BLOGSPOT 101 (JOEY)

During this semester, I was faced with new challenges that I have never seen before. I had to learn different skills and quickly adapt to them. I needed to be able to blend in into the different categories. For instance, there was group project which required the members to create a storyboard based on the story we previously read before attempting to do this storyboard. Never in my life had I known what a storyboard was. Still, giving up before trying was as good as not trying at all, maybe even the same.

I had to ask myself how I was going to learn something new within limited amount of time. I had to make sure I understood what was given to me, use it and make something out of it. I had to ask help from my group members. I admit I never really enjoyed working in a group, mainly because I have worked in previous groups with members who are unwilling or reluctant to do their task. I can only ignore them and hope they decided to do more than just stare blankly into space.

It was then when I realized I needed to contribute more in order for the same thing to happen to me. What I’m saying is that if I contribute more, hopefully others would do the same. If they do, the task would be a breeze, at least I hoped it would. Fortunately for me the group was willing to work together and complete the task, but then the problem arrived. We began having disagreements about what we should include in our storyboard. Then members started becoming lazy and putting in lesser effort as time ticked away. I assure you, it was frustrating. I decided to put an end to it. I plucked up all my courage and decided to tell them to either help out with the task or leave our group. I knew that they could not really be kicked out of the group, but I was kind of positive that they would just go with the first option, and they did.Sadly, by the time we sorted out who is supposed to be doing a certain task, which members need to think up ideas and so on, we ran out of time.

However, we were fortunate enough to be given more time to complete the task. We all gathered and decided to complete it. Sadly, some members didn’t turn up. Then an arguement broke out, and this time it was worse than before. We all got so annoyed that the group members went seperate ways, leaving the work unattended.
But somehow, there was a strange and invisible force that brought the group together again, and that same force allowed us to work together again.

I am not sure if this is considered a talent, but personally, I think it is. I think that talent was within me all this while, but it was hidden. I discovered that problems are like hurdles. They make your journey tougher. But to me, my talent was having the ability to learn how to overcome the obstacle, how to get someone else to help, and how to apply it. That to me was a hidden talent I found. To me, a talent need not be a huge one, or something that makes the jaws of people drop and their eyes widen, but one that makes you feel as though there was a change in you. Still, this talent is just like any talent. If you don’t work on it, it will eventually get to a point where it is no longer as good as before, and pretty soon it might just die off.

—Joey—

—Describe one goal that you set for yourself in September. What steps have you taken? Where and how have you met that goal? Where and how have you fallen short? And how will you proceed toward that goal in the second semester?—

A goal is like an expectation, only from yourself. It is hard work, but the result is rewarding. Some people think that the key to achieving goals is to remember this sentence. Hard work equals good results. Still, it is easier said than done…

I have many goals in life, most of them are related to studies or school. I am sure almost everyone has similar goals like those I have. Among my goals I have set for myself, one of them stands out. That goal is known as “improvement”.

Every year, this goal is the most important, the one that bothers me the most, the one that I know I have to work at the hardest, and I want to. However, I had an enemy that prevented me from doing all of this. Anyways, the goal I set for myself was to improve, and I was definetely given more opportunities, but knowing how to take them and use them wisely, was a demanding task. I hated it. Why? Simple. Every time I want to study hard and try to do my best, my enemy would split up into 3 groups. Mainly Distraction, Laziness and Reluctancy.

Distraction was used to keep my mind of what was important, completing my work with effort put in it. No words can describe how much I hate distraction during work. Yet somehow I can’t seem to overcome it at will, but it just comes to me after awhile.

Next comes Laziness. Oh I hate it just as much as I hate Distraction. Laziness causes me to not even do anything. Sometimes I do a little, but then the feeling just dies off. Laziness causes me to lose focus fast, and even if I still has any focus in me, it would be temporary.

Last but definetely not least, would be Reluctancy. Reluctancy would not only make me unwilling to do work, but sometimes when anyone asks me about anything to do with work, I have that sort of attitude that causes their face to go Crimson Red and steam would be gushing out of their ears. Trust me, it isn’t a pretty sight.

Once this year, I was given an opportunity to achieve my goal. I wanted to do it so badly. However, it wasn’t so easy. It came in a form that at one glance, looked impossible. Yes, it came in the form of homework. This word makes some students shudder just at the mere thought of it. I could be among them at times, yet at other times, I can be far away from these group of people. Sadly, it did not happen this time.

