make a complaint of the bully incident, I told the principal what happened to me and he promised that he would punish the bullies. But the principal did not seem to care about the bully case. He told me that he was still investigating the case. But weeks after weeks, I did not see anybody getting punished and I was not informed of any updates of the case. I went to ask the principal to see what he had done. To my disappointment, he was not able to find out who were the students that pushed me into the pond. I was very disappointed and upset about the incident. Other students were still laughing at me for falling into the pond.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Success
Alot of times, when we hear that someone has been successful in life, we often think in business terms, thst he or she has probably attained a big form of wealth, or honours or positions. Yet, materialistic things are not nearly as important when it comes to gauging your level of success. To be successful in life, one needs to be happy to the extent that there is no obstacle that one cannot overcome, and is willing to spread his or her happiness to as many people as possible. there are so many 'successful' people in life nowadays, yet they all seem either unhappy or selfish or both, and all their hard earned materialism their only source of comfort. For example, Man United striker Wayne Rooney caused his wife so much distress when it became publicly known that he cheated on her. While he may have been a successful footballer, he has failed as a husband. Thus, even if one has been successful in one part of their lives, is does not equate to success in life. So, what is the secret to success?
Firstly, we must strive for excellence in all areas of our life. Be it working life, academics, or health, we must try to do the best we can. And to do this, we must adopt the mentality that excellence is not an act, it is a habit. Even if we fail, we cannot stop trying until we succeed. A great man once said: " We are what we repeatedly do." And indeed, many of the great successes you see today have gone through repeated failures and still come out of it strong. For example, Steve Jobs, king of Apple, was a school drop out, and was fired.Yet he is now a multi millionaire today because he has never stopped striving for excellence.
Secondly, we must learn to be modest. Very often, successful people are in awe of their own successes and start taking things for granted. By being modest, we learn to not be swallowed up by our own success and thus learn to cherish the things that are important to us.
Thirdly, we must find the time to do the things we like and enjoy ourselves. This is to counterbalance the negative effects of striving for excellence. There are many people out there who lose time for themselves because they are constantly pushing for materialistic things. Long working hours, overseas business ventures, all this stop people from truly taking time out for themselves and their loved ones.
Question 5 :dissapointment
Life has never been easy. Just when you thought that you have had enough, life pours and rain down on you. even more. Nelson Mandela had once quoted,"After climbing great hills, one only finds that there are many more great hills to climb." All of us have gone through ups and downs in life. More often than not, through all the ups and downs, we encounter many disappointing and heartbreaking moments. I came to realised this fact when I tried my hardest to achieve a particular goal and ended up still being disappointed.
One of the example could be taken from my school Co-Curricular Activity (CCA). My friend and I hold a high post in our CCA, and with greater power comes greater responsibility. In addition, both my friend and I adore the CCA that we are in. Hence, we set high standards for the members and expect them to meet the standards. Although we know that humans are not perfect and never will be, we still get heartaches and disappointments when they just refuse to meet the expectations set for them. Many would say that the expectations that we set for them are too high. However, we disagree as it is to prepare the members for greater future challenges and to bring the cca group to greater heights.
Another example could also be taken from our studies. Have you ever tried studying so hard for a test or exam, staying up late at night to burn the midnight oil? However, when you get back you test or exam paper, you get a stab of annoyance and defeat? I'm sure many of us have experienced it before. I, for one have tasted the bitter pill. We are not the only one setting the standards for ourselves and others, our parents and teachers are also doing the same. When we fail to match up to their expectations, we disappoint them and a wave of discouragement just washes over us.
Although all the above disappointments are mentioned, it can also be a good thing to experience them. Through all the setbacks that people and life throw at us, we may break down and cry. But tears are said to be sharpening tools that shape and make us wiser and stronger. As we grow stronger, we would be able to move pass all the setbacks and continue learning and persevering till we reach our other goals.
One of the example could be taken from my school Co-Curricular Activity (CCA). My friend and I hold a high post in our CCA, and with greater power comes greater responsibility. In addition, both my friend and I adore the CCA that we are in. Hence, we set high standards for the members and expect them to meet the standards. Although we know that humans are not perfect and never will be, we still get heartaches and disappointments when they just refuse to meet the expectations set for them. Many would say that the expectations that we set for them are too high. However, we disagree as it is to prepare the members for greater future challenges and to bring the cca group to greater heights.
Another example could also be taken from our studies. Have you ever tried studying so hard for a test or exam, staying up late at night to burn the midnight oil? However, when you get back you test or exam paper, you get a stab of annoyance and defeat? I'm sure many of us have experienced it before. I, for one have tasted the bitter pill. We are not the only one setting the standards for ourselves and others, our parents and teachers are also doing the same. When we fail to match up to their expectations, we disappoint them and a wave of discouragement just washes over us.
Although all the above disappointments are mentioned, it can also be a good thing to experience them. Through all the setbacks that people and life throw at us, we may break down and cry. But tears are said to be sharpening tools that shape and make us wiser and stronger. As we grow stronger, we would be able to move pass all the setbacks and continue learning and persevering till we reach our other goals.
1)Rivalry.
We had been good friends. We grew up together, going through everything that mattered to us most at that time. We had confided in our problems to each other, never hiding any secrets from the other. However, everything changed after we entered secondary school.
At the start of the school year, we had remained good friends, always sticking to the other, never going anywhere with anyone else. Before the start of the exams, we studied together, asking each other questions when in doubt. After the exam, when the results came out, I saw that I scored a grade lower than her for every single subject.
I was disappointed.
I had laughed it off as something that did not matter. However, I was burning with determination inside for I possessed a competitive streak by nature and refused to acknowledge my loss. I had never scored lower than her in any subject. It was alright if I scored lower than anyone else; she was the only one that mattered.
Before the end-of-year examinations, I studied harder than ever, determined to score higher than her. When the results came out, I was euphoric. I was ranked the second in my class. I went to her and asked excitedly about her results, only to find out that she was ranked first. My smile dropped instantaneously.
I had tried harder than ever in the next exam, driven by the thought of scoring better than her. I succeeded. I had gotten a better grade than her. However, I had let the thought of my success overrule my common sense, making me irrational enough to gloat about my results to her, totally disregarding her feelings. Over the past year, I had my life focused wholly on scoring higher than her, causing the friendship that we have built up over the years to deteriorate rapidly in the span of months. My words had triggered the breakdown of our already extremely fragile relationship, becoming a catalyst in the transition of our friendship to rivalry.
We had been good friends. I had truly believed that we would remain as such for the rest of our lives. I had never thought that a moment of folly of mine would eventually lead to our current love-hate relationship. I would see her unhappy sometimes, wanting to comfort her, my body would unconsciously move towards her, only to have a hateful glare thrown back at me. I would ask myself, ' Was it really worth it?'
Ang Sue Li -4A
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Disappointment
I buttoned up my jacket and looked myself in the mirror for the last time. I was satisfied with what I saw. The day had finally arrived. Even within the confines of the dressing room, I could hear the faint roar of the audience each time the contestants stepped on the stage. Then, I took a sip of water and left the dressing room.
Standing behind the curtains, I could feel the excitement building up inside me. After hearing another round of applause and the ear piercing screams, I heard the host announcing my name. It was my turn to perform. I took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the curtain.
Half of the audience stood up, screamed and cheered for me. I was overjoyed with the audiences’ response; thus, I greeted them, thanked them for their support and waved my arm vigorously at them.
Suddenly, I felt the beginnings of a nervousness that I had never felt before and when I stroked the first note of the song on my guitar, my hands began trembling. My entire body was breaking out in sweat and this was the worst case of stage fright that ever happened to anyone. I had forgotten on what to play on my guitar and I got no choice but to back away from this Talentime competition.
I was utterly disappointed in myself as I had spent much time preparing this competition and just because of my stage fright, I had to back out from the competition. I got nobody to blame but myself.
success
Study, study, study. These words flashed through the mind of the sixteen year-old Adrinna. She had taken up the triple science combination ever since she was secondary 3, since then she has been studying day and night. She dreamed of being like her mother who got 9 A1s in secondary school and went on to an elite Junior College where she was invited to study in Cambridge University. She wanted to be as successful as her mother.
Adrinna had locked herself away from society, she had no friends in school. Long gone were the days where she would spend time with her friends after school hours and mingle around in the canteen. Now she would always be rushing home in order to revise on the subjects for the next day. It was 4 months away from her O levels and she had already finished revising on all her subjects, however this was not enough for her, she wanted to study every single resource she was able to lay her hands on. She wanted to be the top in her whole cohort, she wanted to be flashed all over news as one of the top o level students. Hooked on studying, she sunk her head into the book every night till an ungodly hour. Eye bags had shaded the bottom of her eyes causing all the students in her school to be frightened by her looks.
It was 3 months away from her o levels when adrinna was in full gear, burning all her holidays in order to brush up and remove any loopholes in her studies. The teachers in her school were all frightened by her. She would often beg the teacher to give more homework in order that she could revise more, sometimes even kneeling on the floor as though she was going to die if she did not receive any work. She normally skipped meals in order to replace with study time. This caused her to grow skinnier by day and by the end of the 3rd month she had reduced herself to skin and bones.
2 more months were left before her examination. Adrinna had found out a solution in order to be able to counter the problem of wasting time. She now stayed up every night, studying non stop, having only little intervals of sleep. She had now neglected the very source of her daily energy and was on the road to being anorexia. Her mother would often leave food outside her bedroom door waiting for her to consume her meal. However only once a week would she then open her door in order to eat her food before slamming the door and continue with hours of study.
1 month was all that stood between her and her dreams now. Sleep deprived and malnourished, she still continued with her constant hours of mugging. She had also found a further solution to her time wastage. she would now skip trips to the lavatory in order to help her safe more time to study, her room was filled with the smell of shit and pee. Her parents did not dare to go near her as she would normally shout at them for wasting her time, instead they stored a camera in her room in order to monitor her. Whenever her parents talked to her, she would go into a fit and started smashing furniture. By 3 weeks she never appeared outside her house. By 2 weeks she never stepped out of her room. By 1 week she went mentally crazy.
