SM: Need to up Spirit of Giving

Wed, Jan 26 2011, my new paper

From the article, I agree with the need to increase the spirit of giving as from what our senior minister, Goh Chok Tong has said. This is because if everyone has the spirit of giving, it would bring the country or even world peace. Seeing a senior minister encouraging people to have the spirit of giving, it would be such a gladful news. However, I would wish to encourage the goverment to help out everyone to able to have more time for themselves. Even if there is just another person to have the spirit of giving, it would be such a blessing. There are many needy people out there who are struggling in difficulties, just waiting for a helping hand. However, in Singapore, such a bustled city, people are always busy with work. If you ask them to do volunteer work, their standard reply would be, “ I am already so busy that I do not even have time to rest or do other things, what more about doing volunteer work that will not gain any benefits?!” However, I do not think the same way. If a person is free enough to go shopping with your friends and family, why don’t you spare out some time to do volunteer work to help the people? Nevertheless, I felt glad seeing from the article that there is an increasing trend of youths having the desire to do volunteering work. From this article, I wish you yourself would space out some time to help someone, maybe even just helping out in the old folks’ home once in a while during your school holidays will make a difference too.

Felicia Tan

Admin No.:104945D

NTU cab fare cheat on the loose

20 Jan 2011. Asiaone. STOMP

From this article, I really felt disgraceful and ashamed for this girl. I know that there are many people out there trying to con money because of their environment that forces them to do such cheating. However, this girl is a NTU student, how could she do this?! Lying to the cab driver by acting out to put her bag in the cab, but the bag was actually filled with crushed paper?!  The girl had no sense of moral value and betrayed the trust of the cab driver which believed her, thinking that she was trustworthy since she was a NTU student. NTU is a renowned school worldwide. By her disgraceful actions, she has really put shame to the school.

This news article actually led me to realize that students in Singapore are actually moving in a bad way now. In terms that students nowadays often think that if their grades are good, others aren’t important. Despite having good results that might promise for a better future is not wrong, but not learning about moral values and improving yourself as a better person in life is far worse off. If someone does not have moral values but with excellent results, do you think that the person will succeed. The answer is NO! If he/she has no sense of moral value, how would the person be able to work with others? Maybe the person might one day earn a high position in a company, but he/she will not earn respect from others. In addition, life is not all about achievements and succeeding in their career too but so much more. In conclusion, I wish you would be conscious about your thinking too. Remember, life is not about only pushing yourself to the highest level in terms of studies or career but there are so many more that makes one’s life a successful and a complete one. Do not be blinded by such worldly things (e.g. results) that seem to take control over the world but to look things in another way.  J

Felicia Tan

Admin No.: 104945D

Number of single Singaporeans on the rise

13 Jan, 2010.Thursday.  The Straits Time.

When I read this article, my first reaction was “really?!” The reason was because I have so many friends around me that are in relationship now and I could not believe that this type of situation will occur in Singapore. After much thinking, I thought that maybe it is because the teenagers nowadays are having this ‘fast-food love/relationship’ trend. You might see that many people nowadays are in very sweet or passionate relationship. However, do they really love each other so much that they are prepared to be life partners with each other? I doubt so. If all the couples are really serious in their relationships and truthful in all their words of love that they would do whatever it takes to be together with their partner, this situation would not occur.  

Another reason that came into my mind was because of the high expectations of Singaporeans. Singaporeans often have high expectation of their life partners. However, this is not the reality because no one is perfect or every one of them is prince charming or the beautiful princess.  Lastly, I thought it might because of the stressful life as Singaporeans. Being a Singaporean, you have to be competitive or you would be kicked out from the society, which is a harsh and cruel fact in Singapore. Having difficulty to cope with the amount of work, how much do we left of energy to put in so much effort to find someone to love and manage between a relationship and work? In conclusion, I would just like to say that in life, it is not only about having a comfortable life after working hard for nearly your whole life and worrying about money every day.  It is about being happy, being loved, having your loved ones with you and so much other things in life that are more important than earning so much money. So people, being able to find your true love, your life partner are important too; because they will really be a blessing, bringing you so much joy and love too. Most importantly, they play a big part in your life!

Felicia Tan

Admin Number: 104945D

Rise in young seeking help for mental illness

Friday, Jan 07, 2011. My Paper

As I read this article, I felt really sad because the world which started out with only people worrying about food and shelter. Till now, people are always worry about so many things like their job and if their family has any problems. People are under so much stress that it comes to an extent which there is even an increasing rate of people seeking help for mental illness. As quoted from the article, “Mental-health experts said that they have noticed a 10 per cent increase in the number of patients in their 20s coming forward to seek treatment over the past two years.” The world has turn out that even people at such a young age of just 20 plus years old are seeking help for mental illness with increasing trend now.

