You-Want's Life

So this is one of the many meditating nights. Back in school for a new start, I have been more involved in the management of my boarding house. I realised that many of my juniors are beyond adorable, humorous and amiable. I spent my entire first year in school, not wanting to know more about these people. What was wrong with me? Juniors are like the musical notes of a boarding house. This is where they spend their young and immature days, to be polished into confident adults with leadership qualities and sense of responsibility. I am glad that my way of approach suited the many personalities in my boarding house. Trying to get to know them include the effort of sharing my personal experience in many life situations, and thus inspiring them to seek courageous solutions to problems and build stronger interpersonal skills. I reached out, hoping that my juniors feel included and safe. I portray a role as the figure I hardly had when I was at their age- I am the big brother.  ...

The story started with Mr. David Thaw's recital of a letter he received from one of his students studying in the US. It was about mental well-being. I remember nodding my head, agreeing to the content-- the emotional health of others around us, and ourselves of course,  is extremely important especially in this era where social media has a huge influences in our lives.  Mental health deterioration is an invisible killer and has caused the global suicide rate to accelerate over the past few years. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates a global mortality rate of 16 people per 100000, equivalent to one death every 40 seconds. People facing mental or emotional struggles turn to ending their lives as they give up the fight against mental illnesses. I wrote Mr. Thaw an email to thank him for his sharing with the whole school that day. I also shared with him my views on the importance of mental health awareness and kindness towards others. Here's the email...

Weeks ago, I came across a small coffee-table booklet full of insightful quotes praising the divinity of friendship. Reading the booklet has triggered me to reflect on my journey through building new bridges and witnessing how some of them destruct in the year (2017). I have to admit that it had been a really wonderful year for me, for I ventured on new experiences in various places and met interesting people of different back stories.   2017 was a year of meeting genuine friends who really showed that they care, and identifying a few who were just putting up their friendliness like a drama act. I truly appreciate the ones who stayed with me while I was going through hard moments in life, like when I was helplessly emotional, stressed out and almost lost the fight to peer pressure in school. I was lucky to have all these faces around me to provide advice on coping work-life balance and tone down my incorrigible competitiveness.   I believe that friends might...

Advancement in social media has brought convenience into many's lives. Yet, one man's meat is another man's poison. Social medias have a dark side in secret many could not identify at first sight. The virtual platform is a breeding ground of cyberbullying. The Morbid Headcounts   A recent sharp rise in the number of depression cases and suicide reports has aroused the society's concern. Statistics have shown that 60% of depression cases in Malaysia are caused by cyber-bullying. Teenagers enjoy the fun social medias can bring, where they share their candid moments in life with friends and stay in contact.   Well, that's what most of us thought. In reality, the network is often misused as a battlefield to discriminate specific individuals. The reasons to sparkle online feud is often variable. Some 'gang up' to dominate over a particular person probably just based on his small-sized body frame, a scar on his body, parents' occupations or anything else ...

Gone are the days when luncheons and dinners bring families and friends a joyful occasion as they chat with full liveliness and laughter. Yet, drawing my previous experience, lunch dates have become a gathering of the dead in recent years. Around the dining table, everyone has a electronic device in their hands, looking down at it and swiping for updates. An awkward silence replaces the happy chatter.   Has a similar scenario struck your life? Perhaps, it's the time to reflect on the proper use of technology.   Many may think that electrical devices such as smartphones and laptops are an essential part in life to keep us up-to-date. Without a proper technology in hand, we are left far behind and would not be accepted by the current society. A truth or a myth? I humbly suggest that it is the latter.   Life is not about having all information on our fingertips. It is not about achieving but about finding and cherishing the precious moments with our loved ones. Imag...

A pen-pal programme was commenced by the Literary, Drama & Debating Society of English College Johor Bahru, in collaboration with the Interact Club of SMK Sultan Ismail,  as a token of friendship and a pursue in the rise of the quality in English writing.  The programme involved  12 volunteered students from each school, in which the paired couple exchanged pseudonymously handwritten letters twice as the one-month plan went.   The word 'EPISTLE * ' was selected as an embodiment of the programme, in which we penned letters and laid our thoughts in handwritten forms instead of other tedious methods such as speaking and typing using electronic devices. * According to   http://www.thefreedictionary.com/epistle  , the word EPISTLE holds several meanings: 1. A letter, especially a formal one. 2. A literary composition in the form of a letter . 3. Epistle Bible      a. One of the letters included as a book in the New Testament.   ...