Adrinna was successful in the end, she scored straight A1s for all her subjects and now even entered an even better Junior college than her mother went to. She finally was successful in being able to achieve the goal of going to Cambridge University.Adrinna had tasted the sweetness of success, but the road to success had also taken it's toll on her. There she was, lying on the bed in a ward between the walls of singapore general hospital. She was admitted in as she was too overly food deprived and mentally unstable. Adrinna had not seen this coming towards her, she now had to stay admitted for the next six months. This meant that she would not be able to attend school. Adrinna was so indulged in being successful that she neglected her body, hence this caused her to suffer even more. Now all that flashed through her mind was: was it worth it all?
Adrinna had locked herself away from society, she had no friends in school. Long gone were the days where she would spend time with her friends after school hours and mingle around in the canteen. Now she would always be rushing home in order to revise on the subjects for the next day. It was 4 months away from her O levels and she had already finished revising on all her subjects, however this was not enough for her, she wanted to study every single resource she was able to lay her hands on. She wanted to be the top in her whole cohort, she wanted to be flashed all over news as one of the top o level students. Hooked on studying, she sunk her head into the book every night till an ungodly hour. Eye bags had shaded the bottom of her eyes causing all the students in her school to be frightened by her looks.
It was 3 months away from her o levels when adrinna was in full gear, burning all her holidays in order to brush up and remove any loopholes in her studies. The teachers in her school were all frightened by her. She would often beg the teacher to give more homework in order that she could revise more, sometimes even kneeling on the floor as though she was going to die if she did not receive any work. She normally skipped meals in order to replace with study time. This caused her to grow skinnier by day and by the end of the 3rd month she had reduced herself to skin and bones.
2 more months were left before her examination. Adrinna had found out a solution in order to be able to counter the problem of wasting time. She now stayed up every night, studying non stop, having only little intervals of sleep. She had now neglected the very source of her daily energy and was on the road to being anorexia. Her mother would often leave food outside her bedroom door waiting for her to consume her meal. However only once a week would she then open her door in order to eat her food before slamming the door and continue with hours of study.
1 month was all that stood between her and her dreams now. Sleep deprived and malnourished, she still continued with her constant hours of mugging. She had also found a further solution to her time wastage. she would now skip trips to the lavatory in order to help her safe more time to study, her room was filled with the smell of shit and pee. Her parents did not dare to go near her as she would normally shout at them for wasting her time, instead they stored a camera in her room in order to monitor her. Whenever her parents talked to her, she would go into a fit and started smashing furniture. By 3 weeks she never appeared outside her house. By 2 weeks she never stepped out of her room. By 1 week she went mentally crazy.
Adrinna was successful in the end, she scored straight A1s for all her subjects and now even entered an even better Junior college than her mother went to. She finally was successful in being able to achieve the goal of going to Cambridge University.Adrinna had tasted the sweetness of success, but the road to success had also taken it's toll on her. There she was, lying on the bed in a ward between the walls of singapore general hospital. She was admitted in as she was too overly food deprived and mentally unstable. Adrinna had not seen this coming towards her, she now had to stay admitted for the next six months. This meant that she would not be able to attend school. Adrinna was so indulged in being successful that she neglected her body, hence this caused her to suffer even more. Now all that flashed through her mind was: was it worth it all?
success
What is success? Success can mean many things, it can mean the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors; achieving wealth, honors or even achieving good results.What are pros and cons of success? below are some of these pros and cons.
Success brings about wealth to people. a successful business allows the person to earn morn money which in turn gives him or her better affordability and a better standard of living due to success in this business.for example, a young entrepreneur starts his business at the age of 20 and is successful for many years , then he reap the fruits of his work and would be able to afford luxury items such as cars.this show that success bring wealth to people if people put in hard work into it
success may cause people to become too engrossed in their work.some people try very hard to succeed and some are successful in their first try . the people who keep trying sometime become so engrossed in their work that they neglect their families , thinking in their minds work being more important than anything else. these people become workaholics and always think of work resulting in broken families. for example, a father of two kid become too engross in work that his with decides to divorce him , taking the kids with her and leaving him with his ego. this show that success can make one happy but at the same time it can also make one sad and broken success can cause people to change. being successful is a good thing but when being successful makes a person think he is all high and mighty due to this short success and cause this person to change his personality and mindset making him lazy and less efficient with thinking his work is always perfect. for example a man who was successful at hunting a rabbit thinks he is very skilled and decides to wait at the exact same spot where he caught he rabbit, but the rabbit never appeared and the man only waited till death. this show that being successful can cause people to change either making them more confident , stubborn , arrogant or allow the person to learn how to better improve himself
All in all, it depends on the person , how much effort they put in, and how they perceive success will ultimately lead them to the success they desire.
Question 2 - Favouritism
Favouritism is the practice of giving special treatment to a person or the state of being treated as a favourite. It is also a case of discrimination just because someone is better than the other. So what does favouritism do to a person?
Firstly, to a person who is being favoured, it pleases them. They will have the feeling of being pampered and spoiled by their parents, for example, and it will make them think that they can do whatever they want, as their parents will pay a lot of attention to them. Thus, they will eventually have bad attitude and rebel against their parents as they mature. For example, a child who is pampered by their parents will ask their parents to buy him or her toys. If they do not get what they want, they will throw a tantrum and scream and yell.
Secondly, to a person who is standing in the side lines, for example, a sibling, they will feel left out. They will tend to feel rejected by their parents and think that they have done something wrong which has caused this situation to happen. This will also result in jealousy and envy towards the other party. Pre-teens especially need their parents’ love as they grow up. Without it, they will think that they are unwanted and will feel neglected.
Lastly, to every child, they need parents who will care for them and love them. Most children who experience favourtism will not get along with their siblings. They will look for ways to get their parents’ attention and will get into huge trouble eventually. This results in heavy consequences, like prison or suicide. This is because children will face pressure from their parents in favouritism. Because of this pressure, they cannot take it and find a way to escape from reality, for example, drugs.
In conclusion, everyone experiences favouritism and is affected either negatively or positively. Parents should treat their children equally and without discrimination, but it is up to them how they treat their children. They may have their own way of showing their love and will have different ways of treating them.
Rivalry.
Rivalry exists in our daily lives and we might display this without us even knowing.The most common rivalry is known as sibling rivalry.Sibling rivalry is the type of competition amongst brothers and sisters whether they are blood-related or not.
There are many causes to sibling rivalry,one might be due to favouritism within the family, or simply because the child demands more attention from parents.Physical and emotional changes cause pressures in the teenage years, as do changing relationships with parents and friends. Fighting with siblings as a way to get parental attention may increase in adolescence.Sibling rivalry often continues throughout childhood and can be very frustrating and stressful to parents.
Sibling rivalry may cease with time or might get worse when the adolescence enters adulthood.According to Kyla Boyse from the University of Michigan, each child in a family competes to define who they are as individuals and want to show that they are separate from their siblings. Children may feel they are getting unequal amounts of their parents’ attention, discipline, and responsiveness. Children fight more in families where there is no understanding that fighting is not an acceptable way to resolve conflicts, and no alternative ways of handling such conflicts. Stress in the parents’ and children’s lives can create more conflict and increase sibling rivalry.
As the world evolves slowly, the people are slowly abandoning the old traditions where females are not accepted in the family etc.. The way that parents resolve problems and disagreements sets a strong example for kids, as all children look up to their parents and hence it is important for parents to watch their behaviour conscientiously and always respect your child. Also making sure that the children are not neglected for sibling rivalry amongst each other are able to cause them to turn against each other and turn aggressive just for the attention of parents.Although sibling rivalry is very common in families, and parents play the most important role in resolving the conflicts amongst siblings and not further aggreviate the situation.
There are many causes to sibling rivalry,one might be due to favouritism within the family, or simply because the child demands more attention from parents.Physical and emotional changes cause pressures in the teenage years, as do changing relationships with parents and friends. Fighting with siblings as a way to get parental attention may increase in adolescence.Sibling rivalry often continues throughout childhood and can be very frustrating and stressful to parents.
Sibling rivalry may cease with time or might get worse when the adolescence enters adulthood.According to Kyla Boyse from the University of Michigan, each child in a family competes to define who they are as individuals and want to show that they are separate from their siblings. Children may feel they are getting unequal amounts of their parents’ attention, discipline, and responsiveness. Children fight more in families where there is no understanding that fighting is not an acceptable way to resolve conflicts, and no alternative ways of handling such conflicts. Stress in the parents’ and children’s lives can create more conflict and increase sibling rivalry.
As the world evolves slowly, the people are slowly abandoning the old traditions where females are not accepted in the family etc.. The way that parents resolve problems and disagreements sets a strong example for kids, as all children look up to their parents and hence it is important for parents to watch their behaviour conscientiously and always respect your child. Also making sure that the children are not neglected for sibling rivalry amongst each other are able to cause them to turn against each other and turn aggressive just for the attention of parents.Although sibling rivalry is very common in families, and parents play the most important role in resolving the conflicts amongst siblings and not further aggreviate the situation.
Favouritism
Ask your jie to go and wash the plates,” I replied curtly. Obediently, my son stacked up the plates and passed it to my daughter. “Why is it me again?” She shouted annoyingly. There were occasional grumbles made by her and the constant clanging of the plates. I knew that she was not happy with this arrangement, but I have no choice. While the rest of the family were in the living room resting and watching television, my daughter was busy washing and scrubbing the plates.
You heard the word favouritism going around. You may think that I am practising favouritism but I am not. Coming from an educated family, my mother had constantly reminded me that I must be dependent on myself. This was why I have always insisted that my children must acquire this value especially my daughter. As the saying goes “survival of the fittest”. It is extremely difficult to survive in today’s society without all these values. Hence, I want my daughter to learn how to grow up. Thus, I have always demanded more from her than my son. However, my intention was not well received by her.
