Transition words: Interesting facts about the Romans

For centuries, Rome ruled the world. That being the case, the ultimate superpower, the Roman Empire united the world in ways never seen before or since. However, while we know about the excessive lives led by its upper class and its rulers, the nuances of day-to-day life by the different Roman people are less well known. Various discoveries give as a picture of the different classes and types who lived at the time.

For starters, Rome had impressive sanitation systems compared to other civilizations, but this did little more than help people smell better. In other words, based on 2,000-year-old fecal matter found at several historical sights, it was determined that parasites were even worse in those alive in the Roman period compared to earlier, supposedly less sanitary, periods of history like the Bronze Age or the Iron Age. Even though most Romans had access to clean food and drink, it was their bath water which was at fault for parasitic infestations: The water was kept lukewarm and rarely changed, which would have been a perfect breeding ground for parasites of all kinds. This, along with human faeces used as fertilizer, would have led to massive breakouts.

Secondly, while Ancient Rome is pictured as an era of extreme gluttony of all sorts, the massive feasts of exotic delicacies were, unfortunately, only for the upper class. Consequently, the remaining populations of Rome would have eaten a diet consisting of foods like millet: a cheap grain that was looked down upon as fit only for livestock, which means most Romans literally ate like animals. Despite living near the seas, lower-class Romans would have eaten very little fish but would have depended on wheat and the aforementioned millet. This could have led to a variety of issues, including anaemia and poor dental hygiene. As a result, most city dwellers ate well, but the farther outward a Roman dwelled, the worse their diet became.

Thirdly, energy drinks are very common among modern athletes because of their alleged performance-enhancing abilities. These drinks are also common among other in the world of physical fitness, but this is not a modern phenomenon. In a like manner, Gladiator energy drinks existed centuries before the first Gatorade. The drinks were said to have consisted of plant ash, a rich source of calcium that is known to help improve bone growth. In fact, heightened calcium levels are common in excavated gladiators, so this idea is not too farfetched. What would the drink have tasted like? Considering it was nothing but ash and water, it would have been incredibly bitter, but adding vinegar would have given it a much more pleasant taste.

Lastly, by testing ice cores in Greenland, climatologists are capable of measuring the amount of methane in the atmosphere going back centuries. For example, methane was at natural levels until 100 BC, when it shot up and remained sky high until AD 1600. This hike in methane coincides with the rise of the Roman Empire, and when the empire was at its zenith, so were its methane emissions. During this period, methane emissions worldwide measured at around 31 million tons per year, just 5 million short of the current emissions of the whole of the United States. To feed an empire, massive amounts of livestock like cattle, sheep, and goats were needed. This, along with growing populations in the Roman Empire in the West and the Chinese empire and the East, contributed to pollution during the time.

Transition words: Interesting facts about Running

It’s no secret that I'm a big fan of running marathons. Running burns calories, builds muscle, busts stress, and boosts your heart health. Plus, it’s super convenient—just grab a pair of sneakers and go! Whether you’re a beginner runner or a have been training for decades, there may still be some things you don’t know about running. Here are a couple running facts you need to know.

First of all, Stretching before running may lower your endurance. For one thing, many of us have been taught to warm up before exercise, however recent studies suggest that stretching before a run may not be beneficial to your workout. To illustrate, a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that stretching before going for a run made a runner’s body less efficient so that they did not perform as well and were unable to run as far. Being that, instead of stretching, try warming up with a walk and running-specific moves to mobilize your joints before your run. So, make sure to include stretches as part of your post-run routine.

Furthermore, running a marathon could make you better at your job. For instance, going for a run is a good way to spend some of your free time. In a like manner, regular running could also help to enhance your working hours. For example, the fact that exercise requires planning, application, dedication and discipline means that it can help to improve your character development as well as your health. In fact, a study of people training for a New York marathon found that regular exercise improves people’s goal-setting, organization and discipline – both at work and in other areas of life.

Besides that, wearing cheap running shoes could cut your risk of injury. To begin with, while it can be fun to splash out on a new piece of kit, research studies have suggested that, when it comes to your running shoes, opting for low cost items could be good for your health. In other words, a study analysed more than a thousand runners and found that runners whose shoes cost more than $95 were more than twice as likely to get injured as those whose shoes that cost less than $40. Ironically, later studies have revealed similar results showing that runners who wore expensive shoes with additional features such as extra cushioning to prevent injuries were significantly more likely to get injured.