Being able to handle stress well is very important. People have to handle stress everyday but knowing how to handle is really important. If you do not handle stress well and let it take control over you, you might go berserk or getting mental illness such as depression. There are many ways in how to distress yourself such as exercising or reading a book to let your mind calm down. However, you would have to put in effort to manage your time well so that you would able to give yourself some ‘space’ by having some quiet time alone or spending some time with your family or friends. From this article, I wish it has serve as an alert to everyone that managing stress well is important and it is time to do something or so called a CHANGE in your life if you have always been under great stress. Reason being, if you are under immense stress but do not anything about it, it will take control of you and you would not want that to happen to you! Wish everyone here to be able to live your life in joy and to always be positive even as we face difficulties! :D

Felicia Tan

104945D

Foreign worker smashes dog's face with metal chain

Monday, Jan 03, AsiaOne

Originated from STOMP

As I read from this article, my first instinct was not about feeling disgusted by the pictures of the dog being abused. However my first thought was, “how cruel a person could be?” This might be just another case of animal abuse to others reading news. But somehow, whenever I read this type of news I tend to have mixed feelings whereby I feel angry and sad at the same time.  I could not understand and why people want to abuse animals. Personally, I feel that they might have psychological problems as they probably would feel a sense of satisfaction or even to just simply wanting to vent their stress or frustration on the animals. 

What I felt more emotional about this article is that the person was a foreign worker. I am not trying to show biasness towards foreign workers. However, as a foreign worker, you hold on as a representative of your country while you work in a foreign country to earn money. It is tough and difficult to work out from their comfort zone, their homeland. I could understand how stress or tired they might be working in Singapore, not only missing their beloved ones but have to tolerate many other stressful matters occurring at work. Taking such an action of abusing a helpless animal, it does not only bring shame to yourself but to your country too.Despite that, I could not find it reasonable for the foreign worker to abuse the dog till such a state. You could see how heartbreaking it is, to see a dog being abused tilI this state(as you see from the picture above) when it is just an innocent stray dog. A dog is still a living thing, if it does not offend you or threatens your life, why should you even hurt an animal?! There were also many other actions of animal abuse by people around the area as the investigators which went to find out more about the particular case of the abused dog. Personally, I feel very emotional about it. There are so many people out there abusing animals but how many are there trying to help or protect these animals ? From this article, I wish everyone would learn to cherish life. Life is every living thing, it does not only include human. Although some living things like cockroach and insects freak us out, it is understandable of the reason why we kill them. However, any other living thing that do not being harm to us. Please do not harm them, or even try to love or care about them. They could be very lovable too. ^.^

Felicia Tan

104945D

Girl almost drown in MBS pool

20 Dec, Monday, 2010

From STOMP

After I read this news, I felt quite ridiculous how this type of thing could have happened. How could a lifeguard do not know how to perform CPR? If this is so, then why are this people wearing a vest named with the word, “Lifeguard”?! A lifeguard should be someone who could save people lives’ when they meet emergency happenings in need of help. What if there was not even a guest who knows CPR? The girl might have died. This is a very serious matter. Personally, I felt that Marina Bay Sands should stricter their criteria and rules of hiring a lifeguard. This type of incident should not repeat itself again. From this news, I would like to encourage all who have read this news to learn about the basic steps in knowing how to perform CPR, because such skills might save a life in which anytime this type of situation might occur. An easy step such as pumping the chest 100 times a minute might just be beneficial enough to save a person.

 

Name: Felicia Tan

Admin no. : 104945D    

Elder-friendly pilot plan takes place in Feb

Tuesday, Dec14, 2010

Mypaper

I saw this article. As Singapore is an aging population, there are many elderly and when I saw that the government is taking more actions to accommodate the needs of the elderly, it is certainly a happy thing. Including the interior of flat, the traffic lights and other more, changes would be made to lighten the burden of inconvenience for the elderly. An example would be to change the speed of the traffic lights which might be too fast and the overhead bridges that would be too challenging for the frail elderly. In the article, Mr Lim, who is the Minister in-Charge of ageing issues. He said,” We want our senior citizens to be truly active participants in the community, not just seniors among seniors, but together with younger people."I totally agree his statement, the senior citizens also play a role in Singapore, there might be even some senior citizens who have made Singapore proud or even more outstanding then the younger people. Isn’t it good news to us too? Because one day, we will be the elderly ones in others eyes’ too. Ending with an old saying, “家有一老 如有一宝”which means having an elderly is a treasure in the family. There are both different perspectives in how you think of it, and this would be up to you.

Name: Felicia Tan

Admin Number : 104945D