My enemy made me become really lazy. I did not do any work and it all piled up to the very end. That was when I hit rock bottom. I smashed face first into a brick wall. Only then did I realize how important this was, and I asked myself why bother doing so much. But then I had the answer. It was because I want to improve, to show everyone and myself that I am not lazy I am not what you think, and that I am not someone who was not capable of achieving great heights.

Thankfully, I had umpteen time to complete the work. I have improved. So to me that was how I met my goal, by deciding to change. However, I have fallen short as I was only able to do this at the last minute. Therefore, my next task for the future, improve. I want to be able to tell myself I can do it, and I will practice this everyday till I can get the hang of it. But the story does not end here. I wanted to see my enemy, face to face……

My enemy. Someone who has been keeping me trapped inside a cage, not allowing me to escape. My enemy knows me all to well, and I know my enemy better. I have many enemies, but this one is my greatest. I stared hard at the mirror, my enemy staring back……

My greatest enemy….is myself…..

—Joey—

—What are your thoughts about having to do projects in every subject? In what ways are project-type assessments more difficult, interesting, challenging, or meaningful than traditional ways of showing what you know? Cite an example or two to support your answer.—

Projects. They can be over in a matter of minutes, or drag on for hours. There are many factors which can affect this, such as time management, group members, and so on…

Worse still, there are alot of subjects, an almost each of them contain projects. I dislike it alot. Some define projects as torture, others find it a breeze. I personally think it is all in the mind. If you can overcome all your obstacles and learn how to enjoy every subject, it would always be a pleasure to you when I comes to doing project work. However, I think that the phrase “treat hard work as games” isn’t very accurate, as some people might end up saying they hate games too.

Projects, like many other things, have a variety. They come in all forms. Unlike projects from previous years, this year proved to be different, and in many ways. One thing that changed is the expectations from teachers. It has jumped a whole lot. They expect better from primary school work, and they wanted it with immediate effect. It was easy for some, but a struggle for others. I was able to cope with it, thankfully.

I releaized that projects became tougher in some aspects, while at the same time it changed a whole lot. I learnt many things which I never thought I could do before. Things like story-boarding, making comics, using different “tools” to explain certain things and so on.

In other subjects like Science for example, I used many new apparatus. Among these were items such as the vernier callipers, use of chemicals and so on. Everyone got a chance to really interact with nature as well. We were given many opportunities to go explore outside our classroom, away from school and free from any textbooks or assessments. It is similar to previous experiences in my primary school, though this time round we explored a whole lot more of new places.

One of them was a visit to Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve. It may not be new to others, but it was definitely something new to me. As I hardly get out of the house, even during holidays, this was quite interesting to me. However, the sun was schorching down feircely, and the long walks made me get tired easily.

Still, this year proved to be full of surprises, both good and bad. I think when it comes to project work, it can get kind of fun, but that depends if you are interested in a certain subject or not. But to me, all you need is a good mindset, and anything you set your mind to can be possible. Still, it is easier said than done. I found that out the hard way when I thought everything I set my mind to would be easily accomplished, but it is not as easy as I get easily distracted and I am lazy, so I must try to strive for a better year next year.

—Joey—

-Think back to a time over the past semester when you faced a challenge or made a big mistake. (a bad grade on something, letting your benchmarks pile up until the last minute, etc) What sorts of lessons did you learn about yourself from that challenge and/or mistake? How did this influence you the way you did things after that moment? In what ways does this experience help you to plan for next semester?-

Everybody has made mistakes before, most which they regret not attending to earlier. It would be quite impossible to forget your mistakes, as mistakes are paths which will eventually lead us somewhere. They are not road-blocks. However, most people, when faced with a big mistake or challenge, feel as though hope is lost. Such cases are more common when people face challenges. They did not relealize that giving up before even trying to tackle the challenge, was as good as letting the challenge overshadow you.

I have also made many mistakes and faced many challenges in life. I will never be able to swipe it away from my memory. I often seeked help, usually from my parents, about how I could learn from mistakes. Without any hesitation, they would share with me their mistakes and how they learnt from it, hoping I would learn from my own mistakes too. However, it is easier said than done…

I could remember that the final year exams for 2007 were close, so close I could already feel the pressure. This was the main exam I needed to do well in, otherwise I could expect some changes, huge ones. I would practice daily, but I’ll be honest. I did not practice enough. At that moment to me it may have seemed enough, because prehaps I was lazy or tired, and since this is all part of human nature, I fell to it.