Finally, a run will help in maintaining a balanced amount of carbohydrates and sugar in the blood. In that case, running can prevent terrible diseases like diabetes from developing. Moreover, a good run burns the surplus amounts of sugar present in the blood, keeping the blood clean and better able to help you lead a healthy life. In all honesty, this was the only reason I convinced my father, who has diabetes, to follow me on my weekend jogs. After a few months, he seems to be in the best shape of his life. As long as he’s happy I’m happy.

Sports day 2016

My school recently had their sports day yesterday and those who achieved between first and third got their medals in the hall today. After watching the participants obtaining their spoils, I felt a fiery ember burn inside my chest. It was the feeling of regret. During the start of this year, I wanted to continue my post as a marcher in the marching competition for my team on sports day. Even though my strengths were in running, I still chose to accompany my marching buddies for another year. However, a little later in the midyear, sports day was cancelled due to some issues. All events were cancelled except the running category. Now that I realize my true potential, I will definitely consider participating in the next sports day as a runner. I also intend to participate because it will be my last year in my secondary school and I would like to end it with doing what I am best at. Hopefully my dreams of achieving a gold medal will come true. Maybe then will I finally realize that my true calling was right in front of me my whole life.

Colours (factual)

Colours are everywhere. Colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, blue, yellow, etc. Everything has a colour to represent. In fact, colour theories create a logical structure for colour. For example, if we have an assortment of fruits and vegetables, we can organize them by colour and place them on a circle that shows the colours in relation to each other. A colour circle, based on red, yellow and blue, is traditional in the field of art. Colour pretty much existed ever since the whole universe began and plays a part in everyone’s daily life.

According to various international studies, the world’s most popular colour is blue. Based on the survey conducted by several global marketing firms, they’ve concluded that people worldwide picked blue as their favourite colour followed by purple. Though, some researchers also suggest that red and green are a close second and third respectively. White, orange, and yellow are some of the least favourite colours. Other than that, recent studies have shown that infants as young as 2 weeks of age can already distinguish the colour red. Probably because red has the longest wavelength among colours making it the easiest colour to process by the developing receptors and nerves in the baby’s eyes.

Another eye-opening fact is that men and women may see the world differently in terms of colours. For example, woman may see crimson, burgundy, and tomato red while men just see the colour red. Neuroscientists have discovered that women are better at distinguishing among subtle distinctions in colour, while men appear more sensitive to objects moving across their field of vision. Scientists have long maintained that the sexes see colours differently. But much of the evidence has been indirect, such as the linguistic research showing that women possess a larger vocabulary than men for describing colours. Experimental evidence for the vision thing has been rare.

Colours have also been known to affect our taste receptors when eating or drinking from coloured utensils. Recent discovery shows that colours affect the way we taste foods. For instance, an orange or cream-colored cup definitely makes chocolate taste better than in any other cup with a different colour. However, in some situations, a cross over from one pathway to the other occurs. Seeing the colour yellow-green may evoke taste sensations of sourness; pink may evoke sweetness. Seeing the colour grey may evoke olfactory sensations of smokiness. To give the impression of a certain taste, flavour, or quality, food colouring or dyes are added to processed, packaged, and even fresh foods. Adding a red colorant to the skin of an apple, for example, may influence consumers into believing the apple is sweeter in taste.

Lastly, a perplexing questions still remains, what came first, the orange fruit or the orange colour? Just like the eternal question between the egg and the chicken, the orange shares the same mystery. But according to studies, the word “orange” appears in the English language as early as the 13th century referring to the fruit. The colour orange was initially called Geoluhread which means yellow-red. The word's use as a colour name doesn't crop up for another 200 years, in the early 1500s. On a related note, it is widely accepted that there is no single English word is a true rhyme for orange.

In conclusion, colours can play different effects, like yellow makes people happy, red makes them angry, blue calms, and so on. Of course there are exceptions and not every person feels the same and gets the same effects from colours. The psychological effects of colour are apparent in everyday life. However, it is important to note that certain colours should not be overused simply for their calming or exciting effects. Colours from a cognitive perspective explain many of life's occurrences and can further help researches explore the processes of learning, decision making, reasoning, judgment, and many other mind processes.

