Trying to Make Sure

Have you all heard about a myth, or rather a legend, which told us about Orpheus, a musician. It was said that his music was so beautiful that it could not only charm humans and animals, it could also make trees and even rocks move. Orpheus fell in love with a lady, by the name of Eurydice but she was killed on the wedding day. The sorrow and grief filled Orpheus descended into the underworld in hope of bringing her back. He got his way to the King of The Underworld by charming everyone in his way with his music, not surprisingly, the king was also charmed and was ready to release her, but on one condition, that he cannot look back at Eurydice before they reach the exit at the very top. However, when he was already near the top, when sunshine shone on his face, he looked back at Eurydice, as he was worried that the king had tricked him and when he turned back, as promised, Eurydice fell back to the underworld and why did this happen, this is because he wanted to make sure and from here why Orpheus failed, it is because he tried to do what all good hero had done-he tried to make sure.
Today, we are to talk about ‘making sure’. Many problems only start to surface or start when people try to make sure. Picture this, ‘when a immigration officer felt something odd with a package and wanted to make sure that it was nothing threatening, he opens to the lid to the package and it triggers the count-down of a bomb’. This case here shows you how ironic it is for people who liked to make sure. We can see from here that it is not always good to make sure about things and that sometimes it is not a good thing to make sure about things. Sometimes it is better to not think about much thing and just do what you need to do, that might bring you a better out-come. From here, we can conclude that sometimes it is not an appropriate move when you try to make sure about things, sometimes it is better to keep things how they are as making sure will only lead to more trouble.

The Secret History of The World

For quite a few days, I had been working on a book, titled ‘The Secret History of The World’ which the ideas in it I found extremely fresh and new. This book mainly focuses on mystic revelations and decoding esoteric codes. It also talks about the beliefs of the secret societies, this book can be said as a radical re-interpretation and a view of the world previously hidden from us.
From starting the book till now, I had learned many ideas that the writer is trying to hypnotize into the readers mind. For most of the time, the book quoted from books to legends, ancient carvings to ancient tablets, and it used a new way to show and explain to us what is the creators of them are trying to tell us. For an example, we all know that god created our world in 7 human days but the writer said that the 7 days did not really mean 7 human days and may be in another form of day and that it was a total of 7 gods who created Earth together, one creating each day. This is seriously not as we have been told, everything in the book is not of the original interpretation but of a new way, a different way, from a different view.
This book tries to tell us of what the secret societies believe and what is being taught in the secret schools. This book also tries to show facts that the ancients already knew a lot of things that we just found out and that more which we still don’t know.
However, the key point that the writer is trying to say is that science could not tell us everything and that sometimes it is not telling the truth. The writer also stressed that everything went the ‘Nature Way’ and that it has nothing to do with science and that science can only briefly tell us what happened but not how it happened.
I have yet to finish the book and I hope to find and learn more new ideas and that I shall share more of the book next time when I have read more.

Diary Entry by Jem

Today, could be said as the most wonderful day I had ever had since birth. The day started as usual, breakfast then to school. Scout and I then walked back home after school, using the same route, doing the same thing, looking like yet another normal and uneventful day. However, what is to come will make today the best and most memorable day in my life.
After Scout and I got home, we had our bath and lunch, we then sat at the chair next to the door to get some wind. Scout kept looking out of the window as if she had spotted something so I turned and looked out too. In the middle of the street, a dog was walking slowly towards town. As I found it quite odd to have a dog that walked with a twitch so I told Calpurnia about it and at first sight of the dog, she exclaimed a curse that there is a mad dog in town and ran to the phone to phone Atticus and the town operator.
After quite some time, Atticus and the town sheriff came. The sheriff stepped out of his car with a shot-gun in hand. Atticus asked him to shoot and kill the dog immediately so that it will not cause any harm to the town folks. He also told the sheriff that if he misses he will hit the Radley’s window and if he injured the dog, it will go berserk and start biting people. However, the sheriff exclaimed that he could not possibly kill the dog with one shot at such distance and that he will most probably miss and hit the Radley’s window.
Then, the sheriff asked Atticus to shoot but ‘Atticus can’t shoot,’ I thought. After a long conversation, Atticus finally got hold of the gun, he then took aim. Finding it not clear to aim with his spectacles on, he took them off and took aim again. After a short silent pause, he pulled the trigger. The sound of the bullet broke the town’s silence. I could not believe my eyes that Atticus can shoot and that it was so well. I only realized after asking Calpurnia that Atticus was once known as ‘One-Shot Finch’ and that he is the best shooter in Maycomb.
Although I really wanted to ask Atticus why he doesn’t shoot but I resisted it because I know that there must be a reason behind it and if Atticus wants to tell me he would. Most importantly, I know that Atticus is a great shooter and that is all I need.