That was a gigantic mistake…

Soon, the exams have arrived. Time seemed to have past to fast. It felt as though I was sitting for my PSLE, and now I am about to become 14. Sometimes I would just sit in a corner, close my eyes and think about those precious memories. All the friends I used to have, the fun we used to share, even the times when I was punished as a little boy, I would still chuckle at the mere thought of it.

But now was no time for games, chuckles or dreams. This was reality…

Test after test after test, it seemed as though time passed really slowly, but sometimes it felt as though time had sped up. I would take a deep breathe, a prehaps a big gulp, before sitting for the exams. My heart would pound harder than elephant footsteps. Butterflies would be fluttering uncontrollably in my stomach.

But all that worrying, was really useless in the end…

When the results came in, I was happy and sad at the same time. Happy that I did not do too badly, but sad that I did not achieve better. This influenced me alot….

I started asking myself, why is it so hard to do simple work? Studying is not that difficult, is it? Studying is like swimming in the ocean. Some drown, some struggle to stay afloat, others are already reaching the top, while some have already made their way out of the water.

But then I releaized, I could not give up no matter what happens. Why fuss at the curve balls life throws at you? Just take it as it is, and overcome it…

With all that said, hopefully by next year, in fact before this holiday is over, I would have changed. Changed in my attitude, my handling of challenges, and most of all, myself. I hope to get my mindset straight and hopefully then I would have been a better person…

—Based on your answers to the questions above [in this case previous questions], how do you wish to grow/change as a student/person for the second semester? What steps do you have to take to achieve that growth?

Nothing in life is easy, at least not until you have gotten used to doing it. Practice is something that most people, even myself, have yet to discover how wonderful it truly is. Of course, it is not as easy as it sounds. Hey, no one said it was going to be a peice of cake.

It would take hard work, determination and most of all, the right attitude before being able to accomplish your goals. It all depends on the individual. How hardworking can someone really be? Is his potential hidden, or lost? It is possible to be who you want to be. It can be possible to achieve goals and leave school with great results. But why is it so hard to do it?

Humans. We are not robots. We cannot simply go on forever without stopping for a rest, or being easily distracted. Some can last longer than others. No one is really “stupid”, like some people would refer themselves to. They’re just lazy or unwilling to do a certain task.

As for me, this year was just like any other year in the past. Good, but not great. It could have been great, but laziness got in the way. I became it’s victim. I lost.

But I wish to change. Hopefully by next year, I would be able to not get too distracted easily and also try not to be so lazy. I will try my best to stay focus and on track no matter what, but I know the journey will be tough. But hey. That’s life.

People come in all shapes and sizes, each with different personalities and what not. But let’s focus more on the characters of Lord Of The Flies, and see what kind of people they really are.

Raplh, the main character in this story. With a body like that of a boxer, he is ready to outwit any challenge that the island throws at them. However, life isn’t always a bed of roses. He is faced with another boy known as Jack. Jack goes into conflict with Ralph, but Ralph knows better then to go to “war” with Jack, and would rather keep order, but Jack isn’t concerned about that. Jack is about the same age as Ralph, but he isn’t what you would call friendly. He was, most of the time, full of anger. He is a leader in a choir group, who later became hunters. Yes, hunters. As the story went on, Jack was able to use his savage personality to overtake Raplh as cheif. It may seem that there is enough trouble already, but there is still more to come. Roger joins these boys in their adventure. Roger is just PURE EVIL AND BAD. Seriously! This kid is worse than Jack. He has no mercy, not even a tiny little bit, and he was the first to intentionally kill one of the other boys on the island. And you can guess someone as evil as Jack will be willing to do the same, and Roger does everything Jack asks him to willingly.

With all this bad things going on, it is hard to believe anything can get better. Well, fortunately there is light at the end of every tunnel. Simon is just like that light. He is very well behaved and he is also very positive about things. He keeps insisting to the group that they will make it out alive, even though Ralph  strongly doubts the possibility. But just when we thought that Simon, the real role model in this story, could turn the tables, something tragic happens to him, but I won’t say what happened to him just yet. Instead, let’s continue with the other characters shall we.