Cake

It was a hot and sunny afternoon at a whopping thirty-four degrees Celsius. I walked into the kitchen to get some refreshments from the fridge but there was nothing cold enough. I checked the freezer and to my surprise there was cake but not just any cake, it was Ice Cream cake that my cousins had made for my grandmother for Mother's day. The obvious problem was that it was given quite long ago. I had forgotten all about it and told no one about too. The cake was probably without a doubt expired and rotten within the first week it was in the freezer. However, the slices of cake looked as good as they were a couple months ago so I decided to grab a fork and dig into it. It definitely cooled me but it was quite tasteless. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give it a 3 and a half; because it was cold. After one slice, I stopped because it was the best decision to not continue eating expired cake. I placed the cake back into the freezer and went to do what I usually do during afternoons. Luckily, I did not get any stomach aches or food poisoning.

Playstation

The first video game I've ever played in my life was on my cousin's 'Playstation' about 9 years ago. The game was called 'Kamen Rider' which was based on the television series. I was instantly hooked on the game and wanted to play it all day long. A year later, my brother was given a PS2 on his birthday. It was extremely popular at time and the games were cheap too. Almost every month my father would take us to the game shop to purchase a game. The first game we decided to get was 'Tekken 5' which was a fighting game with multiple modes to play on. Games like 'Metal slug', 'Sonic the Hedgehog', and 'Street Fighter' were a couple of my favorite games that exposed me to the world of video games. All the other games we bought we place them right next to our television so that we can play them during the holidays. PS2 was my childhood and I'm glad I spent it on those games.

Drinking for experience

In the last month of 2015, it was Christmas and my family had planned for a trip to japan all year long. On one of the days in Osaka, we decided to go to a small restaurant at the end of the road. It was a pizza and pasta restaurant called "Pizza and Pasta Restaurant" as a joke so that tourists would know what was on the menu. We had a delicious dinner, very stuffing indeed, one of the best pizzas I've ever had. When everyone was done eating, I saw the drink section on the menu and saw that they served sake, a Japanese rice wine made by fermenting rice. As a joke I told my dad to get me a warm sake but he said that it wasn't a bad idea and ordered a glass. It was difficult to get it down my throat at first but after a few sips it was quite good for my first illegal alcoholic drink. However, I couldn't finish it so my father went ahead and chugged it all at once, Like a BOSS.

Today, my family and I took my brother out to an outdoor restaurant for his 18th birthday. We again, enjoyed the delightful barbecued ribs with a side of spicy BBQ chicken wings. Although, this was no ordinary restaurant, it is famous for their wide selection of 'Naughty drinks' which were basically alcoholic drinks. Father then said, "Hey, why not I order some pints for everyone!". My mother got herself a Mojito, my brother had a Martini, I got Budweiser and my father got a large pint of Hoegaarden beer. Budweiser is an American beer that has a little fizz in it. I shocked myself as I managed to drink the whole bottle quite fast. In return, my face started to get red and my chest got really warm. I guess you can say it's a Chinese thing. What really frightened me was that my father insisted on driving us home after drinking the entire pint of beer all by himself. Luckily, he wasn't drunk or anything as he was a heavyweight drinker in his late 20's. We all got home safely and went to bed quite early because we were absolutely wasted. I hope I don't get a hangover tomorrow....  

Good habits?

As someone who doesn't talk much, I always have the urge to observe others and secretly listen to their conversations. I usually do it when I have nothing important to do or just happened to have the opportunity to do it. Sometimes it's just an average chat between classmates and sometimes it's a secret that no one should know about or else it would ruin their lives. I guess you can say that it may be useful for particular situations. Besides, you never really know if it could help you in any way to just listen or watch. It could possibly let you know what to do or what not to do to when talking or working with someone who may or may not like the things you previously did to them. So far it certainly has helped me avoid pointless arguments and even solve someone's problem if I was listening long enough. 

Holidays in the middle of the week

As I jumped out of bed I was shot in the face with a ray of glistening sunlight through the curtains of my bedroom window. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, what more can a man ask for? Breakfast was on the table, a warm spaghetti sandwich and a glass of chocolate milk. My phone was fully charged, no notifications from Facebook and the wifi was working quite well too. My family was watching television in the living room with a bag of chips and salsa on the coffee table. "Hi guys, what's up?!", I shouted. "What's up Marcus, we're just watching a movie, come join us!", replied my family. "Hahah sorry guys, I have homework!", I shouted as I walked over to my bag. I took out all my homework, laid it neatly on my table, held a pen in my hand and started sobbing  quietly because I had just enough homework to waste my precious time on for the rest of the 'public holiday'. Bloody hell.

