Many students would probably relate themselves to the Clock Tower or perhaps, the bronze statue of Tan Kah Kee, the founder of my school. Although I would agree with the general preferences of most students, I would choose the bronze horse at the foot of the Clock Tower to represent my identity. Why? To me, the moment I step into the vicinity of the bronze horse, I can sense an overwhelming pride emerging in me, for it is a unique feature of our school. From my knowledge, this bronze horse was an initiative by an alumnus of the school who drafted the plans for this horse on Hwa Chong’s 80th anniversary. One could say that it signifies how the school has emerged through turbulent eras and emerged as a world-class institution. This horse, reminds me of the struggle the school has emerged from victoriously, and everybody should strive emulate the success of the school. How does it link to my identity then? The bronze horse is equivalent to the determination of the leaders who have guided the school through various struggles. The school’s progress is part of my identity because as a Hwa Chong student, everybody has a responsibility in bringing glory to the school, whether is it in academic or physical aspects and to accomplish these tasks requires strength and determination to succeed, just like how the school has. At the end of the day, the success of the school lies within its students, whether they will lead the school towards glory or in the opposite direction. Therefore, I would say that the bronze statue represents my identity as a Hwa Chong student as it serves to remind everyone of the need to strive for the best.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
My identity in relation to my favourite part of my campus
Many students would probably relate themselves to the Clock Tower or perhaps, the bronze statue of Tan Kah Kee, the founder of my school. Although I would agree with the general preferences of most students, I would choose the bronze horse at the foot of the Clock Tower to represent my identity. Why? To me, the moment I step into the vicinity of the bronze horse, I can sense an overwhelming pride emerging in me, for it is a unique feature of our school. From my knowledge, this bronze horse was an initiative by an alumnus of the school who drafted the plans for this horse on Hwa Chong’s 80th anniversary. One could say that it signifies how the school has emerged through turbulent eras and emerged as a world-class institution. This horse, reminds me of the struggle the school has emerged from victoriously, and everybody should strive emulate the success of the school. How does it link to my identity then? The bronze horse is equivalent to the determination of the leaders who have guided the school through various struggles. The school’s progress is part of my identity because as a Hwa Chong student, everybody has a responsibility in bringing glory to the school, whether is it in academic or physical aspects and to accomplish these tasks requires strength and determination to succeed, just like how the school has. At the end of the day, the success of the school lies within its students, whether they will lead the school towards glory or in the opposite direction. Therefore, I would say that the bronze statue represents my identity as a Hwa Chong student as it serves to remind everyone of the need to strive for the best.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
A Comic Strip on Ignorance
Presenting..... my very first comic strip! This comic strip portrays a simple act of ignorance, on the importance of having ample knowledge before expressing illogical comments. This comic strip is based on Paul, a tourist who is travelling around the world. As he travels to one location, he makes illogical comments on a famous landmark of the country, leaving countless locals infuriated by his ignorance. It is a simple comic strip which aims to address ignorance in a larger scale. The variation in the background of the comic strip represents the ever-changing situation someone faces in the real world, as portrayed by different countries in the comic. Utilising the different perspectives of Paul, I could develop his character as an ignorant and humourous man in the story. Besides that, the fury of the locals is represented in their speech. In China and Egypt, Paul drives the locals up the wall and this represented in the use of full capitals in their speech. In France, sarcasm is used in the local's speech as he makes a threat to "reconstruct" Paul's face. The elements in this comic include humour, which subtly brings the theme of ignorance in a lighter context, conflict, as portrayed in the fury of the locals and the humourous mood of the story. To end this post, I hope you enjoyed my comic strip!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love? : A Message from Above
Having touched on the concepts of prejudice and discrimination this week, I can indeed "discriminate" between prejudice and discrimination, if you understand the word play, and thus, I shall reflect upon the main message of Where is the Love by Black Eyed Peas.
Basically, the song preaches about the importance of love and how love has been absent from this world, particularly because how people fail to realise the fact that hatred is present everywhere, even within themselves. It is enveloped in prejudice and discrimination, emphasising on the cycle of hate that never ends. This song has an important message, one that has always been tossed to the corner of one's mind, one that is disregarded by countries at war with each other -- Love can heal the world.
In the USA the big CIA the Bloodz and the Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And if you hatin you're bound to get irate
Yeah madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
You gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love y'all
One of the most impactful parts of the song, this paragraph displays the irony and hypocrisy of the U.S Government, about how they fail to comprehend that the importance in solving the root of the problem, the cause of suffering and pain in their own country outweighs the benefits of concentrating on global terrorism. It is almost as though they are looking at terrorism in a sterotypical manner, assuming that terrorism derives from Muslim countries. What they disregard is the fact that terrorism includes the outrageous attacks on innocent civillians as a result of the conflicts the Bloods and the Crips and the discrimination against the blacks by the Ku Klux Klan as they strive for white supremacy through the emphasis of terrorism.