Now we are joined but yet another few boys, this time 2. Twins in fact. They are Sam and Eric, who work together creating TEAMWORK and FRIENDSHIP. Without each other, they are incapable of doing much. They are UNITED and they always WORK TOGETHER. Why can’t more people learn to be like them instead of pushing the blame and the wotk to others just to please themselves, right? Anyways, we still have one more main character to cover, Piggy. Many of you will be laughing at this point, or maybe yelling “HA HA HA! PIGGY!”. But that was is name. Piggy, short and overweight. Probably the smartest in the group, but you can very well know the smartest would most likely lack in social skills. That’s Piggy alright.

There are many more boys in this story of love, hate, pain, pleasure and trust. This is just a little information about the main boys. Of course there is more to it than it will ever seem, but that’s life. In life, a problem is never solved, without creating 10 more…

Imagine this. Just close your eyes and picture the scene. A bunch of boys, aged 6 all the way to 12. Now imagine an island. Not so hard to do that, right? But imagine that big group of boys being left stranded on that island. None of them are above 13, all of them are still kids, and you can imagine how rowdy a bunch of boys can get when trying to survive on a deserted island. They arrived there after being evacuated from a certain kind of war and their plane gets shot down. But just who are these boys?
One of the many boys is known as Ralph. Fair-haired and athletic this boy. He is joined by a fat boy known as, well, Piggy. That’s his name. Piggy suffers from asthma unfortunately. They find something known as a conch, using it to call upon the other boys on the island. But now the real fun begins. It was time to vote who the leader of the group would be. Ralph, quite obviously, was voted to be the leader. But, whenever there is a leader, there would be someone who actually has that kind of leadership ability, but was not voted. In this story, that guy would be none other than Jack, who is also a leader in a choir. Anyways, some really crazy things occur during this amazing adventure. Killing of animals for food, making friends and gaining trust with one another. But just how do you know who to trust and who not to trust? Simple, just analyze the characters personality and background. Want to know more about the backgrounds of these boys? Read the future post, ” Lord Of The Flies, The Characters”.

Joey

Changes. What are they? They can be many things actually. But just what can they be? Simple. They can be as good as sunlight in a thunder-storm. It can make your life become better than what it is. It can also be tragedy. It can turn your whole life into a complete mess. It can make you suffer. It can torture you. But changes, are to be expected…

Life is like a compound. It is made up of many elements. One of them would be changes. Like when babies learn to walk or when birds learn to fly, changes can make one person better. Think back. Just close your eyes and picture the scene of the time you were unable to walk or talk. The time you couldn’t remember your name. Then think about how life progresses day by day, and how changes can make you stronger, both physically and mentally.

Changes, like I said, is like an element which makes up its compound, in this case life. It cannot work on it’s own. Another key ‘element’ is determination. Without it, you can only depend on your luck for the changes, and most of the time the changes will be there, but those changes, I promise you, won’t be good ones. Determination. It is like a friend pushing you to the limit until you succeed.  I can recall something that has happened and the result of the change I will never forget. That day, I was walking home from school with my heavy bag weighing down on me. To make matters worse, I was holding a yellow plastic bag in my right hand. The bag contained about 4 stacks of english newspapers. I was extremely exhausted and I carelessly took the wrong bus. Actually the right bus, but on the wrong route. I immediately got of the bus as soon as I found out I was lost. I knew my way home though, but the feeling hit me so hard it felt as if I was lost. Then, the unexpected happened. It was not only unexpected, but it was also unlucky. In rained cats and dogs. The rain soaked me completely and I was drenched. Still, thanks to determination, I walked a full 1 and a half hours back home in the pouring rain. Determination plays a part! I was extremely tired, and don’t forget I was carrying a heavy bag and a bag of newspapers. It was raining too. WHAT BAD LUCK!!! Still I walked home, and that was the change I felt. The change really made me feel good, getting praises from my parents occasionally, with the exception of my dad asking me why I never bothered to walk into the mall to call him.

Another big change is the process of jumping from the “primary school”  to the “secondary school” book. After my primary school and moving to secondary school, I finally appreciate the pleasures of being in primary school. Too late to go back though. That change made a big impression on me. In secondary school, I met some good and bad people, some kind and strict teachers, and some good and not so delicious food.

Recently, I did terribly for my mid-year, failing some subjects and not being in the good position in my class of 40 students. Overall, I passed. I think I was lazy and that’s what caused this to happen. The changes? My attitude, my exam results, my life. However, there is one change which I have to make sure happens. And those changes I have already mentioned. They are my attitude, my exam results, and my life.

Probably a very familiar site with people all around the world is YouTube, a website which allows one to view, upload and share video clips. Not only that, you are even allowed to rate and give comments after watching the video, but you have to be a member first.