My wonderful brother

Ever since I was born, he was there for me. As an older brother it was his duty to protect me as well as teach me. Over the years, from the age of 4 to 12, we fought almost single day till someone admitted defeat. We were fighting over food at the dinner table, blaming each other on broken things in the house, or arguing over whose turn it was to watch television. Sometimes we would just not talk to each other for the sake of our egos. Fortunately, nothing lasts forever. The things we fought over wouldn't last longer than a week. Although we hated each other, there were times where we would forget the grudges to play together and have a good laugh, especially on holiday trips. Another couple years later, things were a lot different than they were, unfortunately for the worst. His exams were barely passing. This sooner or later led to him not finishing his homework and his depressing attitude. He gave up basketball classes just because he realized how useless he was in games and tournaments though in the past he won countless medals. He was lost in life, looking down on himself and wasn't outgoing at all. One day, our father had a long talk with him about what his problem was and how he could fix it all. He finally listened and before he took his SPM, he was given a lot of time to study, so he did. He was committed to his studies again and put in all his energy in order to ace the exam for our father. In the end, when the results came back, he accepted it even though it was a devastating sight. He scored an A for almost all his subjects and a F for history. When he got home, he was changed yet again. He left it all behind and enjoyed his graduation with his friends one last time. Nowadays, he's on the computer all day doing assignments and drawing with his beloved drawing tablet. He made new friends at college and got into dance club which he takes twice a week. He was finally happy and looked forward to getting his driving license too.

12 year old Marcus

I was always a shy kid back in primary school. I had a handful of friends and did not like the teachers very much. Not to mention my mandarin was bad at the time, I did not understand most things in school. This obviously led to scolding due to unfinished homework. However, there was one teacher in particular from standard 5 to 6 that was the only memory that stayed with me. She would always yell at me first before telling me where I was wrong in a slightly calmer tone. She was probably the nicest teacher I have ever met in my 12 year old life.

 

A couple years later, it was a Saturday, my friends and I had planned to go out to watch a movie at a nearby mall. In the mall, we were waiting for a few more friends at the cinema area while deciding what movie we should watch. After we finally found each other, we eventually picked a movie and went window shopping before the movie began. When returning to the cinema, after purchasing absolutely nothing, two friends suddenly shouted the words 'Hwang Lao Shi' which directly translates to yellow teacher (lol). At first I didn't think much of it and just followed them to see the teacher. As I got closer, I slowly realized who 'Hwang' teacher was.

It was her. She hasn't aged a day since I last saw her. I then proceeded to happily greet her with a big smile. She seemed to recognize the two friends in an instant but gave me a confused gaze. She said that she could not recall who I was and asked for my name and my class. I told her and even showed her my library card from primary school that I kept in my wallet. She still couldn't quite picture it as she has been teaching for over 30 years. After she left, I thought about how anti-social I was and what I could have been if I had just talked to my teachers. Furthermore, I thought about how no one would remember me because of my attitude of solitude. From then on, I swore to make my presence as memorable as possible to my classmates and teachers so that I would be remembered as clearly as possible. You only have one life, one opportunity, so make it a memorable one.