After twenty minutes of washing up, she retreated back to her room. But for don’t know what reason, my son went into her room. It was at this moment that chaos broke out. There was sound of glass shattering onto the floor and then followed by a loud cry. “I told you not to touch my things!” The shouting was so loud that it could be heard from a few blocks away. Immediately, I barged into the room. What I saw next horrified me. Blood were oozing out from my son’s face and there were shattered pieces of glass lying on the floor.
“What did you do? Are you out of your mind?” I shouted at her as I tried to stop the blood from flowing.
“You are sad now aren’t you? I have injured your precious son and what are you going to do?” She challenged.
“You don’t speak to me in this manner young lady. I am your mother.” Arms akimbo, I looked at her.
“You made me do the dishes every day. You made me sweep the floor every week end. You made me stay at home even during the holidays. Now you are scolding me because I have injured your precious son. But in the first place he was the one who is in the wrong…” Before she even had to chance to finish her sentence, my hand has already sliced into the air and in a microsecond it landed on her face.
I felt a pang in my heart as I gave her that one tight slap. She was stunned and held her hand at the spot where I had just hit her. “I hate you mum! I hate you!” She yelled in a belligerent tone. It was so loud that it can burst her lungs at anytime point of time. A drop of tears trickled down from the contours of my face. I stared at her- mouth wide opened. Guilt immobilised me and I was at a loss of words. Her words pieced through my heart like a knife. It was bleeding profusely…
I found her in the garden throwing pebbles into the water- the usual place that she will go when she is unhappy. She had an upside down smile implanted onto her beautiful round face. My heart arched when I saw her in this state. I went up to her gingerly, fearing that she will run away when she saw me. “Hey girl “I whispered softly as I took a seat next to her. She looked up but avoided making eye contact with me.
“Do you know that I treasure you more than you brother? You might not know, but it took me a great pain to give birth to you. Your umbilical cord got entangled and there is no way to untangle it. I remembered at that time, I have made my stand very clear to the doctors that no matter what happens, I still have to give birth to you. And because of this, it made me realise that I will have to treasure and protect you more than the others.” I heaved out a sign of relief as I finally made a confession which was kept buried in me for the past fifteen years.
“But…But why? Why am I treated like this? I am also your child mum. Why am I always the one doing everything? Why can’t I be like brother and to do what I want? ” She said - choked with emotions.
“I want you to become independent. Never mind that you detest me to the core. Never mind that you talked back to me rudely. Never mind that you have shown me attitude. All I want from you is to learn. Learn to become independent through the hard way. You have always heard of the saying “survival of the fittest.” That is what I want you to be, my dear. It is never easy for a young lady to survive alone. Therefore, I need to train you since young so that you will not get bullied or hurt.”
It was this sentence that finally made her look straight into my eyes. Looking at her blue eyes, I knew that she was remorseful for what she did earlier on and I have already forgiven her even before going out to the garden to find her..
“Mum, are you still angry with me? I was too hot-headed at that time.” she whispered as she hugged me.
“No dear,” I replied as I touched her brown, silky hair. I guess what I said just now had touched her because she sobbing and mumbled, “I love you mum, and I will always do”.
Kai Zhen
You heard the word favouritism going around. You may think that I am practising favouritism but I am not. Coming from an educated family, my mother had constantly reminded me that I must be dependent on myself. This was why I have always insisted that my children must acquire this value especially my daughter. As the saying goes “survival of the fittest”. It is extremely difficult to survive in today’s society without all these values. Hence, I want my daughter to learn how to grow up. Thus, I have always demanded more from her than my son. However, my intention was not well received by her.
After twenty minutes of washing up, she retreated back to her room. But for don’t know what reason, my son went into her room. It was at this moment that chaos broke out. There was sound of glass shattering onto the floor and then followed by a loud cry. “I told you not to touch my things!” The shouting was so loud that it could be heard from a few blocks away. Immediately, I barged into the room. What I saw next horrified me. Blood were oozing out from my son’s face and there were shattered pieces of glass lying on the floor.
“What did you do? Are you out of your mind?” I shouted at her as I tried to stop the blood from flowing.
“You are sad now aren’t you? I have injured your precious son and what are you going to do?” She challenged.
“You don’t speak to me in this manner young lady. I am your mother.” Arms akimbo, I looked at her.
“You made me do the dishes every day. You made me sweep the floor every week end. You made me stay at home even during the holidays. Now you are scolding me because I have injured your precious son. But in the first place he was the one who is in the wrong…” Before she even had to chance to finish her sentence, my hand has already sliced into the air and in a microsecond it landed on her face.
I felt a pang in my heart as I gave her that one tight slap. She was stunned and held her hand at the spot where I had just hit her. “I hate you mum! I hate you!” She yelled in a belligerent tone. It was so loud that it can burst her lungs at anytime point of time. A drop of tears trickled down from the contours of my face. I stared at her- mouth wide opened. Guilt immobilised me and I was at a loss of words. Her words pieced through my heart like a knife. It was bleeding profusely…
I found her in the garden throwing pebbles into the water- the usual place that she will go when she is unhappy. She had an upside down smile implanted onto her beautiful round face. My heart arched when I saw her in this state. I went up to her gingerly, fearing that she will run away when she saw me. “Hey girl “I whispered softly as I took a seat next to her. She looked up but avoided making eye contact with me.
“Do you know that I treasure you more than you brother? You might not know, but it took me a great pain to give birth to you. Your umbilical cord got entangled and there is no way to untangle it. I remembered at that time, I have made my stand very clear to the doctors that no matter what happens, I still have to give birth to you. And because of this, it made me realise that I will have to treasure and protect you more than the others.” I heaved out a sign of relief as I finally made a confession which was kept buried in me for the past fifteen years.
“But…But why? Why am I treated like this? I am also your child mum. Why am I always the one doing everything? Why can’t I be like brother and to do what I want? ” She said - choked with emotions.
“I want you to become independent. Never mind that you detest me to the core. Never mind that you talked back to me rudely. Never mind that you have shown me attitude. All I want from you is to learn. Learn to become independent through the hard way. You have always heard of the saying “survival of the fittest.” That is what I want you to be, my dear. It is never easy for a young lady to survive alone. Therefore, I need to train you since young so that you will not get bullied or hurt.”
It was this sentence that finally made her look straight into my eyes. Looking at her blue eyes, I knew that she was remorseful for what she did earlier on and I have already forgiven her even before going out to the garden to find her..
“Mum, are you still angry with me? I was too hot-headed at that time.” she whispered as she hugged me.
“No dear,” I replied as I touched her brown, silky hair. I guess what I said just now had touched her because she sobbing and mumbled, “I love you mum, and I will always do”.
Kai Zhen
Q5 Disappointment
Disappointment. The very emotion that had caused hundereds of thousands to fail in their lives, but yet at the same time inspire many more others to lead a much more fruitful life. It can cause a sense of trepidation in some , but however others welcome it with open arms . Many has succumbed to its powerful grip , but yet those that manage to escape will find that a valuable lesson has just been taught to them . So , what really is disappointment?
Disappointment is commonly defined as an emotion that you feel after a defeat or a loss. This can be in many forms , such as the loss of finances or failure to perform in a exam . Often , when we experience it , it feels surreal . There is a sense of pain , a sense of regret , a sense of sadness all compacted into a single feeling. The mind will often produce chaotic thoughts of uselessness , and in some people , a sucidal feeling. Our hearts starts to pulsate rapidly thoughts of the worst case scenarios . We often start behaving hysterically , become easily agitated and apprehensive at any someone . At its worst , disappointment will cause even the most physically strong men to dissolve into nothing more than a crying wreck .
Why do we all fall prey to it so easily? One of the main problems with humans is the fact that we like to wallow in self pity. Often , when we fall , we would rather stay down and cry than to stand up and face the problem. This is the reason why disappointment possess such a strong grip on our lives , due to the fact that we allow this emotion to control us. Another problem is that disappointment often hits us hard and swiftly in the places that hurt the most. An good analogy would be the failure to perform during a exam. When we recieve our result slip and we find out that all our friends have performed better compared to us , there is often this undeniable thought that encourages us to just break down and cry.
However , there are some people that are able to face disappointment and overcome it with ease. These people know that the disappointment is merely just a lesson for them to learn so that you are able to avoid commiting the mistakes in the future. Hence , these people will often lead a great life , because no matter how large the setback was , they will eventually learn from it.
Disappointment is commonly defined as an emotion that you feel after a defeat or a loss. This can be in many forms , such as the loss of finances or failure to perform in a exam . Often , when we experience it , it feels surreal . There is a sense of pain , a sense of regret , a sense of sadness all compacted into a single feeling. The mind will often produce chaotic thoughts of uselessness , and in some people , a sucidal feeling. Our hearts starts to pulsate rapidly thoughts of the worst case scenarios . We often start behaving hysterically , become easily agitated and apprehensive at any someone . At its worst , disappointment will cause even the most physically strong men to dissolve into nothing more than a crying wreck .
Why do we all fall prey to it so easily? One of the main problems with humans is the fact that we like to wallow in self pity. Often , when we fall , we would rather stay down and cry than to stand up and face the problem. This is the reason why disappointment possess such a strong grip on our lives , due to the fact that we allow this emotion to control us. Another problem is that disappointment often hits us hard and swiftly in the places that hurt the most. An good analogy would be the failure to perform during a exam. When we recieve our result slip and we find out that all our friends have performed better compared to us , there is often this undeniable thought that encourages us to just break down and cry.
However , there are some people that are able to face disappointment and overcome it with ease. These people know that the disappointment is merely just a lesson for them to learn so that you are able to avoid commiting the mistakes in the future. Hence , these people will often lead a great life , because no matter how large the setback was , they will eventually learn from it.
Disappointment
Disappointment is an emotion of one feeling down and devastated due to a certain setback faced by one. Phobia of disappointment is common among many of us, this had also led to many losing their confidence of doing something and even as worst to an extent whereby they, themselves are demoralised, not having hope in one self. Disappointment are caused by many factors.
