Only the Strongest will Survive

What's up, guys!!!!! So for today I am going to make a special dedication for my elite group back when I was in MRSM Taiping. These group members or I can name as my small family members have improved me a lot. When I was in form four, I've tried to join the student council election and I didn't expect to go until manifesto round. Fortunately or unfortunately, I've lost the election. Starting from that point I felt so sad and refuse to join any student board because I thought that I will remain the same and will not be picked to be in the student leadership board. So I've planned to do well in academic since that is the only way for me to compete with the students in MRSM Taiping. For your information, if you want to enter any inter-MRSM competition you have to be well known among the teachers. Some of them excel in sports, leadership activities, and some of them strive for academic excellence, including me.

Well, that is my turning point in Taiping. Alhamdulillah, I've managed to perform well for my first semester. So after the result came out, 50 students were listed for a meeting with counselors and all of them are those who perform well in their examination. They wanted us to join an elite group that will not just make us excel in academics but in soft skills too. As counselors, they did not want a stigma that thinks that the smart students only excel in academics but cannot do anything else. The elite group's name is Projek Emas Hitam. Emas Hitam is a translation for crude oil in Malay. The purpose of using crude oil as a symbolism for us is because of the multi-purpose of crude oil after refining. They hope that we will not just be a person that excel in academic but a person who is well rounded as well.

We were given 14 tasks to be completed throughout our school year. To be honest, The tasks is not easy and we have to schedule the due date for the task to be completed so that we will complete all the task given. This means that we need we have to arrange our time for study and completing the task and for that reason why we choose the motto 'Only the Strongest will Survive'. Some of the 14 tasks are organizing an oversea trip, publishing an article in a local newspaper, make a public performance and much more exciting tasks to be told. By having these tasks had made me become busier than before. Oh, not to forget, I'm the leader for Projek Emas Hitam, So I've to make sure that all of the tasks were done in a given time. This will make the projects to be completed before October so that we can prepare for SPM.

So this is our first project. We have to conduct a motivational talk collaborated with Tarbiah Sentap

Well, not all of the teachers agree with this project as they thought that the students' academic performance will be affected due to joining this group. We were given special privileges to skip the  extra class in the evening. Due to that reason, Most of the teachers will ignore the privileges and this makes our work to complete the task given become harder. But this does not make us lose hope, we will always find a way to solve any problem arise. The counselors are getting complaints from teachers that stated that some of us had skipped the extra class. The counselors have made a short meeting with us, they sais that we just need to be calm and keep focusing on academics to prove the teacher wrong. This has been a catalyst for us to become the top achiever in our school.

A year and a half with them are not enough and the number of 14 tasks are insufficient for us to become multi-purpose as the refined crude oil. In spite of that, I've learned a lot of things and knowledge that is beneficial for me. For example, during any interview, I will not only bring my academic qualifications, but I will bring my experience when I with Projek Emas Hitam. All the failure we faced and the challenges that arise when we want to solve any problem. And the best thing is, that all of us managed to get an excellent SPM result regardless of how much time was used for Projek Emas Hitam. Our main goal is not trying to finish all of the tasks but the lesson that we can get after completing any tasks. For that reason, that is why Only the Strongest will Survive.

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What will happen if we keep relying upon technology rather than anything else?

                Technology had been far more advanced than we had thought before. It is made to accompany human, solve human problems and give entertainment to human. Technology has their own advantages and disadvantages. Thus it depends, by the way of people that using it. Does the technology advancement has made children become less creative that they should be today? In my opinion, the technology had reduced the creativity skills of the children based on the following reasons which are they will not be trained in a hard life situation and they will have a lack of outdoor activities to improve their cognitive skill.

 What will happen if we keep relying upon technology rather than anything else?

                Technology will reduce the creativity of children because they will not be used to live in a hard life situation. For instance, during the invasion of Japan on Malaya, all sources of technology were taken by the Japanese army. So, the kids at that time have to figure a way to replace the technology that was taken from them such as making a paper by using a potato and making a tire from rubber sheets. All of this things need creativity to make them. So, in a world which now has a lot of technology, this will not cause the kids to create something new because they never live in a hard life condition.

                In addition, technology will reduce the children creativity because there is a lack of outdoor activities to improve their cognitive skill compared to those in the past condition. Nowadays , children are always handling their smartphones playing some apps that they installed and they just mind their own business. Creativity needs a great of cognitive skill but this will jot done if they are no outdoor activities that occur among them. During the pastime, without the technology such as smartphones, children will go out and play at the park together. At there they will create a new outdoor game that will be played among them and these outdoor activities will make their brain become healthy and will be prepared to become more creative at its should be.