The most difficult choice

The most difficult choice I have made this year is probably choosing which stream was best for me. The day I found out I succeeded in scoring high enough for a science stream was life changing. At the very moment I saw the stream I was in, I froze. My first reaction was obviously to check if I was looking at the correct results and to my surprise it was true. I couldn’t believe it, I was so happy until I saw what stream my best friend was in. I was with him at that time.  We were very close and always did everything together. He was the reason I didn’t quit most things I wouldn’t even try. His results were similar to mine and we both managed to get in the same stream while a year ago we were in one of the lowest classes. The only problem was that we were in different classes. There were zero chances of the school letting me transfer to his class and same goes to him. I immediately thought about how I would live without him. Knowing him since primary school, I would always ‘play’ with him during recess, pj and whenever the teacher wasn’t around. In secondary school, we got closer as we got older. Together we could do anything, learn anything, it was a big part of my life. Then, there were other things I worried about. What if I don’t like my class? What if biology and chemistry is too hard? Is the other classes better? I didn’t like this at all. Though, I had the chance to change streams. In the end, I chose to stay where I was. My friend chose to stay as well because he noticed his crush was in the same class as him. Though the first few months were regretful, I had missed my previous class. The school had also become more disciplinary in terms of curriculum activities. We couldn’t skip our activities like we used to do to hang out together. This was hard for me because it was the only time I could be with my group of friends. However, as I finally accepted my fate, I realized maybe things aren’t all that bad. I've met many new people as well as interact with really old friends.  My best friend was doing well with his life too. His grades were getting better every semester and we had our recess together all the time. Miraculously, it all turned out better than I expected. It was all possible thanks to my difficult decision making skills. No one can see the future, so my advice is to let go of things you can’t change and focus on things you can. In the words of Socrates, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new”.

Not good enough

I've always wanted to do my best in things that the majority of people can do. Unfortunately, I have an abnormal tendency to screw up simple things such as making careless mistakes in an exam even though I checked it over and over again. Even though I learn from my mistakes, there will always be a problem that didn't exist the previous time. Furthermore, sometimes I forget even the simplest of things and sometimes the most important things of all. This usually leads to misunderstandings about my attitude and losing  the trust and loyalty from people I care about. I choose not to volunteer myself in things a normal human being would be able to do because of the fear of not being good enough and making mistakes that could have been avoided very easily. I guess you can say that I care about what others think about me more than what I think of myself. I often do this to prevent arguments or when meeting new people. I try to fit in as perfect as possible so that I can ensure peace and prevent even a speck of casualties. Sometimes I pretend so much that I forget to be myself again even if nobody is watching. I try so hard to ensure that everyone sees me as their light in the dark, the cure for their pain and, most of all, the person who did their best no matter the consequences. In my perspective, happiness is knowing that you did your best, straight down to the limit. I am waiting for the day that I can finally say "I did my best".

Educational camp

After the exams I had 2 weeks of holiday for the taking. It was finally time to kick back and relax in bed all day within the confinements of my room. Surprisingly, I had forgotten about the plans I made for the holiday. I had signed up for leadership camp with a couple of friends for the holidays. The camp was held for 4 days and 3 nights and was fortunately on the last few days of the final week. The camp took place in Fo Guang Shan Temple in Kuala Selangor. I had to go through 4 days of speaking mandarin for the sake of convenience and also because I wanted to speak my native language once more.

On the first day, I followed one of my classmates to the camp due to some transport problems. The trip was originally 1 hour if the traffic was good, sadly this wasn’t one of those days. When we finally got to the temple we took our luggage and went to collect our tags that had our respective groups written on it. We were put into our groups and separated till the final day. I was shocked to see that the temple was much bigger than I had imagined. The first activity of the day was portrayed in the main hall. They talked about the history of the temple and what not to do as well as when to do it. The thing about camps is that the first day is always the most boring. After a lot of speeches and activities, it was time for a lunch break in the canteen. The rules stated that it is disrespectful to speak when eating a meal. Also, leaving unfinished food to waste is rude because the workers who wash the dishes have to wash over 600 plates after every meal. The rest of the day was spent in the hall where the organizer of the camp talked about leadership in our lives and why it’s so important. At the end of the day, I was mentally tired but learned some things worth knowing. Everyone got mattresses to sleep on as well as a blanket and pillow. 

(Second day was very similar to the first)

The Second last day was where the holiday had finally began! After the morning prayers, the activities included a few motivational talkers and a grand feast that had an interesting twist. Everyone was given 4 seeds as currency to order various foods displayed all around the temple. In order to obtain more beans a person has to complete a game. Games such as dancing challenges, singing challenges, strength challenges and luck challenges were not as easy as they seemed. I was not a very good singer but the strength challenges were my type of challenge. The luck challenge was the hardest to complete. In fact, not one person was able to get even close to completing it. During the challenges, I finally got to interact with new people and work together to complete the challenges. A girl named Xin Yi was my partner for most of the challenges. We were quite good in the challenges even though we were complete strangers a few days ago. We became good friends and exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch. Anyway, I won just enough seeds to order a meal that was suitable with my appetite along with some lemonade. It was a good day and an even better evening for me. The night was chilling and quiet, perfect for sleeping.