DramaPlay(Based on the book To Kill a Mockingbird)

This is a play that is based on the book, ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’. The storyline of the play is based on the book but the speeches and characters are of some changes.
The play starts with a empty street, with old-style houses lined around it. A dog will then enter the scene, walking into town slowly, with a twitch. Jem and Scout coming out of the house and spots the odd looking dog. They will then go in again and come out with Calpurnia. And that is the beginning of the play…

Jem : Calpurnia, isn’t that dog Tim Johnson?
Calpurnia: Yes, you are right there boy. (nodding the head) The dog out there is indeed Tom Jonhson.
Scout: But Calpurnia, why is he walking with a twitch?
Calpurnia: That is indeed a mystery. (Calpurnia in deep thought, after a long pause) Could it not be… Oh no! That’s a rabid dog . I better call the town operator to inform everyone that there is a rabid dog in town and that they better stay in their houses today.

Calpurnia on the phone…

Calpurnia: Hello, is this the town operator?
Operator: Yep ma’am, how can I help you?
Calpurnia: Hello, this is Calpurnia here. I have just spotted a rabid dog going towards town and I was wondering it may be appropriate to phone you to issue a alert to the others.
Operator: If what you said is true, then it is indeed a serious matter we are dealing with here. I will immediately issue a emergency notice and I will call the sheriff to have a look at the situation.
Calpurnia: I believe this is all I have.
Operator: Thank you for your information.

The lights are dimmed and the scene returns the street…
A car slowly comes into the scene. The sheriff, Heck Tate and Atticus then comes out of the car, with the sheriff holding on to the shotgun. Calpurnia, Jem and Scout are in the house, looking out from the window.

Atticus: And that’s the rabid dog.(pointing at the dog)
Jem: Hey Uncle Heck, go on and kill that dog out there, I know you can do it.
Heck Tate: Oh Jem, I can’t possibly kill that dog from a safe distance, I could only injure it.
Scout: But Uncle Heck, you are the best we have here in Maycomb, you are the sheriff.
Heck Tate: Don’t the two of you know that your father is the best shooter in Maycomb? He was once known as ‘One-Shot Finch’.
Jem: You must be kidding Uncle Heck, Atticus don’t even know how to shoot, I never seen him holding a gun before.
Atticus: Hey Heck, we have a situation out here so stop chit-chatting with the kids. The dog must be killed now or it will cause trouble when it gets to town
Heck Tate: Atticus, you know me, I can’t even possibly hit the dog from here. You are the only one in Maycomb who can hit the target from such distance.
Atticus: You know me Heck, I don’t like going around with a gun, shooting at things.
Heck Tate: Stop caring about those things. It is a matter of life and death here. If I am to shoot, the bullet will go into the Radleys if I miss, which I most probably would but for you, it’s different. You wouldn’t miss from here so for once, take up the gun again, shoot the dog, for the sake of the Maycomb community.
Atticus: Ok, I will take up a gun again for only this once.

Heck Tate handed over the gun to Atticus. Atticus took aim but he felt uneasy with his spectacles on, he then threw his spectacles on the floor and took aim again. Then, in a split second, a bullet roared through the still air, piercing through the dog’s head. The dog then dropped dead onto the ground with blood rushing out from the bullet-hole.

Jem: Oh my god! Atticus actually shoots and that he has a dead accuracy man!
Calpurnia: Now, boy, do you know why Atticus never told you about this? It is because he doesn’t feel proud about this so I do not wish that you and your sister here will go around town talking about how your father killed a dog at such a distance.
Scout: But Calpurnia, why isn’t this a thing to be proud of? That was just awesome!
Calpurnia: Your father, feels that God has given him an unfair advantage over the others whenever he holds on to a gun, because no one can shoot as accurately as him so he does not hold on to a gun to shoot, unless it was a must.

Atticus: Now, business is done so we should head back to town, and son, life is like this, God gives everyone a specialty so do not feel that you are better than anyone when you do better than him in something because he also has a specialty so do not go around telling and showing others how good you are, because one day when someone does better than you, you will feel as if you have lost everything and I do not hope to see you like that one day.

Chinese New Year

What comes to you first when you hear of ‘Chinese New Year’?
To the Chinese, it is when you get new shirts, angpows (or red packets) and when you gather with your family with good food. To the Malays and the Indians, it is when you get free holiday and when you see the Chinese walking around in red clothes.
However to me, Chinese New Year is not just any day to me. It is when I can forget about everything, forget what day it is, forget what I need to do, when I truly relax.
Having a hometown in a calm and almost forgotten place, is a great thing to have. Every time when I go back there, I feel a sense of comfort, because it is stress-free there, I do not need to worry about what to do, what I have not finished, it is just that I do not need to worry about anything. Also, it is the only time when I find peace in my mind, when I totally forget about everything here, all the exams, the home works, everything.
Also, it is only during Chinese New Year when I get to meet up with my cousins as they are all spread out around the word having their University degrees. Being the only time when I meet them, I cherishes these times the most, we would normally stay-up throughout the whole night, talking about how we are lately.
Chinese New Year is also the time when I get a taste of my grandmother’s cooking as I have to attend to CCA training during the holidays so it is only during Chinese New Year when I get an exception so I can go back to my parents’ hometown.
Chinese New Year is indeed a very meaningful day to me. However, I wish that our school can have an extra day of holiday so we can spend more time with our family and to recharge ourselves to cope with the everlasting school works.

