Monday, March 30, 2009

Education - Boon or Bane?


Do you remember the times when your Youth Group Leaders used to say that university is gonna be easy?

After Junior College(JC) and A' levels, my church friends and I are always looking forward to a seemingly easier lifestyle in university. We heard that we only need to "study when its nearer the exams" and we can always slack during the semesters. However, the opposite is true. We have projects to do, assignments to hand up, mid-term and end-term exams to study for PLUS we have to prepare for presentations. We need to constantly be on our balls, trying very hard to understand the lecture, and even have to combat some rediculously slacking groupmates. What a hard time!

But coming to think of it, it may not be our "teacher's" fault for providing us with such disillusion. The tough competition we face today is largely due to the society, the Singapore's way of describing it - Kiasu! Being born in the Year of the Dragon has showed me that in the academic world, it's all about competition and stress. You can't run away from that!

In addition, it may also be due to the government's over-ambition to bring Singapore to a higher level. Look at all the kids out there who are studying! What we used to learn in Secondary 4 is now taught in Secondary 2. What's more?! Some of the stuff that's in my JC lecture notes is now seen in the Secondary 4 textbook! What the?? Maybe the government should just relax the education system a little and let the kids have some childhood.

So what do you think we can do to help combat such a tiring system?
(1) Stab the Professors!
Look at NTU! Now all the Triple E people have an extended deadline of 1 month for their projects! WoHoo!
(2) Kill the Governments
Like who would dare to do it? (hmm..)
(3)Go to the Speaker's Corner
Does it really work? In October 2008 NTUC Income chief, Tan Kin Lian seeked redress commoners who have loss of their life savings while investing in Financial structured products like credit-linked securities and found that 1,000 people turned up in support of his speech.

Haha! Pick your choice!

The Prayer


One of my favourite Christian songs.
THE PRAYER

"I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer
As we go our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe
La luce che to dai
I pray we'll find your light
Nel cuore restero
And hold it in our hearts
A ricordarchi che
When stars go out each night
L'eterna stella sei
Nella mia preghiera
Let this be our prayer
Quanta fede c'e
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace

Give us faith so we'll be safe
Sognamo un mondo senza piu violenza
Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
Simbolo di pace e di fraternita

La forza che ci dai
We ask that life be kind
Eil desiderio che
And watch us from above
Ugnuno trovi amore
We hope each soul will find
Intorno e dentro a se
Another soul to love

Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer
Just like every child
Just like every child

Needs to find a place,
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe
E la fede che
Hai acceso in noi
Sento che ci salvera"

Sunday, March 29, 2009

LOVE




"Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails"
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

These are the words inscribed in the bible, where it describes what love should be. Often, love is misinterpreted as a tingling feeling - an indescribable and mysterious attraction. This however, would be something I would consider as an infatuation. Infatuation in my dictionary is the "unexplained attraction towards a person - a guy or a girl".

In my years of experience of being in a relationship, I've come to realise that love is more that just a simple boy-girl relationship. It is a commitment that one holds dear to her heart. The reason why so many couples have been together and gone apart is that very often they are unable to fully commit themselves to ensure that their relationship work out. In the show "Perfect Cut II " the mother of Michelle Chia actually mentioned that "Relationships odd to be managed and not tested." I find this quote familiarly true. Relationships should be handled with care as it is extremely fragile and can be easily broken by others. A simple act of staring at a person of the opposite sex could encourage jealousy in your partner.

Hence, I would like to give a small piece of advise to those who are in a relationship - try your best to work out your differences. Always be truthful to one another (even if the truth hurts), cause the truth would always reveal itself. And if you think that you can't sustain the relationship anymore, think again! Loving the same person and constantly thinking of ways to continue and sustain your relationship helps you to grow in love and understanding. Therefore strive hard to keep your relationship though the trails that may come your way. =)

Have you ever liked someone of the same gender?
Unknown to many adults, teenagers are sometimes confused about their own identity. Personally, I have liked someone of the same gender when I was in Secondary School. It was a senior who was a year older than me. Her behaviour was much like a boy and yet still have lovely features of a girl. This crush lasted for about a year before it eventually faded away. It was quite an experience since I was in an all girls' school.

However, as I grew older, I came to realise that God has His plans for me. God provided me with my boyfriend who is a person whom I can relay on, confide in and express my love too. I also realise that the crush that I once had was just something really small and insignificant. Some may even say that I was so silly to have such crushes. Oh well... Those are the days. Quite fun and quite cool. Haha!

What about you? Have you ever liked someone of the same gender?