Finally, the last day of camp is always the most memorable. It was time to say goodbye to everyone and hope to see each other in the future. There was a lot of kindness for a brief moment in the temple. People were taking pictures with one another, hugging each other goodbye and even planning for the next outing. I managed to find almost all the people I had met to greet them farewell. A while later when most of the participants went home, me and my classmates were waiting for transport at the entrance of the temple. I had forgotten to collect my certificate so quickly ran back into the hall to collect it. To my surprise, I saw Xin Yi with her friend there walking around as if they were looking for me. They were the only ones that I left out. As we said goodbye I shook her hand and hope that we may meet again someday. 

In my opinion, this camp wasn't all that bad but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that enjoys outdoor activities more than indoor ones.

The 'wow' factor

It was about 2 am, I had just finished watching a horror movie and was about to head to bed. But I realized I had left my phone at the living room couch. I was already at the entrance to my room and I was very afraid of the dark. It always happens after watching a horror movie. My hearing somehow becomes 20 times better that I can hear things I don't really notice. I finally decided that I was going to suck it up and slowly walk downstairs to get my phone. The fact that I had to be as quiet as a mouse because I didn't want to wake my parents made it even harder. I couldn't on the lights because they would know and I didn't have a flashlight because I don't own one. The only source of light was the porch lights from behind the curtains of my house. Finally, I had made it to the living room feeling as if someone or something was going to jump at me from around every corner. I could hear my phone playing very soft music from the couch. I searched for it and found it under the one of the pillows. After I carefully walked back up the stairs, I was hungry and felt like eating cereal. So, with my new found courage, I decided to go back downstairs to make myself a bowl of cereal. But as I walked down the stairs, I saw that the kitchen light was left on. I definitely remembered there were no lights on in the house. My courage began to fade as I got closer to the kitchen. As I looked over the corner of the door, I saw my sister eating a bowl of cereal. I was very relieved and opened the door to join her. When I opened the door she was shocked and screamed incredibly loud. I quickly grabbed her by the head and drowned her in her own cereal to stop the screaming. There was milk everywhere but I really wanted cereal so I ate what was left of my sister's cereal. Then I realized that, I was the monster all along......

Just kidding, how's that for a wow factor.

Colours (Narrative)

Colours make up the world. Without colours we would be nothing but well...nothing! There are billions upon billions of different colours. Other than the seven colours of the rainbow, there is possibly a never-ending set of colours that you can choose from. Most of us use colours to do things everyday such as watching television, putting together puzzles, and writing a very long and detailed essay. If we couldn't see colours we wouldn't be able to tell if it's sunny or dark outside or if the fields are green or brown. Colours are so important that without it I wouldn't know what I would be typing right now…

Every colour that has ever been discovered is different. Although it may look strikingly similar, even the smallest alterations to a colour can form a brand new colour. Especially in the eyes of an artist, colours are the first thing they would think of when painting, drawing, sculpting and etc. Most famous artists really know their colours and thanks to their knowledge, they have created masterpieces that only they could create. In order for an artist to create such masterpieces, he/she must come up with a brand new never before seen combination of colours which is almost impossible these days to colour said painting. A colour so specific, that it could take months and even years to find and not to mention using that colour in a proper painting.      

How can we see without colours? I’m not sure how but even the colours white and black are a colours which is why technically, people who can only see black and white can see colours. My guess is that blind people are the only people that cannot see colours because they can’t even open their eyes in the first place. While some people see the same colour, others may see a different colour. Is my green the same green that you see? Is your red the same red that I see? I don’t know. There are possibilities that we were taught from young that your red is my green and my green is your red. It’s mind-boggling to think that your eyes and my eyes see exactly the same colour but at the same time isn’t.

Besides all those theories, colours can be associated with memories. For instance, whenever I see the bright orange sunset it reminds me of the beach and all the memories that were made as a child. This is probably why so many people go to art museums. Not just to admire the beautiful art, but to relive their lives in the form of colours in the paintings. On a different note, everyone has a favourite colour. People usually use their favourite colour(s) to wear or to write with. They may purchase items with their favourite colour on it. My favourite colour is red. There is no specific reason why, it’s just a really nice colour.