"With higher hopes come with greater disappointmeny". Disappointment could be because of one putting his or her heart and soul into doing a piece of work. After completing the work, he or she have high confidence that the result of their work would be ideal. Ironically, in the end of the day, it had not turned out not to be the result they expected to be. This would then be a big blow to them, causing them being unable to accept the cruel reality. An example would be a job interview, if one wants to take in a job that they always had wanted or interested in had went for the interview and it seems that the interview had went smooth, he or she is then filled with a "guarantee" that they are able to take on this job. However, when the result was made known to him or her, and he or she was not being able to enter this job, he or she will feel very disappointed. Hence, disappointment could be a cause of one having hopes that are too high.
Also another factor that lead to disappointment could be a quote which is always said "Fear of failure would make failure happen easier". One may had once suffer a big blow or a huge setback, this "scar" in their life would cause them to be demoralised, losing hope and confidence in everything they do. Hence, knowing that hope and confidence is not there, work produced by them are always not in good quality, thus resulting in another disappointment. An example would be one that have failed in achieving what they had expected, this disappointment will be carved in their memory forever. Therefore, with this great failure, they will lose confidence in doing things, having a wrong mindset of them not being able to achieve what they want no matter how hard they try. Thus, this fear of failure would obstruct them from reaching their goals.
However, all that I have mention above are part of a wrong mindset and a phobia that one can overcome if he or she tries hard. Instead one should have a positive mindset. Resilence, he or she should not give up and stay on the ground when ever they suffer a huge setback but stand up and learn from their mistakes, giving one more try. As said " A wise man learns from his own mistake" By looking back at your failure would enlighten yourself in where had go wrong. Therefore, everyone should learn from his or her mistake , instead of sulking and giving up when he or she fails. The Beijing disabled dancers is a good example for us to take on, the couple had suffered from an accident years way back then, the male had lost his leg and the female had lost her hand. However, that did not stop them from pursuing their dreams. Instead, they continued dancing and had outshined many others dancers who were even in good condition, with four limbs.
In conclusion, "Failure is the mother of success" I feel that we should not fear of disappointment and feel that greater hopes would bring greater disappointment. Disappointment would only stay in us for awhile but what we learn from our mistakes are being used in our life forever. Therefore, we can also say it is beneficial to ourselves.
"With higher hopes come with greater disappointmeny". Disappointment could be because of one putting his or her heart and soul into doing a piece of work. After completing the work, he or she have high confidence that the result of their work would be ideal. Ironically, in the end of the day, it had not turned out not to be the result they expected to be. This would then be a big blow to them, causing them being unable to accept the cruel reality. An example would be a job interview, if one wants to take in a job that they always had wanted or interested in had went for the interview and it seems that the interview had went smooth, he or she is then filled with a "guarantee" that they are able to take on this job. However, when the result was made known to him or her, and he or she was not being able to enter this job, he or she will feel very disappointed. Hence, disappointment could be a cause of one having hopes that are too high.
Also another factor that lead to disappointment could be a quote which is always said "Fear of failure would make failure happen easier". One may had once suffer a big blow or a huge setback, this "scar" in their life would cause them to be demoralised, losing hope and confidence in everything they do. Hence, knowing that hope and confidence is not there, work produced by them are always not in good quality, thus resulting in another disappointment. An example would be one that have failed in achieving what they had expected, this disappointment will be carved in their memory forever. Therefore, with this great failure, they will lose confidence in doing things, having a wrong mindset of them not being able to achieve what they want no matter how hard they try. Thus, this fear of failure would obstruct them from reaching their goals.
However, all that I have mention above are part of a wrong mindset and a phobia that one can overcome if he or she tries hard. Instead one should have a positive mindset. Resilence, he or she should not give up and stay on the ground when ever they suffer a huge setback but stand up and learn from their mistakes, giving one more try. As said " A wise man learns from his own mistake" By looking back at your failure would enlighten yourself in where had go wrong. Therefore, everyone should learn from his or her mistake , instead of sulking and giving up when he or she fails. The Beijing disabled dancers is a good example for us to take on, the couple had suffered from an accident years way back then, the male had lost his leg and the female had lost her hand. However, that did not stop them from pursuing their dreams. Instead, they continued dancing and had outshined many others dancers who were even in good condition, with four limbs.
In conclusion, "Failure is the mother of success" I feel that we should not fear of disappointment and feel that greater hopes would bring greater disappointment. Disappointment would only stay in us for awhile but what we learn from our mistakes are being used in our life forever. Therefore, we can also say it is beneficial to ourselves.
3) Success
First thing that comes to your mind about the word success is that one have already achieve what one desires to be or to have. Success is defined as the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors. It also simply means that it is the overcoming of obsticles and being able to produce an excellent result or just a result itself. There are alot of successful people in the world. These successes don't come free and easy, however it takes alot of effort and strategies to be able to be successful.
Firstly, successful and hardwork comes hand in hand. Being successful means that one is hardworking. Doing work diligently and consistantly will be able to produce good and excellent results. If a student gives his or her best doing work without complaining, the outcome will definitely be good such as the student will be able to score for his or her tests and examinations.
Secondly, successes only comes when one is resilient enough to brave the storm that he or she would face in his life. Reilience is a quality that not everyone has, cause it involves a great deal of patience. This is something that many do not have and its that most important requirement to becoming sucessful. For example, during a badminton competition where you know that your opponent is slightly stronger and better than you, with resilience as a value in you, you might win the game and turn it into a success match.
Lastly, we must love what we are doing and looking forward to do. In the face of love and interest, external expectations, pride, fear of losing and failure will just fade away, leaving only things that are truly important. It also builds up the confidence to follow the heart which will most likely turn out to be successful or on the path to success.
Firstly, successful and hardwork comes hand in hand. Being successful means that one is hardworking. Doing work diligently and consistantly will be able to produce good and excellent results. If a student gives his or her best doing work without complaining, the outcome will definitely be good such as the student will be able to score for his or her tests and examinations.
Secondly, successes only comes when one is resilient enough to brave the storm that he or she would face in his life. Reilience is a quality that not everyone has, cause it involves a great deal of patience. This is something that many do not have and its that most important requirement to becoming sucessful. For example, during a badminton competition where you know that your opponent is slightly stronger and better than you, with resilience as a value in you, you might win the game and turn it into a success match.
Lastly, we must love what we are doing and looking forward to do. In the face of love and interest, external expectations, pride, fear of losing and failure will just fade away, leaving only things that are truly important. It also builds up the confidence to follow the heart which will most likely turn out to be successful or on the path to success.
question 5: Disappointment
Disappointment is the feeling of dissatisfaction that follows the failure of expectations to manifest. Similar to regret, it differs in that the individual feeling regret focuses primarily on the personal choices that contributed to a poor outcome, while the individual feeling disappointment focuses on the outcome itself. It is something you feel or sense often as aresult of our actions or our friends actions. According to wikipedia, the disappointment theory, pioneered in the mid-1980s by David E. Bell with further development by Graham Loomes and Robert Sugden, revolves around the notion that people contemplating risks are disappointed when the result of the risk is not evaluated as positively as the expected outcome. Disappointment theory has been utilized in examining such diverse decision-making processes as return migration, taxpayer compliance and customer willingness to pay.
Sometimes we disappoint our parents, teachers and peers too. That occurs when we are not performing up to expectations. It may also occur when we did something that they had never expected us to do.
One very good example is when we do not do well for our examinations. We did not do as well as they had expected us to, therefore disappointing them as all parents would want their child to do well in the studies and have bright future.
We may also disappoint them when we mix with the wrong company and end up committing crimes or smoking. They will be disappointed as no parents will want their child to get into trouble with the law.
Disappointment comes in many sizes, and is usually unexpected because if it is expected it would not be considered as a disappointment. The higher our expectations are, the greater our disappointment is. However, the higher our expectation, the greater sense of achievement is.
Everyone will feel disappointed at one point or another. This is because everyone has expectations of themselves or of others. It is impossible not to disappoint anyone as no one is perfect. We are bound to make mistakes. Therefore we should try not to make any unnecessary mistakes.
Sometimes we disappoint our parents, teachers and peers too. That occurs when we are not performing up to expectations. It may also occur when we did something that they had never expected us to do.
One very good example is when we do not do well for our examinations. We did not do as well as they had expected us to, therefore disappointing them as all parents would want their child to do well in the studies and have bright future.
We may also disappoint them when we mix with the wrong company and end up committing crimes or smoking. They will be disappointed as no parents will want their child to get into trouble with the law.
Disappointment comes in many sizes, and is usually unexpected because if it is expected it would not be considered as a disappointment. The higher our expectations are, the greater our disappointment is. However, the higher our expectation, the greater sense of achievement is.
Everyone will feel disappointed at one point or another. This is because everyone has expectations of themselves or of others. It is impossible not to disappoint anyone as no one is perfect. We are bound to make mistakes. Therefore we should try not to make any unnecessary mistakes.
Disappointment
Staring at the ceiling, reflecting on what I should've have done a long time ago. I've let disappointed everyone , my parents, my friends and even myself. It is too late for regrets now, what's done is done, I've only got myself to blame...
It was the period of time when I had to take my 'O' Level Examinations, everyone was busy studying for their papers. Except for one student however , that student was me. Before that, I was usually the top student in class until, I got hooked up to online gaming a few months before the exams.
It all began with one question from a friend of mine, or should I really consider him as one?
"Do you want to go to the Cyber Café with us?" Dexter asked. I was relunctant at first, but eventually relented as it was a Friday, and I did not have activities on. The moment I started playing, I was unstoppable, even I couldn't control myself. Week after week, we would go to the Cyber Café. Making matters worse, the moment I got home on school days , I would turn on the computer and started playing. From afternoon to early next morning, then attend school.
I would sleep through classes, and I felt really restless when I wasn't playing, I would start to get very frustrated, and vent this frustrations on my friends. Eventually, I started to lose my friends, even my bestfriend. The days of the exams drew nearer...