YouTube was not such a popular website at first. In fact, it was created out of fun.  3 employees of Paypal, Chad Hurley, Steve Chan and Jawed Karim were the innovative ones who founded YouTube, and activated it on Febuary 15 2005. However, they decided to take things slowly and progress from there. They developed the website in the following months, and later a preview of the site was offered to the public in May 2005. Finally after months of hard work, YouTube made its official debut. See, with effort, anyone can achieve great results!!

YouTube gradually became more popular with people all over the world. However, this was not the greatest moment for YouTube.  On October 9,2006, YouTube was bought by Google for an amazing price of $1.65 billion. I cannot believe that something created out of fun can become so popular and better still, be bought by Google for $1.65 billion. I really admire how  the 3 of them put their heart into creating YouTube and I really think that they deserved to be bought by Google! Well done!

It was then that YouTube’s road to success began. YouTube was featured in magazines, newspapers and even more ways that you can think of. The point was that YouTube was more famous than ever before. People started uploading videos and YouTube soon had many members signing up for free. Still, some people think that YouTube could be a bad influence, but why would they think that?

One of the main reasons why some people are disliking YouTube is due to its violence. YouTube has all types of videos and I have seen some violent videos on YouTube and I would have to agree that they are violent. However, I do not think that YouTube should be at fault. If one wishes to watch such videos, he must be able to control himself not to imitate what he watches. More importantly, if he cannot handle such violence, why even bother watching such videos?

Another case would be, well this is quite obvious, is because YouTube has videos with foul language. One example would be Southpark videos. I am not saying SouthPark is completely bad or wrong because I watch Southpark and end up laughing as the videos are so funny and I do not think of any of the swear words they use. I think that it is just a matter of how different people look at it. To me, it is completely okay. I have no problems with violent videos or those with vulgarities in them, just do not follow and everything should be fine.

I often visit YouTube more than anything else during my spare time and I have to say it is entertaining to view videos on YouTube. However, I also have some things which I hate whenever I go to YouTube to watch the videos. It has nothing to do with YouTube, but it is about certain users. Earlier I said about how you can give comments about the video and I have never done so but many people criticize the videos. I have no problem with that but some people actually have no respect for the videos, its producers and often the quality of the video. Please show some respect!! I have seen comments where people actually insult the creators of the videos just because it is not good!! I just cannot tolerate such people!! Still, they are of none of my business so I shall just enjoy the video.

Also another thing about YouTube that I would like to focus more on about the uploading of videos is the part on copyright. We all are busy everyday either at school or at home and even at our oen homes. With that much work on their hands, how can they affort to watch their favourite shows at that specific time. Thus, they tyrn to YouTube as it has videos there which stay there forever. Unless of course the it gets deleted by the person who uploads it, or maybe even due to copyright. That is both sad and good. Sounds weird right? Well let me explain. Sad in a sense that, well, it is hard to explain. Okay, an example might help. I watched the entire southpark movie on YouTube and it was really entertaining. Sadly, due to copyrighting, it was removed by YouTube and I never saw it again. The good thing is that YouTube follows the rules and that copyrighting is not allowed there.

Overall, YouTube is by far the best website for viewing, uploading and sharing videos. I am definetely addicted to it and it is quite hard to stop. Practice self-control everybody!

This is the final part to the story ‘Lance Armstrong: A hero’. We have heard alot about Lance Armstrong in the past two parts. But Lance also reflects on us as well. i remember when I was younger,  about 12 years old, i was introduced to table-tennis. I was getting a hang of it but was no where near the professoinals in my primary school. You see, there was a table-tennis compettion going on in my school. Thus, I wanted to prove that I did have some skills. I trained with my dad and sometimes my mom almost every weekend. We would wake up at 8 am and head out to play table-tennis. I could not even serve then. It was like learning to crawl, then stand and then walk. it was REALLY hard. I took me about 5 weeks of training to be what I am now. However, when it came to the day of the compettion, I flunked. It was only the qualifying round and I lost. I gave it my best, but I just could not beat him. The score was 16-20. I had 16 points. It was game point for the opponent. I knew my dad would be proud if I won this compettion.  So, I observed the opponent carefully, not wanting to lose. I just could not give in to him! I tied the score to 20-20, but he had the final shot. This is related to Lance Armstrong in a sense that he did not give up when he got cancer. No one should give up no matter what!