In my opinion, colours are what make everything possible. Without colours we would cease to exist. The possibility of a universe with no colour is a universe I wouldn’t want to be a part of. We have already obtained so many colours yet there are so many colours that we have not even discovered yet. One day we may even discover the meaning of a colour…

Flashback

It was a few years ago in the middle of March, my father had came back from work with a package from his office. The package was about the size of a shoe box and was wrapped with a lot of duct tape. He said with a serious face, not to touch the package until the start of school holidays or else he would hide the TV remote from me and my siblings for a month. He placed the package in the middle of the coffee table and went upstairs to get ready for bed. My siblings didn't really care about what was in the package. However, I was very peculiar of it. I really wanted to see what he had brought back from work. As a child, I couldn't sleep that night. The very thought of it kept me awake. When I woke the next morning, I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to see if the package was still there. My family was there having their breakfast on the coffee table where the package was and it was still there. No one was bothered by the package but me. As my father was leaving the house he said that I could have the honor of opening the package. I realized that I would have to suffer a year of waiting and watching the package just sit there everyday. After a month of impatience, I decided to ease my pain by writing down the endless possibilities of what it could be. Every single day I would write down a word in my writing book. I would write down things that would fit in a shoe box. They comprised of toys, gadgets, jewelry, and well, shoes. After many months, there was just one week left of waiting. I was extremely happy and relieved that my agonizing thoughts are finally over. For 7 days straight I didn't shower, eat junk food, watch television and talk to my siblings. A day before judgement day, my father gave me a pair of scissors and told me to wait till midnight to open it. For the entire day I was holding the pair scissors wherever I went, even to the toilet. When the bell rang and the teacher let me go, I ran all the way home. I ran through 3 red lights without looking both ways. When I finally got home, I sat on the couch, one eye on the clock, one eye on the package. It was painful to watch but I was determined to stay awake. I didn't eat anything for the rest of the day. THIRTY minutes before midnight, I told my whole family to wear nice clothes while watching me open the package. TEN minutes to go! All I wore was long pants (can't remember why). For the last FIVE seconds, everyone counted down. I was gripping on to the pair of scissors as if it was a key to unlock the gates of heaven. I was sweating  for every second of tearing open the package. When I had reached the core of the package, I opened it. Then and there, I saw with my own two eyes, the moment of truth. The package had nothing but rocks in it. My whole family was laughing at me and my father was laughing the loudest. At that very moment, I learned something. My father, was the greatest f**king troll that ever lived.

New classmate

A few days ago, a student was transferred to my class. His name was Zaki. I am not sure why he was brought here but he did not really do anything in the class. He was either sleeping or starring at the wall while the teacher teaches the class. I was glad he recognized me but I felt sad that he stayed the same since the first time we met. I have known him since Form 1 when I was in one of the last few classes. During those years, our class was comprised of lazy and trouble-making students. We were both trouble-makers and wouldn't pay attention in class at all. As the years gone by, I started studying and finishing my homework whereas Zaki was still immature and playful in class. But I see now that he is depressed and won't speak as much as he did. I hope placing him in my new class will benefit him in his studies.

6 words related to walking

One Sunday morning, James went sauntering through the woods with his older brother to collect firewood for their can of beans. It was really early and he had just awakened from his slumber so he was slowly strolling behind his older brother. After a while, James was blinded by a shiny gem that was stuck on the surface of a tree trunk. He then proceeded to peregrinate towards it and leaving his brother to continue traipsing around for more firewood. As James got closer and closer, he tried to remove the shiny gem. Then, in the distance, an old man shouted at James, telling him to not remove the gem. The old man trodden angrily towards James to warn him. However, James has the tendency to not follow orders, so he removed the gem anyway. James quickly ran off with the gem and out of the woods. The old man then walked away laughing and cheering. As James ran back to his home, he feels his feet getting heavier and heavier and his arms becoming very stiff. He eventually stopped to see what was wrong. His blood went cold as he sees his limbs turned into wood. He panicked as his feet were planted in the ground. He had turned into a tree. He couldn't speak but could see his brother. His brother had collected enough firewood and perambulated through the bushes. James screamed but not a single word came out. His brother did see the gem but did not take it, thinking it was put there for a reason. The next day, the old man returned to the woods to meet James. The old man stood there, smiled and said, "I told you so!" He then spitted on James and walked away never to return. THE END

Exercise 1: Question 5

Earth day is celebrated on the 22nd of April. To preserve the sanctity of the earth from pollution and destruction, one must think of the earth as themselves. Imagine you're very sick because you smoke cigarettes every day, you must get rid of the bad habit in order to stop the sickness. Same principle applies for the earth, we must not pollute or destroy the earth because it is our home and we should respect it. Earth day is the perfect day to change our bad habits such as littering on the streets, burning rubbish in the open, and throwing rubbish into the river. It is also the perfect day to start some good habits such as recycling and doing charity work related to the environment.