It was a month before the exams, here I am, thinking I could do last minute studying. I opened my textbooks, and realized that I could not understand most of the subject topics, I called up my 'friends' but none of them were willing to help me. I felt really helpless at that point of time, eventually the temptation to play took over.
It was the day of the 'O' Level examinations, I couldn't answer seventy-five percent of the questions. I was a goner, I panicked, I couldn't think straight, I didn't know what I was doing. I put my pen down, and stared at the ceiling.
5) Disappointment
Disappointment is the feeling of dissatisfaction due to unmet expectations or when things don’t go the way one wishes it to be. This feeling has nothing to do with being in a good or bad situation. For instance, if someone else wished for a dollhouse but got a doll instead, the latter might be a dream for a less fortunate person. There are several causes and ways to deal with disappointment.
Firstly, being overconfident can get one disappointed. He may not be weak, but he just expected a lot out of himself and thus, is not able to meet his expectations. If that is the circumstance, he has to understand that those who can balance their emotions are winners in life.
In addition, having false ideas about rejection or failure is sometimes another main cause of disappointment. On the contrary, failure is a form of feedback. This tells one that he should change his ways by being more adaptable or more hardworking. Ask someone who has succeeded. He will have failed hundreds, if not thousands of times before reaching his goal. If one is serious about his success, failure should act as a friend which guides him in the right direction.
In conclusion, disappointment is a positive phenomena as it can be a passion which aspires a certain goal, desire, goal or outcome. Besides, as the saying goes, "One's best success comes after their greatest dasappointments".
Disappointment
Since childhood, I had the burning desire to be an eccentric painter. I was influenced by many renowned artists and their prestigious masterpieces, such as the ''Mona lisa'' and ''The Last Supper'' by Leondardo da Vinci and ''The Thinker'' by Augustine Rodin. My passion for art grew increasingly as I crafted myself into an intermediate painter, familiarising my self with every type of brushes and how they were supposed to be used.By age 14, I had won two local art competitions, held by my art centre. My art teacher, Mr.Vine , had seen great potential in me and encouraged me to persue my art talent. Without much hesitation, I decided to take art as an examinable subject in my GCE O level examination.
I got deviated by the perfection I wanted to achieve in the art examination and when the results were released, I had only scored A's for my Art and English. My neglectance to my other subjects caused my total score to rise to 17 points and i was unable to get admitted in any decent college. I turned my attention to the School of the Arts or also known as SOTA. I passed the entrance exam with great ease and got accepted into the school. My two years in SOTA slipped as though sand would slip from one's hand and towards the end of it, I was one of the scholars and was assesed with distinctions for both painting and sculptury.
My artistic career seemed optimistic and I had great dreams for my future , regional and international. Everything seemed to be working out perfectly and my life too was quite pleasant until one fatal day, I will never forget that cruel day. It was midnight, on a Friday, I was withdrawing money from the neighbourhood ATM as I had made plans to catch a plane on Saturday early morning and I did not want to waste time withdrawing money then,amongst all the chaos and heracy that I normally feel before I travel.I was more concentrated on my Iphone , trying to check if my ticket bookings were confirmed and then I heard someone scolding cheap vulgarities in Chinese and I hesitantly turned my head away from the gang of, what seemed of loafers. As I was stuffing the numerous notes into my wallet, one of them stared at me with a rather intimidating look, I tried to hurry out of the scene but it was too late, I had already caught the attention of these gangsters.
A tall and lanky fellow with red- highlighted hair approached me , his hands were well close to something protuding out of his pockets and his eyes were locked onto my wallet. He yelled in Chinese to surrender my wallet to him as his eyes deviated to a knife which was firmly gripped by his hand. I tried to flee, but they had me surrounded. I yelled for help but the entire alley was deserted . I knew he was using the knife merely as a threat and as final option, I decided to fight them off. I rebelled my way past two of them, but it was futile, I was undoubtedly overpowered. The one with the knife got irritated and he stabbed my hand and all of them fled with my wallet.
I was in extreme pain and sorrow but was able to call the ambulance as the knife had pierced through my entire right hand.It was a gruesome scene. After hours in the surgical ward, I no longer felt the pain and thought everything would be normal again. But just then, the doctor stepped in, removing his face mask ,in a rather remorseful manner and he announced to me that my hand was paralysed and if they do not amputate it in the next hour, the paralysis will spread to my lower body. I could not believe what he was saying and how fate had devastated my life in the past twenty four hours, due to time constrains , I licensed the doctor for the amputation.
Now here I am , an old aged man. I withered away my life as a translator in the French Embassy.
I never got married and lost my parents a month after the incident, they could not tolerate what had happened to their son and died from heart attack. Although each and every one of the gangsters were caught and sentenced to lifetime imprisonment, it had not felt as consoling as I expected. My life seemed very pathetic after the incident and although i attempted suicide , I could not do it, I feared I would go to hell if I did as it was a sin, and despite the tragedy , that I feel I should have never deserved, my faith in god still remained. Now towards the end of my life, looking back at all the hard work and devotion I sacrificed to art and how all of it disappeared in an instant. My soul feels that the life given to it, was a harsh disappointment.
My artistic career seemed optimistic and I had great dreams for my future , regional and international. Everything seemed to be working out perfectly and my life too was quite pleasant until one fatal day, I will never forget that cruel day. It was midnight, on a Friday, I was withdrawing money from the neighbourhood ATM as I had made plans to catch a plane on Saturday early morning and I did not want to waste time withdrawing money then,amongst all the chaos and heracy that I normally feel before I travel.I was more concentrated on my Iphone , trying to check if my ticket bookings were confirmed and then I heard someone scolding cheap vulgarities in Chinese and I hesitantly turned my head away from the gang of, what seemed of loafers. As I was stuffing the numerous notes into my wallet, one of them stared at me with a rather intimidating look, I tried to hurry out of the scene but it was too late, I had already caught the attention of these gangsters.
A tall and lanky fellow with red- highlighted hair approached me , his hands were well close to something protuding out of his pockets and his eyes were locked onto my wallet. He yelled in Chinese to surrender my wallet to him as his eyes deviated to a knife which was firmly gripped by his hand. I tried to flee, but they had me surrounded. I yelled for help but the entire alley was deserted . I knew he was using the knife merely as a threat and as final option, I decided to fight them off. I rebelled my way past two of them, but it was futile, I was undoubtedly overpowered. The one with the knife got irritated and he stabbed my hand and all of them fled with my wallet.
I was in extreme pain and sorrow but was able to call the ambulance as the knife had pierced through my entire right hand.It was a gruesome scene. After hours in the surgical ward, I no longer felt the pain and thought everything would be normal again. But just then, the doctor stepped in, removing his face mask ,in a rather remorseful manner and he announced to me that my hand was paralysed and if they do not amputate it in the next hour, the paralysis will spread to my lower body. I could not believe what he was saying and how fate had devastated my life in the past twenty four hours, due to time constrains , I licensed the doctor for the amputation.
Now here I am , an old aged man. I withered away my life as a translator in the French Embassy.
I never got married and lost my parents a month after the incident, they could not tolerate what had happened to their son and died from heart attack. Although each and every one of the gangsters were caught and sentenced to lifetime imprisonment, it had not felt as consoling as I expected. My life seemed very pathetic after the incident and although i attempted suicide , I could not do it, I feared I would go to hell if I did as it was a sin, and despite the tragedy , that I feel I should have never deserved, my faith in god still remained. Now towards the end of my life, looking back at all the hard work and devotion I sacrificed to art and how all of it disappeared in an instant. My soul feels that the life given to it, was a harsh disappointment.
Rivalry
As the teacher stood at the front of the classroom, my heart beat quickened and my palms started to sweat. I looked over to the right corner of my class and stared at 'HER'. She was my number one rival in my class and most surprisingly, she was my best friend. Sensing someone was looking at her, she turned her head and looked at me curiously. I gave her a brief smile and turned back to face the teachers. I lingered on the teacher's every words, waiting for her to give out the exams papers that my class. time seemed to slow down as she called upon the students to collect their exam paper. At last,there were only two people who didn't get their exam papers, Me, and Jolin.
The teacher asked both of us to come to the front of the classroom. "the top student for this year is Calista ! Let's give her a round of applause for the hard work she's put in this year." the teacher announced and passed me my exam paper. I smiled broadly at the class and bowed to them. This feeling of happiness was indescribable ! My hard work had finally paid off after one year! and most importantly, i had won Jolin in my studies. The sense of pride momentarily overwhelmed me and i went to gave Jolin a haughty smile. "but lets also congratulate Jolin for her hard work as well. She has gotten second in level for her studies. Both of you please continue to work hard and maintain your studies!"the teacher continued.
Jolin and i have been friends and rivals for the past two years. We are always competing with our studies and she has always been my only rival. None of my classmates has been able to overtake me and Jolin in our studies, so its either Jolin would get top in the level, or i would. Many times me have overtook each others but it never really affected our friendship. We would still help each other and our peers in our homework selflessly. As i took back my exam paper to my seat, i held my head high and many classmates turned to look at me with envy.
Although i am very happy about my hard work getting paid off, i never forget not to me complacent. I have to admit though, i am a little haughty after i got back my results. But after that, i will remember that i am not always the best in the world and i have to continue to strive for greater results and to work even harder.
The teacher asked both of us to come to the front of the classroom. "the top student for this year is Calista ! Let's give her a round of applause for the hard work she's put in this year." the teacher announced and passed me my exam paper. I smiled broadly at the class and bowed to them. This feeling of happiness was indescribable ! My hard work had finally paid off after one year! and most importantly, i had won Jolin in my studies. The sense of pride momentarily overwhelmed me and i went to gave Jolin a haughty smile. "but lets also congratulate Jolin for her hard work as well. She has gotten second in level for her studies. Both of you please continue to work hard and maintain your studies!"the teacher continued.
