Sunday, August 9, 2009 - 6:09 AM
CIP...for once
I never knew that I would be enjoing my time two days before National Day in Taman Jurong. Doing CIP. I had always stereotyped people who did CIP as a goody-goody two shoes and I could never see through its importance. That's because I never tried.A quick rewinding of what happedned on Friday. After the usual precautionary temperature taking in the morning, my class left for the Taman Jurong area at 8. We arrived promptly and after a quick hassle set out to work. Caijie split us up into groups of two and I went with Mark to collect the old newspapers. After a while, we stopped work and brought the papers to the collection points. There, we had a short but fufilling experience playing "newspaper-discus". The old papers came pouring in but a lot of us kept on going(Our dearest chairman gave me a hard time).
What I enjoyed about this trip was talking with the neighbours. Many of them were friendly, opening the doors and responding to our calls. Even if we did not collect newspapers from everyone, at least they were friendly towards us. There was this lady who even volunteered to give us newspapers when we met her in the lift lobby. Those that did not even answer our ringings of the doorbells made us quite touchy though. I particularly remember one neighbour who set a dog on us. Luckily, there was a fence that stopped it from jumping at us. Oh, that was really surprising. There was also an old lady who was dressing her half-naked kid at the doorway. Well, I obviously did not dare to collect any papers from them.
This time's CIP activity gave me a feelings of frustration and happiness. I am happy that I had contributed to helping kids in Taman Jurong. I feel frustrated because I could no longer do any work for the rest of the day because my fingers had grown sore. Just joking! New experiences and opportunities appear as we grow up. Old impressions are repainted when we try something different. I find the CIP this time fun. Perhaps it is because I like interacting with friendly adults and helping children. Trying new things can also be a very exciting activity. You never know how fun or dull something is unless you give it a try.
Saturday, August 8, 2009 - 4:23 AM
Courtesy and Kiasu~Another thought
Okay, after yesterday's post, I discussed this matter a little bit with my dad and he gave me a little food for thought. While he agreed that Singaporeans were genreally kiasu, he had a different view on the effects of being Kiasu. Instead of the usual pessimistic view on this sticky subject, my dad gave me a positive response. He said that being kiasu was what brought Singapore to what it is today. Thinking about it, I find myself with a silly grin. Looks like I forgot to look at the other side of the dime.Think about it. When we are Kiasu, we do not want to lose out to others. Hence, when we see a country like say America being so advanced, we will not want to lose out to them and will instictively work towards improving ourselves to reach their standards. This attitude pushes us forward. It is probably what transfromed us from the backward fishing village to the modern metropolitan city of today. Never ending "Kiasuism". Wow.
Thursday, August 6, 2009 - 5:49 AM
Courtesy and Kiasu, A Singaporean Problem
Courtesy. I recall that years ago Singapore had a lion mascot promoting courteous behaviour among our people on buses and trains. It's purpose? To encouraged us to let the commutors inside the MRT and buses alight first before we entered. Nowadays, we see stickers featuring local celebrities being stuck within the buses and MRT carridges. It's purpose? To encouraged us to let the commutors inside the MRT and buses alight first before we entered. Different approaches. Same Idea. Does it work? The answer is obvious-No.Why is it so hard to change the Singaporean mindset? Perhaps it's because of the deep values that has been ingrained into us ever since we have been born. It can be traced back to our forefathers. Our ancient ancestors. The first settlers of Singapore. The coolies. From what I've heard, they brought "kiasu", the Singaporean trait.
"Kiasu" can be good and bad. On the good side, it makes us competitive and we are pressured to scale greater heights to crush our rivals. On the bad side, like I said, I do not know where to begin. "Kiasu" leads to many problems in our society. It is also a large attributing factor of the lack of courtesy among us. Just think about. Isn't it because we Singaporeans are afraid of losing out to others and hence we are not willing to give others a chance first? Of course it is. In fact, this kind of attitude has already existed in our natures and is only amplified by our "Kiasu" community.
Which leads back courtesy. I think that no matter what kind of promotional cmapaign are held in Singapore, "Kiasu" and our lack of courtesy can never be resolved. There is only so much the government can do. They may be be able to convince one or two citizens but to change an entire population is merely wistful thinking. The campaigns can become more youth-oriented as the young population is mainly the aim of the government's cmapigns but besides making us smirk at adults making a fool of themselves, I don't think the youth of today would catch the point. We are much too self-centred and unmotivated to change our old habits.
In conclusion, I feel that even though the government is trying very hard to change the people's attitudes, it would be a very difficult task as it would practically trying to eradicate a part of Singaporean history.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 - 3:22 AM
What is beauty?
What is beauty? It's quite hard to say. The word beauty is used in many contexts. Sometimesit is used to describe a person's appearance, sometimes it is used to describe objects whom you feel a special attachment to. For example, my sister always cries "They're beautiful!" when she observes flashy fireworks bursting in the night sky or when she finds a toy that she likes. Some people might say, "Wow, he's/she's beautiful!" when they see someone who stands out from the crowd. And believe me, I know an Ispark who does that all the time. The list of examples goes on and on because one can be beautiful in many aspects in life.However, I define beauty as the inner purity of a person.
OKay, I admit it sounds a lot like something you would find in a ancient thick book featuring old literary pieces. But that is just what I think. Innner beauty is the perfection of the soul, where people are judged based on their attitudes and not their appearances. My views may be biased but I despise people who appear twisted and deliberately nasty to others.
Many people deem beauty as "what you see on the outside." I do not think that this is right. I mean, look at the world. There are many people who are not that much of lookers but have a gentle soul of an angel. True, beauty can be used to judge a person's ulterior appearance but more importantly, we must notice the person's interior appearance. "It's not always the outside's that is important, it's the inside that counts!"
Okay, take this for example. You have just met this person who looks really good. You are charmed by this person and you do everything the person tells you to do. However, you fail to realise that you are merely being manipulated bu this person and have fallen for the trap countless others have tripped into. This person may be sparkling on the outside but within is a dark, unsightly snake who only wishes to take advantage of you and when he is done, he would just sink his teeth into you in betrayal.
This kind of ulterior beauty can be tempting to many in this sad reality, but what is important is that we are able to see through a person's appearance and judge him or her by their attitude, no matter how ugly or attractive he or she is.
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