Bread and Butter

About three weeks ago, The Buddhist Society had organised a trip to an orphanage for disabled kids. The plan was to sing songs and teach them how to draw, but the plan didn't quite go as intended. When everyone had arrived and it was time to draw something, I had a very happy greeting from some of the orphans. They couldn't speak any languages so I did the best I could to communicate with them. Although, I did not understand anything at all, they were still very kind and friendly. When the drawing started, I took my drawing pad and color pencils out. I was in charge of two kids, one boy and one girl. I gave them color pencils and paper to draw on but they just started scribbling on the paper. At this point it was very hard to teach them to hold the pencil properly and not put it in their mouth. In fact, everyone was having trouble teaching them to draw. So I just followed along with what the two kids were doing. (I'll name the boy Bread and the girl Butter). They scribbled on the left, I scribbled on the right. They simply can not focus on one thing at a time so it was easy to get their attention but easier to lose it. Nevertheless, they were very happy and I was happy so it was all good. You have to just go with the flow with these children. After the first half of the session, it was time to sing songs. Obviously, they couldn't sing but they could make noises in the tone of the lyrics. Bread and Butter didn't really know what was going on so I sang to them. I don't think they knew what I was trying to do but they were very, very happy to hear me sing. Just to clarify, my singing wasn't good, it was just talking. After calming down from all that singing, we all shook hands and hugged one another. As I looked back at them while walking back  home, I could see that they don't get a lot of visitors and were sad when I left. I look forward to the next visit and hopefully Bread and Butter will recognize me.

Butter holding the paper and Bread with the collar shirt.

A Day in Hokkaido

My trip to Japan was a memorable one. I went to a couple of places in Japan such as Hokkaido, Osaka and Tokyo. On the more exciting day, my family and I had landed at the airport. The first thing we saw outside the window of the plane was SNOW. Sadly it wasn't the fluffy soft snow but instead the thin fake-looking snow. It was still a great sight to see white wherever we looked. We had to take a bus to our hotel in Hokkaido. It was a 4 hour drive but on the way to the hotel, we could see the terrain slowly change from windy wet weather to heavy snowfall. Snowflakes were all over the windows of the bus. It was around -5 degrees Celsius. After we had finally reached our destination, we were allowed to go to the bathroom at the hotel's souvenir shop. Right when i got off the bus, my feet were immediately planted into the snow. The view was breathtaking, seriously, it was hard to breathe. After keeping our luggage in the rooms, we decided to finally for the first time in our lives, play in the snow. Let say if you were to take off your gloves and make a snowball with your bare hands, you're gonna feel that pins and needles feeling instantly(WEAR GLOVES). We followed a random path that lead to a storage for all the snowmobiles. On the way however, we aggressively threw snowballs at each other non-stop just because there was so much snow. It's actually quite hard to hit someone with a snowball. I was very inaccurate when throwing snowballs at my family. We also pushed each other a lot. The snow was as soft as can be so there was really no harm done. Therefore I did not feel guilty when burying my own sister in the snow...and my brother. When it started getting dark we finally decided to call it a day and slowly crawled back to the hotel. It was really cold......

Valentines Day in My Point of View

My parents have been married for 20 years and for as long as I can remember they go out for a special dinner every Valentines day. It's like every year they're going to a different restaurant without me and my siblings. To me, whatever makes them happy makes me happy so i don't really care. For example, they're going out to eat at a delicious seafood restaurant that serves tasty and good quality seafood, I do like sushi but I wouldn't want to disturb the only day that they can spend time together. They seem to be happier on Valentines day. Other than that, they tend to come home quite late even after they finish dinner. They usually watch one or two movies before finally coming home to talk about the movies for another hour or two. Even though they're old, they still act like they're in their 20's. After all, age is just a number.