Creation and destruction

Before I start anything, I hereby swear that this has nothing to do with racism or religion prejudice, that this is purely an opinion, or rather idea.
Every religion has a different version of a story, a story telling you what you are, how you became you and most important of all, how this universe came into place. But what I am about to tell you, is totally different from what you are told since young, what your parents, teachers, elders, peers, friends, anyone had ever told you. Before I start telling you about this, clear your mind, forget everything that you were once told, forget who you are, forget where you came from, forget what’s your religion, the only thing that you need to remember is that you belong in a place having mysteries more than the stars in the night, having secrets more than the hair on your head, having unknowns more than the sands on the beach.
You must be wondering, if no one created this universe, then how did it come about, did it just pop out of nothingness?
This question is one that many had been thinking about since the very start of civilization. How do you think of the come-about of religion? Religions are what people go to when they find questions, questions that only leads to a dead end, questions that have no answer, questions that can’t be answered, yet. And at this time, people go to religions, to have a sense of comfort, thinking that if anything strange happens, it is because the gods are angry, the gods are punishing people, that it is the act of god.
However, is it real that all these ‘strange’ things are the very doings of god?
This question is one of weight and I am in no place to answer this place but I have one thing to say, and that is no matter what happens, there is always a reason, a answer to it because nothing comes from nothing. Just as once people thought that earthquakes are caused by the gods’ angry feet, that above the sky lies heaven, and hell lies below but now we know that it is not so and this very situation is similar to our view on the creation, we do not know about the creation so we use god as a reason, that god created all this but this will no longer be the reason when people start knowing more about the universe as the scholars can no longer say lies, that this universe is created by god.
Have you ever thought about the end of the Dinosaur Age?
Many believe that by knowing more about the end of the Dinosaur Age, will give us a better picture of how will our age end and what will come after us but this is not the main thing here. The main thing is that have you ever even think that we are not the only humans ever lived, that there is humans living somewhere else in this universe, that somehow we are not the first humans to live on Earth, that Humans had already once lived trillion years ago but already died out due to the problems we are facing now, that we are going to die as they did?
We do not know of anything about this but the thing is that after we are to meet the end, who or what will live here? Will the flow start again after million, billions of year later, having dinosaurs living again, then to humans again and to end again? Maybe this flow has already been here trillion years ago or maybe it is going to start now.
So look out to the future, as there is still more coming our way~

A before editing speech

Good morning school, today I stand before you, as a to-retire President of the 26th Student Council. Four years ago, a 13 years old boy came under the shelter of this wonderful school, having dreams of his own. Three years later, that young boy, stood before most of you here, having a dream, no longer of his own, but a dream that I believe everyone here has, and it is to make this school a better place for all. And this boy gave a speech, a speech that gained your support, your acknowledgement and convinced you to vote for him, which made him the President of the Student Council. And since then, one year has passed, and now, he stand before you giving yet again another speech but this time it is not for you to vote for him, but is to ask for you to give your support and belief in those two gentlemen down there, for now is their time, their time to make their dreams yours, to make your dream theirs’ and make it a common dream for all and strife for it together.
Harold R. Mc Alindon once said, ‘Do not follow where the path leads, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail’ and this is what I believe that the person that I am about to introduce to you believe in too. This guy is Tay Wei Bin, one of the candidates running for presidency this year. To give you a brief picture of what kind of guy is Wei Bin, he has been in the student council since Sec 1 and he has excellent academic results. Wei Bin has also represented the school in national competitions and he is a charismatic leader. The only bad thing about Wei Bin, is that he is not a team-player.
Wei Bin has been a student councilor since Sec 1 which shows that he is very clear with how the council works and also he will have experience in leading. Also, by being a charismatic leader, Wei Bin can convince all of his ideas and so it will make his new initiatives more accepted. However, although Wei Bin is not a team-player, I believe that he will overcome this barrier and start working together with others. However, not being a team-player may sometimes be a good trait as if everyone of the EXCO agrees to something that Wei Bin thinks other-wise, he will not just agree to the matter, he will look into the matter first before making judgements and decisions.
And after this short speech, I hope that you will know Wei Bin enough to put your beliefs in him. And once again before I end my speech, I urge you to vote for Wei Bin, vote for a better Hwa Chong and vote for a better tomorrow.
Thank you.