                As a conclusion, technology has made a lot of contributions to humankind but it has to use wisely to prevent the limitations of the children creativity skills. If the technology had inhibit the creativity of the children nowadays, we will see a gloomy future that humans only depended on the technology rather than their own ability. So, based on the reasons which I have stated it is clearly showed that technology has made children less creative than they were in the past.

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Computer games: Yay or Nah

                Computers were first introduced to help other people to do work such as typing a letter, prepare a presentation, and make an annual report and nowadays computer has become a lot of things than we can ever imagine. It can become the source of entertainment, source of inspiration and source of communication. One of the source of entertainment that we can get from the computer is playing computer games. Parents are worried to exposed their children to the computer games because for them it is a waste of time and they should not be allowed to play it. In my opinion, I do not agree with the statement and this is because they can build up their cognitive skills and they can learn something new.

                First and foremost, computer games have successfully shown that it can provide children better cognitive skills such as teamwork and strategy thinking style. For instance, The children who played Defence Of The Ancient (DOTA) will help them to develop their cognitive skills. The main reason of the game is to reach the enemy main tower and try to destroy it. Their strategy thinking skill will be tested when they need to find a way to go to the enemy main tower and they need to cooperate with the players in the game to reach their goal. By getting this kind of cognitive skills through playing computer games will not waste their time and it is useful for their future and they should be allowed to play it.

FUN FACT: The International is the annual game competition for DotA. The champion team will receive up to 1 Million USD.

                In addition, the children who played computer games will learn something new just by playing the computer games. This is because they will only focus on their games only. Frankly speaking, they will sit in front of their computer trying to finish their games and this will make them become more focus throughout the game. For example, by playing the game Watchdogs, children can learn how to hacking instead of enjoying their game and this game will never waste their time because they will learn something new and children should be encouraged to play it.

                 In conclusion, computer games have their own advantages and disadvantages. So, as parents, they should allow their children to play computer games but they should have put a limitation on it for their studies and their children life. I completely agree that computer games are not a waste of time and children should be allowed to play it.

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An evening with the homeless

Last Sunday, we the MADPP students are organizing a soup kitchen with the homeless in Ipoh. We have collaborated with Dapur Jalanan Ipoh, the group that had started the idea of the soup kitchen in Ipoh. The servings are held twice a month, which will be on the 1st week and the 3rd week every month. So, we have to follow the schedule in order to join the servings. Fortunately, there are no college activities on the expected date that we choose to join them. We also have to make a reservation with Dapur Jalanan Ipoh because they need to minimize the number of volunteers since they believe that too many cooks spoil the broth.

The motto 'Makanan Hak Untuk Semua' is purposely to show that everyone deserves to get their basic needs without leaving anyone behind

It all started when we are going to decide the activity that we should do for our Social Outreach Service. There's a lot of different ideas that were given but they share the same purpose which is to give something to the community. So, I point out an idea which is to make a soup kitchen. Based on my previous experience joining a soup kitchen in Kuala Lumpur, it does not require a lot of money. It  is totally different in Kuala Lumpur compared to Ipoh. In Kuala Lumpur, the servings were held every week and all the volunteers need to gather at the Dapur Jalanan office to do a 'gotong-royong' cooking together before the servings. This will help to strengthen the bond between the volunteers and will ease the cooperation among them during the servings. I've joined Dapur Jalanan Kuala Lumpur because I was assigned by my counselor to join any Non-Government Organization activities individually. So, it is such a great experience for me during that time.

And that is what I thought would be the same in Ipoh, But it is not, they do not have an office in Ipoh and all the things that we wanted to contribute need to be done before the servings. So, we decided to serve two kinds of sandwich which are sardines sandwiches and egg sandwiches. We also planned to serve the homeless with bolognese spaghetti, a cup of cendol and bottles of mineral water. Other than that, we tried for not to give them just foods and beverages. We planned to give something that is beneficial for them to use such as, toiletries, bandage and used clothes. There is a lot of things that  we have to do before the serving day. Starting from the paperwork, the gun chart, and the Person in charge in their respective duties. The one that needs to deal with Dapur Jalanan Ipoh, the one that needs to buy all of the things, the one that needs to organize the transportation, and the one that needs to make the promotion for our Social Outreach Service.