Jolin and i have been friends and rivals for the past two years. We are always competing with our studies and she has always been my only rival. None of my classmates has been able to overtake me and Jolin in our studies, so its either Jolin would get top in the level, or i would. Many times me have overtook each others but it never really affected our friendship. We would still help each other and our peers in our homework selflessly. As i took back my exam paper to my seat, i held my head high and many classmates turned to look at me with envy.
Although i am very happy about my hard work getting paid off, i never forget not to me complacent. I have to admit though, i am a little haughty after i got back my results. But after that, i will remember that i am not always the best in the world and i have to continue to strive for greater results and to work even harder.
5) DISAPPOINTMENT
It all happened when i was in Primary Six......
It was a Friday morning and I woke up later than usual although it was a school day as i had to go for my piano examination. I ate my breakfast and prepared for it with a heavy heart. Frightful thoughts raced through my mind as I wondered how would i embarrass myself during the examination.
Although my parents reassured me that nothing would go wrong during the examination and I was able to pass it, I could not believe myself.
During the examination, everything went on very smoothly and I felt good. After I went out of the examination room, I heaved a huge sigh of relief and thought that I would definitely do well for the examination. Therefore, I did not think much about this matter until the day when i received my results.
When i opened my letterbox, I was full of confidence that I would pass the examination. However, when i pulled our that little slip of paper, m heart sank deeply. It was pure disappointment. I actually failed that examination that I thought I would manage to do well for! Months of anticipation and hopes of passing th examination were destroed at that very moment.
Tears began to flow down my cheeks uncontrollably as I ran up the stairs and to my house and then my room. I banged the room door and locked myself up in that little space of my own. Nothing could describe the mixed and bitter feelings that aroused me at that moment.
But I knew that It was only myself to be blamed.
2) Favouritism
"Miss Lim! Do you need help carrying your laptops and books?" Jenny approached the teacher after her recess with a grin on her face.
"Jenny, thank you very much! You're such a sweet girl. " Miss Lim gave a whole pile of books to Jenny.
"Aw, not again! Bootlicker!" words were shot at Jenny. The class became bustling and gossiping around when Jenny and Miss Lim came into class.
Jenny had always been the elites of the class, because of the help from favoritism of course, but also we cannot deny the fact that she is brilliant too though, but most of her top results is because of the favoritism teachers show for her. Therefore, as classmates we detest her because of the fact that without her hard work she did well throughout for her examinations.
Slowly, we moved on to our most crucial year where we were taking our biggest examinations which decided our future. In the first few semesters, Jenny was still doing well and she turned complacent. She thought she could still get her As in the 'O' levels but that was not the case anymore.
Nine months passed. No, 4 yeas passed in the blink of an eye and now, we were sitting in the exam hall, it was the same for every exams but the difference is we are taking a paper of a national level. We were prepared in the nine months of revision and intense studying. All our outings were changed to study dates. Our best friends were now textbooks, exam papers and revision books. Of our study dates, we obviously did not include Jenny in.
In the exam hall, most were prepared and were scribbling away with speed and precision. But, Jenny just stared blankly into the paper. Cold sweat broke out. She was not ready for this.
So, results were out. Jenny literally flunked her exam and was unable to move on to the next level of education. She was forced to redo her Secondary 4. She could not believe it and cried her heart out.
She realized, favoritism was not going to bring her anywhere.
Rivalry
Louise burnt a hot fire within her body that melted away any reason and moral limitations that once caged her most violent intentions. She was literally burning a thirty-nine degree fever. This was her fuel, the excruiciating pain and heat she felt nagging at the back of her eyeballs, the need to succeed, the innermost desire to WIN that other girl in her class.
They had been enemies, loggerheads and most importantly, rivals, for the longest period of time. These past few weeks had been the intense but gradual build up for the school's most prestigious competition. The Sports meet.
Louise had sabotaged the entire route they had to overcome in the sports meet. Thus making sure every single thing she did led to her victory and Germaine's humiliating downfall. It would be the best moment of her life, it very thought would have her grinning like a cheshire cat to herself. Louise carried out these plans with utmost discretion, paying attention to the even smallest of details.
It was finally the day, the day of the sports meet. The starting gun fired off with a ear shattering "BANG!" and all the contestants ran for their lives. However, Louise was frowning the entire way. All the traps she had set, all the places where she had slicked the track hoping Germaine would slip and fall. Slip and sprain her ankle, had all been cleaned obviously, for Germaine sailed through without a problem. Louise, huffed unhappily as Germaine shot her a dirty look, taking the lead in the course.
Germaine bounced through the obstacles, gracefully soared over the hurdles, ran like the wind possessed her. Louise was having a hard time comprehending why the obstacles for her lane were not the trickier than usual, why the hurdles were not exceptionally taller than the others, why the floor on her lane was not slippery anymore.
Running, pushing, sweating. Louise had all her joints aching and burning up. She was exhausted, she wanted to give up, but she wanted to win so badly. Her entire life she was behind Germaine, watching her back, watching her get to places first, score better. Louise was perpetually second compared to Germaine. This time, watching germaine on the lane next to hers, with a lope so effortless - Louise only managed to get angrier.
Louise felt a surge of heat rise up from her chest to fill her head, she took it as the sign that the body was ready to start sprinting towards the finish line that was clearly in sight. She glanced towards Germaine and stumbled in her step, Germaine was staring openly right back at her. It was obvious that her rival was just about as ready as her to start sprinting to the finish line.
They stared hard at each other, not losing their tempo, not increasing their speed either, the tension hung in the air. Each was testing how long they were going to run side by side for. Then, both simultaneously made a mad dash for the finish line. Louise ran like she never did before, she closed her eyes and tried to propel herself forward more. She felt the finishing line ribbon snap by her waist and opened her eyes, beaming like never before.
Not long after, the results were announced and against all her beliefs - Germaine was the victor. She reeled back in shock, this was not meant to be, this was the wrong outcome. She narrowed her eyes sharply and questioned herself, "But I felt the ribbon snap on my waist, and did my efforts... Wasted just like that?"
The roar of the crowd drowned out her thoughts and the exaltation of the victor was simply too much for her to bear. She did not want to accept this. She could not accept this. The scene before her faded to black and she crumpled to the ground. Her fall gathered no notice from the thousands that were in the stadium, ironically opposite from how her plots had been. Spotted and cleaned up neatly.
Karma had gone along for a slow leisurely stroll while she was plotting and implementing her cunning, now it had come back to slap her in the face. She had stretched the limits of her mental and physical strength and the last string had snapped.
They had been enemies, loggerheads and most importantly, rivals, for the longest period of time. These past few weeks had been the intense but gradual build up for the school's most prestigious competition. The Sports meet.
Louise had sabotaged the entire route they had to overcome in the sports meet. Thus making sure every single thing she did led to her victory and Germaine's humiliating downfall. It would be the best moment of her life, it very thought would have her grinning like a cheshire cat to herself. Louise carried out these plans with utmost discretion, paying attention to the even smallest of details.
It was finally the day, the day of the sports meet. The starting gun fired off with a ear shattering "BANG!" and all the contestants ran for their lives. However, Louise was frowning the entire way. All the traps she had set, all the places where she had slicked the track hoping Germaine would slip and fall. Slip and sprain her ankle, had all been cleaned obviously, for Germaine sailed through without a problem. Louise, huffed unhappily as Germaine shot her a dirty look, taking the lead in the course.
Germaine bounced through the obstacles, gracefully soared over the hurdles, ran like the wind possessed her. Louise was having a hard time comprehending why the obstacles for her lane were not the trickier than usual, why the hurdles were not exceptionally taller than the others, why the floor on her lane was not slippery anymore.
Running, pushing, sweating. Louise had all her joints aching and burning up. She was exhausted, she wanted to give up, but she wanted to win so badly. Her entire life she was behind Germaine, watching her back, watching her get to places first, score better. Louise was perpetually second compared to Germaine. This time, watching germaine on the lane next to hers, with a lope so effortless - Louise only managed to get angrier.
Louise felt a surge of heat rise up from her chest to fill her head, she took it as the sign that the body was ready to start sprinting towards the finish line that was clearly in sight. She glanced towards Germaine and stumbled in her step, Germaine was staring openly right back at her. It was obvious that her rival was just about as ready as her to start sprinting to the finish line.
They stared hard at each other, not losing their tempo, not increasing their speed either, the tension hung in the air. Each was testing how long they were going to run side by side for. Then, both simultaneously made a mad dash for the finish line. Louise ran like she never did before, she closed her eyes and tried to propel herself forward more. She felt the finishing line ribbon snap by her waist and opened her eyes, beaming like never before.
Not long after, the results were announced and against all her beliefs - Germaine was the victor. She reeled back in shock, this was not meant to be, this was the wrong outcome. She narrowed her eyes sharply and questioned herself, "But I felt the ribbon snap on my waist, and did my efforts... Wasted just like that?"
The roar of the crowd drowned out her thoughts and the exaltation of the victor was simply too much for her to bear. She did not want to accept this. She could not accept this. The scene before her faded to black and she crumpled to the ground. Her fall gathered no notice from the thousands that were in the stadium, ironically opposite from how her plots had been. Spotted and cleaned up neatly.
Karma had gone along for a slow leisurely stroll while she was plotting and implementing her cunning, now it had come back to slap her in the face. She had stretched the limits of her mental and physical strength and the last string had snapped.
5) disappointment
"This is not what it was supposed to be. How did it turn out this way? What happened?" Faintly, I heard a voice speaking beside me. I tried to figure out who is the owner of the voice, but my head hurt too much that it prevented me from thinking. Suddenly, it struck me. "Why is it a patch of darkness right here?" I struggled to open my eyes, and a ray of sunlight blinded me. I looked around, this place looked unfamiliar.
"You're finally awake!" The same voice which I heard, squeaked. The door opened, and there stood a stunning young lady in sports jersey. I stared at her for a moment, and pictures flashed through my mind.
It was a stadium, with supporters at the audience seats. Everyone was anticipating for the moment to start, and soon enough, everyone got the ball dribbling around the court. This went on for a period of time, the points were almost on par with each other. Suddenly, a huge blow strucked my head. I faintly heard my name being called before everything became pitched dark. That was when i realised...