This song portrays how ignorance is plaguing the world, the cruelty of the truth is that it is fast proliferating, as ignorance soon destroys the innocent minds of young kids. Without the right awaresness, this is what happens -- "wrong information always shown by the media, negative images is the main criteria, infecting their young minds faster than bacteria, kids wanna act like what the see in the cinema". The truth of the media is that it is a double-edged sword, we can benefit from its information, at the same time, negative information can unknowingly seep into our minds. "Instead of spreading love, we're spreading animosity". That is the blatant reality of the world, we have become self-centred, materialistic and ignorant. That is the keyword. We should bury ourselves in our mind and reflect upon what we have done. In this globalised world, we are interconnected by technology. However, this is where the irony lies. Can we communicate more easily? Yes. Do we want to? No. Start showing love for others, change our attitude. This is what we want.
Basically, the song preaches about the importance of love and how love has been absent from this world, particularly because how people fail to realise the fact that hatred is present everywhere, even within themselves. It is enveloped in prejudice and discrimination, emphasising on the cycle of hate that never ends. This song has an important message, one that has always been tossed to the corner of one's mind, one that is disregarded by countries at war with each other -- Love can heal the world.
In the USA the big CIA the Bloodz and the Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And if you hatin you're bound to get irate
Yeah madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
You gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love y'all
One of the most impactful parts of the song, this paragraph displays the irony and hypocrisy of the U.S Government, about how they fail to comprehend that the importance in solving the root of the problem, the cause of suffering and pain in their own country outweighs the benefits of concentrating on global terrorism. It is almost as though they are looking at terrorism in a sterotypical manner, assuming that terrorism derives from Muslim countries. What they disregard is the fact that terrorism includes the outrageous attacks on innocent civillians as a result of the conflicts the Bloods and the Crips and the discrimination against the blacks by the Ku Klux Klan as they strive for white supremacy through the emphasis of terrorism.
This song portrays how ignorance is plaguing the world, the cruelty of the truth is that it is fast proliferating, as ignorance soon destroys the innocent minds of young kids. Without the right awaresness, this is what happens -- "wrong information always shown by the media, negative images is the main criteria, infecting their young minds faster than bacteria, kids wanna act like what the see in the cinema". The truth of the media is that it is a double-edged sword, we can benefit from its information, at the same time, negative information can unknowingly seep into our minds. "Instead of spreading love, we're spreading animosity". That is the blatant reality of the world, we have become self-centred, materialistic and ignorant. That is the keyword. We should bury ourselves in our mind and reflect upon what we have done. In this globalised world, we are interconnected by technology. However, this is where the irony lies. Can we communicate more easily? Yes. Do we want to? No. Start showing love for others, change our attitude. This is what we want.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
An Impactful Book : Eat, Pray, Love
One of the most impactful books I've read was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It paints an interesting picture of how women perceive the world as well as well as the simple pleasures of life. This travelogue cum memoir revolves around the idea of finding balance and happiness in life.At 32 years old, the author’s life has been smooth running, with a successful career thus far. However, disillusioned by her marriage, she spends her nights crying on the bathroom floor, lamenting about her miserable life. She finally takes her first step towards happiness, divorcing her husband. Seeking to forget her unhappy memories, she embarks upon a journey across three countries in search of spirituality and the meaning of life after finalizing her divorce. She spends four months in Italy, food paradise. Elizabeth Gilbert indulges her carnal appetite in mountains of heavenly Italian food, at the same time, appreciating the simplicity of life. Another four months in India, she finds spiritual balance by scrubbing temple floors and perseverance in the daily recitals of Sanskrit scripts. Lastly, she finds balance between spirituality and food in Indonesia, meeting a Brazilian stranger whom she found the true meaning of life, love.
How does it impact my life then, you might ask? Perhaps it was the amusing monologues Elizabeth Gilbert which she carries out from time to time to think about life. However, I would say how she demonstrates her humour, wit and insight which she displays wherever she goes. It is the simplicity of her monologues which made me think about how we too can revel in the pleasures of everyday life. Also, her endless pursuit for happiness and answers made me understand that you can never be too content with all that you have in life. Seize the moment and work for your desires.
To end this post, let me quote Elizabeth Gilbert -- "Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it."
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