One of the extra service that we give to them

Our major constraint is money, we need to collect sufficient money for the event which will be in the next two weeks. We did not need too much money for the servings because we will give them based on our collections. But based on our calculation of the paperwork, it is estimated that we need approximately RM 2000. This is included our transportation, the promotion banner and the t-shirt for the event. So, it has been a tough work for those who were assigned to make the promotion as they have a limited time to find the money. To ease the promotion to be widespread, we blast our promotion for donation via WhatsApp. To our surprising, we managed to collect approximately RM 3000. Yes, the money did exceed our expectation and to make use the extra money, we buy two sets of  haircutter machine and provide a free hair cutting service to the homeless. We also bought lots of fruits by using the extra money. This will give the homeless adequate vitamin and nutrients. As a result, they will not easily get infected by any diseases.

As we arrived there, we still cannot find any of the homeless people. So, before we set up the serving place, we decided to perform Asar prayer at the mosque next to the serving place. After that, we quickly rush to set up the place as we can see they started to gather and line up to get ready before getting the food. I was assigned to handle the spaghetti section and I have to ensure that they  receive a container of spaghetti with the sauce, fork and spoon, and orange juice. After I have completed my duty, I tried to make a conversation with one of them, I talked with Pakcik Rahman which he is more comfortable to be called as Pak Man. He said that he is not literally homeless and he still lives with his wife. Even though he has a house to live in, he still attends the Dapur Jalanan service to see the young people contribute something to the community. This is because Pak Man and his wife were left by their children without any help. They continue to support their life by using the money from Pak Man's pension. Pak Man felt touched when he sees the Dapur Jalanan crew members as it will reminisce him about his children. When I heard Pak Man's story it makes me feel sad about our future generation. There is a lot of things that can be learned from an evening with the homeless.

Give a little save a lot

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Does college life's really sucks?

FUN FACT: Campuses are impressive for a reason which is to be their big selling points

The college is the place where one's continue their study after completing high school before they move into their respective career. so, do the college years are the best time in one's life. For me, the college years are the best time in one's because of these reasons which are meeting new friends, a career transitional for us and the place where we work independently.

In meeting new friends, the college is the best place for us. This is due to the fact that the college is not only for the students in the same states but it is for all the students in the country and we might get friends from another country. This is where we will learn their culture and we will learn some interesting facts about their place. This will make us have diverse knowledge about the world and this might be helpful if we go to our friends' place.

The college also can be the place for us to pursuing our career. This is because we now taking the courses that related to our careers. Thus, we will have the vision of what our career would be. For instance, at the final year of study, the students are needed to do an internship with other companies that soon will be our workplace. This will give them a working experience that is integral to them before applying any job vacancy. Any companies tend to hire the new employee that at least have some working experience.

One's can learn their social skill when they are in college. As compared to the high school, most students are spoon fed which means that they gain knowledge by the teacher easily without finding it. They will soon become really dependent on their teacher and will not work hard to get knowledge. But, this is completely different in college life, the students have to work independently to meet their lecturer to gain extra information in certain subjects. This practice is very important for them before they started to work which require a lot of independent work to do.

In conclusion, there are a lot of advantages that one's can get when they are in college life that somehow will lead to their best time of their life. I totally agree that the college years are the best time in one's life because we can meet new friends, we can prepare for our career and we can learn to work independently.

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Perks of entertaining movies

               

FUN FACT: Films were originally recorded onto plastic films through a photochemical process, and then shown through a movie projector onto a large screen 

  

           Movie is a kind of entertainment that people love to do when they have leisure time. People can choose to watch movies in the cinema, from the DVD or streaming via the internet. But it is advisable for them to watch the movies by using the correct sources-watch the original version instead of pirated version. There is a lot of movies genre which are action, horror, science fiction, comedy and romantic. Movie is a type of visual communication that uses moving pictures and sounds to give a message to the audience. Some people love to watch movies that are serious, designed for them to think and some preferable to watch movies that amuse and entertain. For me, I would watch movies that are entertaining and joyful because it will reduce our stress and it will strengthen our relationship

                Comedy movies are the best example that shows that movies can help to reduce our stress and will make us become happy. This is because, when we laugh while watching comedy movies our hormone system will excrete endorphin-a happy hormone- that will reduce the stress level thus make us become more relaxed after watching the movies. After having a hectic week, watching comedy movies will make us forgot the problem for a while and this will make us become healthier because individuals that have a high level of stress tend to get depression.

