Divergent

   The ides of the divergence in purpose of this blog, from being solely as a platform for me to express my feelings and emotions to an apt stage to discuss about the current affairs and issues, comes in view of my need to do better in my upcoming A levels. To briefly update you guys, alhamdulillah things are getting better for me and my family. I was offered to tutor a Secondary 3 German student for his N and O levels for $60 every week. In addition, I might be able to finally pass my IPPT and achieve my allowance of $300 monthly by June, insyallah. As for mom, she's still trying to land a job but I'm optimistic that she'll eventually find one that is suitable for her. Our relationship's still a work in progress but somehow I believe that I can still change for the better, and especially for the right reasons. I do not want my drive and passion to be blurred by my useless infatuation to prove to others who ever know me that I'm better than what they've thought of me. There's no point in considering what they felt about me. This would be my biggest obstacle in achieving maturity. And hopefully I can slowly get rid of my obsession. As for Sis, she's doing fine too. All she needs now it that push to do better. So that's it for updates. Let's get the ball rolling!

   This is based on the 2009 Cambridge A' levels GP paper and we're gonna zoom in straight to the Application Question and a extract of my answer :-

12) How far do you agree with the author’s view on work and leisure? Illustrate your answer/own views by referring to the ways in which you and your society regard work and leisure.

   I do agree to a large extent with the author's view on work and leisure. The author claims that taking joy in gastronomic novelties and the probabilities of our own and our friends’ romantic lives are what we regard as leisure. This means that we define leisure as being updated about the latest gossips of our own and our friends’ lives and also enjoy good food. I do subscribe to those views as this is popular among my society and also other societies around the world. People regard savoring unique cuisines and finding good food as a form of releasing stress from their hectic lifestyle. This is truly evident in my society as finding good places that serve great cuisines and trying them out have been a trend amongst youth my age and also working adults. This is backed up by the constant posting of photos displaying dishes on media sharing sites such as Instagram and Picasa, usually sent in by them. These pictures often garner many “likes” and comments posted by other users of such sites. The rampant “Tweets” and “Status Updates” sent in by Singaporean youth on social media links like Twitter and Facebook clearly shows their need to share details and events of their lives with their friends and family. They would set aside time from their undoubtedly hectic schedule of work and school to read and update themselves of the latest happenings in their peers' lives. Hence, the author’s definition of leisure is valid in my society’s context.

   Comments :

• Paragraph was okay as it deals with only one point and was focused on that.
• Never say what the writer does not - Defining leisure??
• There is still the need to inject balance in writing through each paragraph if possible; agree with something the writer says and thereafter rebut some other thing about it.
• Teacher's remarks - References are clearly made. Agreement (direct answer to the qn) clearly stated. There is attempt at explanation (giving a reason why Singaporeans are as you say they are e.g. ‘stress’). There is some evidence given for your claims (esp in para 1).

   Let's look further into the style and thought put into writing an argumentative essay. A friend of mine, Arif, puts out a great advise on this :

   "As a writer of an argumentative piece, you may come across instances of writing against your personal stand, or you may put forth in your argument more than what you believe in. But that is simply the power of writing... Or let me rephrase that: it is the power of thought. For when you are able to conceive from an angle you never thought you would or one you still think you should not (by virtue of principle or morality), you have this quality of seeing things from a helicopter view, from many angles without forgoing any of them in reality. Interestingly, people who have this quality may not be identical. There can be ten people who have this same quality and may yet not agree with one another on a particular issue. However, that's the wonderful thing. This quality is what makes one more open-minded yet not necessarily liberal, more objective yet not necessarily neutral, more of a thinker yet not necessarily radical."

   To me, here's an apt example from the 2009 A' levels GP passage :

   "A more radical definition of work may emerge when we consider that human beings, like all living creatures, are born with two fundamental drives: to survive, and to reproduce their kind. To satisfy the first, they must find food and shelter, and defend them. To satisfy the second, they must make themselves desirable to potential mates and, when successful, rear and protect the next generation. Is "work" best defined as the activity necessitated by these drives? If it is, then shopping - and, not least, the time we spend in clothes stores and at cosmetic counters - gratifyingly becomes the very centre of our working life."

28 days and beyond

   It's so easy for humans to snap at the every mistakes that we've done. Whether we realise it or not, we are constantly trying to preserve our image in front of others. However, little did we realise that sometimes the judgement of others doesn't matter at all, let alone for you to even heed them. As always, do respect others before you demand respect. But then again, do not forget to always respect yourself first. Forgive yourself for the mistakes that you've done, for humans like you and me were meant to err. And move on, don't look back. But never, ever fall into the same hole again.

   This will be the last time I'll be updating my blog solely on my feelings and emotions. It would be filled up with loads of GP essays in view of my upcoming A' level exams. Yes, I am going to re-take my exams this November. It took a lot of contemplation and thinking, not to mention discussions, before I came to this ultimatum. There was a chance that if I managed to get that place in the Earth Sciences course, there is no point in re-taking this whole examination. But then again, it is very difficult to transfer to that course although I may have a place in another course in the same faculty. And then came the issue of finance and time. After leaving the "Chalet", I was determined to change everything about my life. Every issue that my life possesses had its own difficulty, and finance and time is in a league of its own. To juggle pushing my mom to work, helping my sister to find a day-care, finding a job myself and maintaining life in NS, as well as the outside world, is going to take a toll on me. This is not to mention the "punishment" I've been imposed - 15 months probation and 100 hours of community service. Hence money and time is not in my favor. You can say it's suicidal..

   Nevertheless, hope is still high for me as I began to see improvements in my life as well as my family's. Mom begin to look for a job and went for interviews. Sis is doing fine in school and by chance, I've potentially found someone to take care of her after school until my mom comes back. Both my dad and auntie (both my parents side) are trying to help us out, although meager, financially and emotionally. As for the issue of time, the only way out was to manage my time extremely well (and so yes I've got myself a planner). And so it seems that it is a possible storm to ride out.

   Focusing on that bit where I've wanted to change everything about my life, it included my social life too. And thank God, life in the stations was easier and that my campmates were treating me well (including the joy of getting promoted this month). As for a glimpse of my life in the past, I've recently met my 24A peers again for a buffet at Clarke Quay. The worry was there initially, what with a probation and all. I wanted so much to prove that I've changed a lot and, of course, for the better. In the end, it went better than expected. I was just happy to see that the guys are still fine and doing well in whatever they're doing right now (and I can personally be proud of myself for not discussing about "YY" with anyone, especially Cel).

   So beyond those 28 days lies a hope and prayer for freedom and a determination to change whatever that was wrong about life. Life itself is a form of endurance, and the meaning of my name is a very embodiment of it. Someone once said that our names are not arbitrarily given; our names are our destiny and will stay with us till the day we die. With everything that is going on around me, as well as the upcoming "walls" my family must be prepared to face, how far would I go for a second chance?