English College young and energetic Form 1 student, Ahmad Faiz Bin Najib Omar has won the silver medal in ‘Superstar Me! JB’ held by ‘The Great Eastern’ associated with the ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ just right behind an 8-year-old girl named Grace Lee.    Let’s see what he has got to share with us! E- The Editors F-  Ahmad Faiz Bin Najib Omar E: Who was the one who inspired you to sing? F: Well, it was my Dad, because he could sing. I started singing at the age of 3. My Dad and my Mum thought that I was gifted in this talent, so they registered me in this competition for my first kind of exposure. E: Did you feel nervous or shy on stage because of your young age? F: Yes! Number one is that I am young and number two, there were a lot of     people over there in the audience. We were at at City Square, Johor Bahru and people were watching me, I was so afraid. But I thought to myself that it’s the time for me to show my own talents. I ju...

Did you know? As an act to approach our readers in this modern era engrossed with advance technology, the Literary, Drama & Debating Society of English College has acclaimed yet another territory—the most trending social media, Facebook .   The page, solely handled by the club, was founded in mid-November 2014 and is currently managed by the Board of Directors 14/15. It is a platform which acts as a ‘news stand’, where posts of current issues, opinions, motivational quotes and interesting facts are presented. And of course, any information of the society’s events will be undoubtedly published here too.   Ongoing programmes on the page include: * #hintforgraffiti – giving you the latest updates of the club magazine, Graffiti * Songquotes – where song lyrics are valued and acknowledged * Speak Up- Speak Now – screaming opinions from youngsters  & more!   We seek more attention than any other pages you can find on Facebook. Fe...

As the world is flipping its pages of advancement like a never-ending calendar, the Graffiti must as well evolve in the aspects of materials and designs to catch up with the trend.   The editors want to show you a brand new face of Graffiti, through a different method of telling our stories. We want to let you explore what LDDS can bring with the delicate plannings and refreshing changes; we want you the readers to be enriched from every page we compile—in which every single word embodies the rebirth of the club in itself.   With the title ‘What Is JB To You?’, we would love to present the southmost checkpoint of Malaysia. It is not just the place where LDDS is founded; it is a city filled with the endless possibilities that never bore our daily existence, and the rising developments which climb beyond limits in recent years. Thus, we want to show you its beauty, its art and all the incredible things this city can bring…… There is just so much here in Johor Bahru ...

Well. 2014 was a true blast!!! From winning my first attempt at Escape Room eCurve, it was a great experience, will fulfill my second attempt soon. TO wearing Kimono at school, being laughed at was mean. But being bold to show up differently at school was a different thing. TO buying Cornettos and couldn't eat any, trainings were a daily routine. Miss those days when we stayed back and be drenched in pain, palms all barbequed. TO visiting Kuala Terengganu for a camp . Meeting fun people from Johor was a golden opportunity. Got laughed by a few girls from Kelantan for not knowing how to chop bamboo sticks with a parang. Ow i scream: i am from the city! TO learning side by side with Sekolah Tun Fatimah. This event proves that i have got no phobia of female beings. Girls are always crazy. anyway I wonder how the girls' results are. TO getting a TSwift album, pre-ordered at POPULAR. Listened to songs while jogging. Well, apparently Shake it off was the most effectiv...

Guyss, just wanna say a sincere Thank You for everything that had encountered at the National Cadet Camp 2014. Thanks for the 12 great friendship from Johor as well as the knowledge and caring we'd exchanged. It was indeed the best camp that I'd ever been for, in a far-away city, Kuala Terengganu, with that East Coast summer breeze everyday.   Thank you to the boys from Muar for teaching us the proper ways of pitching a tent; and the girls who told us a whole lot about the probadges (Well, we wouldn't forget about how our tents were flooded with arctic rainwater and only 3 badges instead of 4 were earned in the end of the days). I liked the way our ice-breaking was done, thanks to Yew Joe, it was rather enthralling and we would definitely want to try doing that again sometime.   I blamed myself for holding the 'EMO TRAUMA', because perhaps we could have sparkled more fun in the 'killer-game' we played, the water-splashing session by the white sandy b...

Upon hearing the grievous news that Miss Shyamala would be leaving English College after an 18-year-long period of teaching, Editor Euan Thum led the BOD members of LDDS 2014 to pen a heart-felt appreaciation letter for the teacher: You turned your head and drove off in a scarlet Cerato, miles and miles away from us, never looked back as you stepped into a new chapter of your life……   18 years have gone by and it was a period when EC was blessed by your bubbly disposition and pearls of wisdom. Now that we have just lost another rose, a ravishingly blossomed one this time. Many couldn’t accept this fact, this nightmare to be real. The tears that dropped, the silence that prevailed in classes and halls, had deeply affected everyone.   It is definitely true to say that you are not just a teacher, but a sage, a parent and the law. You are like a lighthouse that shines through the darkness and guides us to the right path in life. We know handling the boys was not an e...