"How's the match going on? Is it still on? What's the result?" I was squeezing the wrist of this lady, who happened to be my basketball team mate, so hard that she yelled.
It happened that after I was hit on the head by the basketball, I blacked out. A reserve replaced me and the match carried on. However, our opponent team was catching up with us, and their points increased tremendously. In the end, we lost. I was very disappointed by the fact. If I did not got hit on the head, i would not have blacked out. If I did not blacked out, I would still be playing the match. If I continued playing the match, we might not have lost. However, I know that those "if", would not returned. We could never turn back time, it is impossible to do so.
However, I would be lying if I said I am not sad over it, as my whole team practised and trained for very long for this match. We were quite confident that we would actually win. Now, I could only cloak my disappointment with a fake smile.
"You're finally awake!" The same voice which I heard, squeaked. The door opened, and there stood a stunning young lady in sports jersey. I stared at her for a moment, and pictures flashed through my mind.
It was a stadium, with supporters at the audience seats. Everyone was anticipating for the moment to start, and soon enough, everyone got the ball dribbling around the court. This went on for a period of time, the points were almost on par with each other. Suddenly, a huge blow strucked my head. I faintly heard my name being called before everything became pitched dark. That was when i realised...
"How's the match going on? Is it still on? What's the result?" I was squeezing the wrist of this lady, who happened to be my basketball team mate, so hard that she yelled.
It happened that after I was hit on the head by the basketball, I blacked out. A reserve replaced me and the match carried on. However, our opponent team was catching up with us, and their points increased tremendously. In the end, we lost. I was very disappointed by the fact. If I did not got hit on the head, i would not have blacked out. If I did not blacked out, I would still be playing the match. If I continued playing the match, we might not have lost. However, I know that those "if", would not returned. We could never turn back time, it is impossible to do so.
However, I would be lying if I said I am not sad over it, as my whole team practised and trained for very long for this match. We were quite confident that we would actually win. Now, I could only cloak my disappointment with a fake smile.
3)Success
Success is key for a person 's life as everyone only has one chance to live. Everyone in life i believe has a talent in them waiting to flourish and expressed out. Many may think that success are factors relating to ones level of social status becoming one of the worlds reputable man . But does that really bring about a success in man and life? Many may think its so but still it might not bring about happiness in a person. Its all in our aims and goals to believe in our goals to achieve our expectations of success.
But for me, my current aim of success is for the upcoming final year examination to bring me closer to my goal. In order for me to get in a good tertiary education . In order to achieve good results, utmost effort must be put into it and there is no time for me to neglect my studies
. This examination is a great hurdle for me and my parents have great expectations of me. I must not dissapoint them and i will take all cost to achieve my goal. I hope after this examination, everything onwards would be smooth sailing for me in order for me to secure a good job in future.
However, i have problems that i am facing now . For instance, there are many distractions at home in which i feel is rather disruptive for my studies. Like the computer and video games, i am trying to avoid all this distractions by asking my parents to even lock them away. I would even organise study groups for me to study outside in condusive places like librarys or quiet fast food restaurants for me and my friends to study there. I am bend on achieving my success at all cost and i will not allow any distractions to stop my progress. This concerns my future and i hope i would do well so i would not suffer in future.
This measures must be taken because i know i am prone to distractions. I sometimes also imagine how my parents looks would be like after i get my results. I hope this will let them feel proud of me and this is not all. There might still be lots of hurdles along the way and this is just the beginning of my own success story .
But for me, my current aim of success is for the upcoming final year examination to bring me closer to my goal. In order for me to get in a good tertiary education . In order to achieve good results, utmost effort must be put into it and there is no time for me to neglect my studies
. This examination is a great hurdle for me and my parents have great expectations of me. I must not dissapoint them and i will take all cost to achieve my goal. I hope after this examination, everything onwards would be smooth sailing for me in order for me to secure a good job in future.
However, i have problems that i am facing now . For instance, there are many distractions at home in which i feel is rather disruptive for my studies. Like the computer and video games, i am trying to avoid all this distractions by asking my parents to even lock them away. I would even organise study groups for me to study outside in condusive places like librarys or quiet fast food restaurants for me and my friends to study there. I am bend on achieving my success at all cost and i will not allow any distractions to stop my progress. This concerns my future and i hope i would do well so i would not suffer in future.
This measures must be taken because i know i am prone to distractions. I sometimes also imagine how my parents looks would be like after i get my results. I hope this will let them feel proud of me and this is not all. There might still be lots of hurdles along the way and this is just the beginning of my own success story .
3) Success
The beautifully sweet awareness and the electrifying excitement of success hit me like a G6. For some, the feeling of accomplishment may be already numbed by repetition. However, as it is still a magnificent, euphoric experience for me, I savour the glorious sensation whenever it occurs.
For a mediocre, non-jock student like me, having episodes in my life that actually lead to me accomplishing something triumphal and prestigious as rare. An instance of this would be the time I managed to clinch an award for the best English essay in a writing competition. So rapturous was my joy that my entire body was shivering with delight as I took the prize in front of the school. Another time is when I far surpassed all my targets for the End-Of-Year examinations, achieving an A1 for all my subjects. This was especially astounding due to the fact that I had been failing all my past tests. Observing the faces of my rivals, flabbergasted and open-mouthed at my results, was heaven on Earth for me. Even most of the teachers were perplexed as to how I attained my results.
It is for the ecstatic joy of success that I plan and execute very meticulously. First, I sieve out coming events in my life that I feel I can exceed in. Thenceforth, I carry out preparations to ensure that those events turn out to be successes, whether it be studying vigorously or training vigorously beforehand. As you can see, this is a very serious business for me.
However, you may ask me, what if my plan fails, and success is replaced with disappointment? I have no choice but to learn from the experience to better equip myself for the next successful venture.
For a mediocre, non-jock student like me, having episodes in my life that actually lead to me accomplishing something triumphal and prestigious as rare. An instance of this would be the time I managed to clinch an award for the best English essay in a writing competition. So rapturous was my joy that my entire body was shivering with delight as I took the prize in front of the school. Another time is when I far surpassed all my targets for the End-Of-Year examinations, achieving an A1 for all my subjects. This was especially astounding due to the fact that I had been failing all my past tests. Observing the faces of my rivals, flabbergasted and open-mouthed at my results, was heaven on Earth for me. Even most of the teachers were perplexed as to how I attained my results.
It is for the ecstatic joy of success that I plan and execute very meticulously. First, I sieve out coming events in my life that I feel I can exceed in. Thenceforth, I carry out preparations to ensure that those events turn out to be successes, whether it be studying vigorously or training vigorously beforehand. As you can see, this is a very serious business for me.
However, you may ask me, what if my plan fails, and success is replaced with disappointment? I have no choice but to learn from the experience to better equip myself for the next successful venture.
2) Disappointment
"Look! Look! It's them!" exclaimed ecstatically when she saw the group of five in resplendent white uniforms sauntering across the hall.
The group of five consists of five alluring and gentle young ladies, they are the most popular students in the school. They have got everything one would want, the looks, the wealth and the brains. All the boys would like to be those girls beau while other girls would stand at a corner and envy them. Everyone just loves them to bits except for only person, named Mary, in the school who was filled with jealousy and hatred towards the five girls.
“Jane, could you tell me the answer when you differentiate this sum?” Miss Wong asked.
Jane, the leader of the five, stood up graciously, took out a few strands of her brunette hair and placed it behind her ears. She replied politely, “The answer is x equals to 2.”
Indeed, the answer was right, as usual. Mary was sitting at the back of the classroom alone where the view in front of her was the five beautiful ladies. She cursed silently in her heart as she wishes that an accident would happen.
“Why must everyone like them and not me? I have the looks, the wealth and the brains too but why not me? Why is everyone showing favoritisms towards them?” Mary thought deeply and a part of her died a little.
Mary drafted out various plans to counter the five girls and throw them into shame. After hours and hours of thinking and planning, she finally came up with a final and rather perfect piece of master plan. The next day, Mary woke up earlier than normal, she got everything prepared and was all pumped up to start her mission to busting the girls. She went into her history class and stuck a sheet of paper filled with answers underneath the tables of the five girls.
“Ring! Ring! Ring!” the school bell sounded.
Everyone presented in school rushed to their respective lesson and as expected, the five girls headed into their history class, all ready for the test.
“Alright class, you may start.” Miss Tan said.
Everyone starting scribbling on their answer papers while Miss Tan walked around the class, observing if anyone were to cheat. A bright yellow piece of paper was hanging at the edge of Jane’s table which had caught Miss Tan’s eye. Miss Tan paced towards her table and grabbed the slip of paper. To her astonishment, what was written on that piece of paper was the answers to the test.
This was brought up to the principal and they keep interrogating Jane but she just kept calm and denied everything.
“If you don’t believe me, you can always check the recording which was taped by the camera in class,” Jane replied coldly.
Indeed, they listened to her and they went to check the recording. Little did they expect, it was not Jane who did it but it was Mary! Miss Tan apologized for falsely accusing Jane and stormed off to catch the culprit.
“Mary Lee! Get out now!” Miss Tan roared.
To Mary, it was an accomplishment. However, she underestimated Jane, and now all she have to blame is herself for letting her jealousy take control of her. Her once brilliant plan had failed and she had to serve three weeks for detention. She was drowned in disappointment.
KAH HUI
The group of five consists of five alluring and gentle young ladies, they are the most popular students in the school. They have got everything one would want, the looks, the wealth and the brains. All the boys would like to be those girls beau while other girls would stand at a corner and envy them. Everyone just loves them to bits except for only person, named Mary, in the school who was filled with jealousy and hatred towards the five girls.
“Jane, could you tell me the answer when you differentiate this sum?” Miss Wong asked.
Jane, the leader of the five, stood up graciously, took out a few strands of her brunette hair and placed it behind her ears. She replied politely, “The answer is x equals to 2.”