                Next, movies that amuse and entertain will strengthen our relationship with the people that watch together with us. For example, if we go to watch the comedy movies with our friends we will laugh together during the comedy scenes and this will make our friends bond become strengthen. This is due to the fact that we had spread the positive aura when we laugh and our surrounding will become positive. Comedy is universal if we did not understand the language used by the actors we will still laugh by only watching their action. For instance, Mr. Bean and Charlie Chaplin are actors that successfully make people laugh even though they did not talk about their movies.

                In conclusion, movies are one of the media used to send information to the audience. Whether it is an essential information or not, movies are still relevant until today and I am preferable to choose the movies that are joyful, entertaining and amusing because it can reduce our stress level and our relationship with people can be strengthened.

I like caramel popcorn and not to forget with a bottle of mineral water

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Does freedom require eliminating restraints on behavior, or does it require creating or strengthening certain restraints?

          

          FUN FACT: The countries that had gained their indipendence from British Empire are called Commonwealth Nation

          “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought” (Paul II 1995). By having that kind of idea of freedom, we can simply conclude that freedom will not only benefit us but the others as well. The question has been raised up ever since whether the authority should eliminate restraints on behavior or strengthen some restraints. I personally believe that it is better to achieve freedom by strengthening certain constraints. I stand with my claim which is why we need to strengthen certain restraints based from the point of view of history, public safety and from the perspective of political science.

          To begin with, I would like to refer to the history of the United States of America so that we can have the background information of the situation that is happening right now. The United States Constitution has been amended for about 27 times ever since been enforced in 1789 (US Constitution Amendment). This clearly shows that The US Constitution has been improved throughout the time to meet the needs of a nation that is different from the eighteenth-century world in which the creators lived. To relate with the topic of our discussion, by creating certain restraints it will create the freedom for the citizens of United States. For example, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states that “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” This amendment allows their citizens to carry a gun which can be considered as a symbol of individual freedom (Connect US n.p). This is due to the fact that they can protect and defend themselves from danger. Nowadays there have been certain movements that are opposing this amendment because it leads to higher risks of violence. In spite of that, I think that they have to keep in their mind that it is their responsibility to use the right wisely because responsibility is the price of freedom (Hubbard 17). So when all the citizens are responsible towards the law, the goal of the government to create freedom will be achieved.

          In continuing the discussion, I believe that people will feel safer in their surroundings when all of us have the sense of responsibility towards the law. In addition, the law was made to prevent people from doing any immoral acts such as killing, burglary, and rape. So by strengthening certain restraints toward behavior we can secure the public safety. This is due to the fact that “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom.”(John 234). John had successfully explained to us that the main purpose of the law is to promote freedom and without it there will be no freedom. For example, if we eliminate all the constraints of behavior to depict the pure freedom, there will be no need of prison to apprehend these criminals. As a result, the public safety will be threatened. Their risk to be attacked by the criminals will increase. As a result, they will be afraid going out from their house to go to work or even to buy their needs. This situation will eventually disrupt the country’s economy and worsen the country’s security. By creating restraints on behavior we can avoid them to do immoral acts or we can control the criminals behind bars and thus will make the public feel safer. Which is the right thing that needs to be done to show the true meaning of freedom.

          Finally, the governments usually manipulate the term freedom through their perspective. They create or strengthening certain constraints just for the sake to retain their power. They believe with the idea from Serj Tankian “Sometimes it is better to have a benign dictator than a dumb democracy”. The leaders misunderstood the actual meaning of freedom by assuming that retaining their power is the right thing they ought to do. For example, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea government has made several laws to control their citizens. Their population is strictly managed by the state and their daily life is subordinated by state and city planning (Worden 272). These constraints have put a barrier for the public to enjoy their life in freedom and they have no right to condemn the law. In fact, for those who have criticized the leadership will be sent to political prison camps without trial and mostly without any chance of being released (Amnesty International 3). To prevent this from happening, most citizens will blindly obey all the rules being made by the government and result in the government’s power to be strengthened throughout time. So, they will use their power to make sure that all of the citizens will believe the doctrine from Serj Tankian. It may seem that the citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have no freedom but they still have a better life compared to those who are imprisoned because of rebelling the law.

          In conclusion, freedom is actually an abstract in which everyone has their own point of view of defining freedom. So one should bear in their mind that freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought. From the point of view of history, we can see the significance of having the responsibility towards the law which will create the public safety. Moreover, from the perspective of political science, we can see that it is important for the government to create some law to retain their power. To sum it up I strongly believe that freedom requires the creating and strengthening certain restraints.

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