Indeed, the answer was right, as usual. Mary was sitting at the back of the classroom alone where the view in front of her was the five beautiful ladies. She cursed silently in her heart as she wishes that an accident would happen.
“Why must everyone like them and not me? I have the looks, the wealth and the brains too but why not me? Why is everyone showing favoritisms towards them?” Mary thought deeply and a part of her died a little.
Mary drafted out various plans to counter the five girls and throw them into shame. After hours and hours of thinking and planning, she finally came up with a final and rather perfect piece of master plan. The next day, Mary woke up earlier than normal, she got everything prepared and was all pumped up to start her mission to busting the girls. She went into her history class and stuck a sheet of paper filled with answers underneath the tables of the five girls.
“Ring! Ring! Ring!” the school bell sounded.
Everyone presented in school rushed to their respective lesson and as expected, the five girls headed into their history class, all ready for the test.
“Alright class, you may start.” Miss Tan said.
Everyone starting scribbling on their answer papers while Miss Tan walked around the class, observing if anyone were to cheat. A bright yellow piece of paper was hanging at the edge of Jane’s table which had caught Miss Tan’s eye. Miss Tan paced towards her table and grabbed the slip of paper. To her astonishment, what was written on that piece of paper was the answers to the test.
This was brought up to the principal and they keep interrogating Jane but she just kept calm and denied everything.
“If you don’t believe me, you can always check the recording which was taped by the camera in class,” Jane replied coldly.
Indeed, they listened to her and they went to check the recording. Little did they expect, it was not Jane who did it but it was Mary! Miss Tan apologized for falsely accusing Jane and stormed off to catch the culprit.
“Mary Lee! Get out now!” Miss Tan roared.
To Mary, it was an accomplishment. However, she underestimated Jane, and now all she have to blame is herself for letting her jealousy take control of her. Her once brilliant plan had failed and she had to serve three weeks for detention. She was drowned in disappointment.
KAH HUI
Favouritism
Her dresses are like pale frocks. She silently walked down the corridor, only the sound of her heels could be heard. For others it may sound like danger whenever she stepped into the office but however, you could hear her colleagues rejoicing after her shadow left the office. She sat down at her desk labelled, "Director". As soon as the clock chimed eight, her timid-looking secretary served her a fresh cup of dark coffee and flipped open a diary and stuttered out the schedule for her for the entire day. However, after listening to the same things for a week, she raised up her hands for her secretary to stop.
"Now what else is there except meetings, and meetings and meetings!" She almost howled.
"W..well, there are t..two letters f..for y..you, Miss Mae.." Jessica stuttered, almost too afraid to look right into her eyes.
Jessica handed over the letter and scurried out of the room leaving the neatly printed envelope and one that was clearly being handwritten on the edge of the desk. She took the crumpled envelope and using her sharp nails, tore open the top and it was from her adopted son, James. It was a rather short letter indicating that he needed money for investments. James had already lost a large sum of money and no matter how much he lost, Mae will try every way just to fork out that sum of money. She reached out for the neatly printed letter and it was from Amy. She also needed a sum of money for setting up a company. Mae was Amy's last option as she could not tolerate how her foster mother treated her in the past.
Ever since young, Mae had always favoured James more. He was always the one getting into trouble and he even got expelled from school, but her love for James can never be compared for the hatred she had towards Amy. Mae only chose Amy because she looked like a little doll when she was young and in the end, Amy grew up to be more beautiful than Mae herself and she felt inferior standing next to Amy.
Ignoring Amy's letter, Mae decided to help James instead. She first sent him a sum of ten thousand dollars. But he requested for more. Over a period of three months, Mae had already lent him close to a million dollars, which landed her heavily in debt. While Amy's company was thriving ever since it started with the help of Amy's newly-wed husband, James kept getting his fingers burnt in the stock market. This made Mae more furious and wanted James to do even better than Amy. After James' last letter which came in days ago, Mae mortgaged her whole company to the bank. Penniless to her name, she felt insecure but she could not leave her son in the lurch.
James was later being caught by the police for investing in illegal market and with Amy's refusal to help both mother and son, Mae was left alone, on the streets, with nothing, nothing at all...
Ever since young, Mae had always favoured James more. He was always the one getting into trouble and he even got expelled from school, but her love for James can never be compared for the hatred she had towards Amy. Mae only chose Amy because she looked like a little doll when she was young and in the end, Amy grew up to be more beautiful than Mae herself and she felt inferior standing next to Amy.
Ignoring Amy's letter, Mae decided to help James instead. She first sent him a sum of ten thousand dollars. But he requested for more. Over a period of three months, Mae had already lent him close to a million dollars, which landed her heavily in debt. While Amy's company was thriving ever since it started with the help of Amy's newly-wed husband, James kept getting his fingers burnt in the stock market. This made Mae more furious and wanted James to do even better than Amy. After James' last letter which came in days ago, Mae mortgaged her whole company to the bank. Penniless to her name, she felt insecure but she could not leave her son in the lurch.
James was later being caught by the police for investing in illegal market and with Amy's refusal to help both mother and son, Mae was left alone, on the streets, with nothing, nothing at all...
5. Disappointment
I was alone at home on a week day during my school holiday. I was sitting on the sofa, reading a book. Suddenly, the phone started ringing and the ringing tone could be heard across the entire house. I jumped up immediately and went to pick up the call. “Congratulations! You have won yourself a thousand dollars from our annual lucky draw! Could you please provide us with your full name, identification card number and your mobile phone number? We will get back to you once we have processed your information.” I was totally lost for words. Could I have been so lucky? I always wanted extra allowance from my parents but they always refused to give me any. Now, I have a thousand dollars all by myself! Without hesitation, I revealed my personal information to the speaker. Little did I know that this step was a wrong step, very wrong step...
After hanging up the phone call, I closed my book and kept it back to the book shelf. I picked up the phone again, but this time to my best friend Kate. I told her about my luck and how I was going to use the money to get the latest phone model and that limited edition pair of shoes that I had always yearned for. Instead of celebrating the euphoria with me, this was what Kate told me, “Don’t be silly! Haven’t you been catching up with the news recently? There are so many fraud cases and so many people have become victims! Don’t believe what the speaker had told you!” I was fuming with rage when she told me that. I disconnected the call and let the conversation come to an end. How could she say that! Was she being jealous of the good luck that had befallen on me that she had to say such words to convince me to ignore the lucky draw? Being a stubborn person, I turned her advice to death ears and continued to immerse myself in my world.
Several days later, I still did not receive any news from the speaker. I started to doubt if the lucky draw was real or was Kate right. I searched for the contact number of the dialer and dialed the same number using my phone. However, a recorded speech was being played. It said, “Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Thank you.”
I did not dare to tell my parents about this as I had revealed my personal information to a total stranger that day. I ransacked my mind to search my mind for someone who could help me get out of this trouble. The only person that came to my mind was still Kate. The both of us came up with suggestions but all seemed to be of no use at all.
Three hours later, I told Kate that I have decided to file a police report. I went to the police station, alone. I explained the situation to a police officer from the beginning. He informed my parents and in no time, my parents were standing right before my eyes. The police officer concluded that that was just a prank played on me and I was not chosen from the lucky draw. I was told not to reveal my personal information to anyone unnecessarily, especially strangers. Although I was disappointed that I did not get to purchase the latest phone model and the pair of limited edition shoes, I have really learnt not to trust people so easily.
After hanging up the phone call, I closed my book and kept it back to the book shelf. I picked up the phone again, but this time to my best friend Kate. I told her about my luck and how I was going to use the money to get the latest phone model and that limited edition pair of shoes that I had always yearned for. Instead of celebrating the euphoria with me, this was what Kate told me, “Don’t be silly! Haven’t you been catching up with the news recently? There are so many fraud cases and so many people have become victims! Don’t believe what the speaker had told you!” I was fuming with rage when she told me that. I disconnected the call and let the conversation come to an end. How could she say that! Was she being jealous of the good luck that had befallen on me that she had to say such words to convince me to ignore the lucky draw? Being a stubborn person, I turned her advice to death ears and continued to immerse myself in my world.
Several days later, I still did not receive any news from the speaker. I started to doubt if the lucky draw was real or was Kate right. I searched for the contact number of the dialer and dialed the same number using my phone. However, a recorded speech was being played. It said, “Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Thank you.”
I did not dare to tell my parents about this as I had revealed my personal information to a total stranger that day. I ransacked my mind to search my mind for someone who could help me get out of this trouble. The only person that came to my mind was still Kate. The both of us came up with suggestions but all seemed to be of no use at all.
Three hours later, I told Kate that I have decided to file a police report. I went to the police station, alone. I explained the situation to a police officer from the beginning. He informed my parents and in no time, my parents were standing right before my eyes. The police officer concluded that that was just a prank played on me and I was not chosen from the lucky draw. I was told not to reveal my personal information to anyone unnecessarily, especially strangers. Although I was disappointed that I did not get to purchase the latest phone model and the pair of limited edition shoes, I have really learnt not to trust people so easily.
Term 1, Week 10
Writing Assignment:
Essays with one-word titles
Task:
Choose ONE of the following.
1) Rivalry.
2) Favouritism.
3) Success.
4) Euphoria.
5) Disappointment.
Instructions:
Post your composition as a blog entry.
Click on "Instructions On Posting" tab if you have forgotten how to do so.
Deadline: 10 March 2011, Thursday, 2359 hours SGT.
Reminders:
1) Remember to state the question number and title in the "title" field of your blog entry.
2) Check that there are no spelling and grammatical errors.
Essays with one-word titles
Task:
Choose ONE of the following.
1) Rivalry.
2) Favouritism.
3) Success.
4) Euphoria.
5) Disappointment.
Instructions:
Post your composition as a blog entry.
Click on "Instructions On Posting" tab if you have forgotten how to do so.
Deadline: 10 March 2011, Thursday, 2359 hours SGT.
Reminders:
1) Remember to state the question number and title in the "title" field of your blog entry.
2) Check that there are no spelling and grammatical errors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)