Being in secondary school, we have lots of rules on how should we conduct ourselves inside and outside school, how we should dress ourselves, etc. Most of the school rules make sense, such as not being able to use the phone in class as we may get distracted, being expected to hand in assignments on time, etc. but there's one rule that I don't think is very logical and even make sense at all. If you're guessing that it's about not being able to keep long hair, then you're right. The rule states that hair should not touch the ears, eyebrows, and collar. ( for guys ) There are a few reasons why I think that rule is illogical. Firstly, I don't see how our hairstyles can affect our behaviors, personalities, or grades. Just because we let our hair grow longer, does it mean that we will naturally become rebellious? NO. We control our own actions and behaviors, NOT our hair! Is a long hair some kind of magical or ominous thing that will control us? Seriously WHUT -.- Secondly, If our hairstyles really matter so much, that goes to show that the school is sort of judging us based on our appearances. Don't judge a book by it's cover. I mean, it's okay if some students get punished because they challenged the teacher, or vandalised the school, but getting punished just because they have long hair, is bullshit. Thirdly, the school states that we must show people the students are always " neat and tidy ". But seriously, neat and tidy? Are we living in the right generation?? In the US or some other western countries, it doesn't matter what kind of hair you have, be it in high school, college, etc. What matters is how you conduct yourself as a person.
Now, I know that we are students and we are representing a school and I can totally understand that. But I think that as long as we do not have some really FUNKY and weird kind of hairstyles, such as.... THIS.
It's perfectly fine to have a normal, cool and trendy type of hairstyle. As teenagers, we like exploring different types of hairstyles and find the ones that suits us best. Some like short ones, while some like long ones. It's just a matter of preferences.
There is absolutely no reason to punish someone because of his/her appearance. Do cops go around town arresting people who " look " like bad guys? NO. They arrest people who break the law and do bad things, be it whether they LOOK bad or not. P.S I am not trying to challenge the rule, I am just writing this to express how I feel about this whole rule of not being able to keep long hair, (this is freedom of speech) and hope that some people out there who are still in secondary school can relate to this.
The other day, I was at the bus stop with a friend and apparently they changed the colour of the poles from yellow, to grey. Immediately, I thought of how it will psychologically makes people feel bored and lifeless as grey is a dull colour, and that yellow will make people feel fresher and more alive. However, my friend thought that using grey is better as it is more durable and doesn't get dirty so easily. This made me think about something that I'm sure everyone can relate to, personality clashes. Everyone has different personalities. Some of theirs are quite similar to ours, while some are entirely different. A person may like nature and outdoor activities, while another person may prefer indoor activities. It comes as no surprise that personality clashes between people happen all the time. Be it between friends, families, or couples, personality clashes is probably the one thing that causes a lot of conflicts and arguments. We just have this tendency to naturally oppose someone back whenever we feel that our opinions or thinking are being opposed or when someone disagrees with it. It's just our nature to oppose and to prove that our point is right.
So, how do you deal with personality clashes? Well, firstly, try to make sense or think logically about what the other party says. Maybe it is more logical than yours? Even if it doesn't seem very logical at all, still, think about it. My friend and I did have a different opinion about the colour of the poles, but we didn't get into an argument. I have to admit, his thinking was logical. It's just that, he had a more materialistic thinking, while my thinking was more about the psychological effects it would have on people since I'm more of a people person. We both just have different personalities, what's the big deal?
Secondly, try to find a win-win situation if both of you seem to not agree with anything. For example, you want to go outdoors while your friend wants to go indoors. Instead of trying to oppose one another, why not go to a place where it compromises and is ideal for both of you? For example, an indoor park or garden? If everyone is always wanting to get what they want, there won't be peace, so compromise.
In a nutshell, personality clashes is normal between us humans. In order to live in harmony, we must be able to accept the different personalities among us. Everyone's different. Imagine if we are living in a world where everyone thinks the same. Firstly, it is BORING!!! Secondly, this community will not work. We need people who think in different ways, scientifically, psychologically, etc. in order for this society to move on and progress.
Think about when you first started school in Nursery, what did you go to school for? Did you go to school to spend your day and have fun? Did you go to school to learn ABCs, or to learn how to colour? When I first started school a long time ago, I became interested in school because there were lots of children of the same age as me that I could interact and socialise with. I love making new friends and meeting new people. School was fun then, we had fun everyday and we NEVER dreaded school, at least most of us don't. But as we grew older, the main purpose of going to school has evolved and changed. It was no longer about having fun and learning to have fun, but what I like to call it, as survival. Studying, in our teenage years, is like a survival. Either you study, or you practically die. Studying has become something that we do in order to be able to survive what's ahead of us and determine whether we can survive in society that many people, including parents, have forgotten the actual purpose of " learning ", which is pretty sad. We started to have exams in Primary 1, but those were just tests of our performances. But it was during Primary 6 that the game of survival started with the introduction of the PSLE ( Primary School Leaving Examinations ). It determines whether we could go to a good secondary school or not. Honestly, I found it rather redundant. It's only going to a secondary school, what's the big deal? Parents were like anxious about their children's performances, sending them for tuition, pressuring them and making it seems like it's a " do or die " kind of exam, but it really isn't. Well that wasn't really a survival game but it was like the beginning of it. The real shit happens in Secondary school. At the end of 4 or 5 years of your secondary school education, you will have to sit for either your O or N level exams. That, is a "do or die" exam. If you do badly in it, then you're f*****. You either have no where to go, or go to a course/field of study that you may not want or interested in and you may end up being miserable. So you can't screw this shit up. I am in Secondary 3 right now and I still enjoy some part of school, friends, fun activities that the school organise, subjects that I love learning like Biology, Social Studies, etc. But still, I have no choice but to go through this survival game, we all have to. Well, but I guess the good thing about this game is that, we're not alone and there are friends and teachers who are willing to help us:) I always believe in cohesion rather than the " survival of the fittest " mentality. Isn't it better to go through it as a team rather than alone?
Although I may be hot-tempered,aggressive and impulsive at times, believe it or not, I am actually quite forgiving. I can forgive almost anything. I know that this is good as I don't bear grudges, but sometimes it ruins my plans to be mad at someone. For example, if a person has done something/constantly do something to me that I do not like and I tell myself that I'm gonna be mad at this person to send him/her a signal that he/she is wrong, but I always fail at it. It's like, whenever that person starts to be nice to me again or when he/she stops or after a period of time, I sort of lose all my anger I have for that person and feel neutral towards him/her again, or I may even start to treat the person nicely ( WHUTT .__. ..... ). And sometimes, I may start thinking things like, maybe I was in the wrong, maybe I did something to the person first... I will still remember what the person did because you can forgive, but you can't forget. But I will just let the past be past, let bygones be bygones. I guess I'm the type of person who easily let go of things because I'd rather look positively into the future and the present rather than just keep thinking about the past. I will still remember the past but it doesn't really affects me that much. Psychologically my mind just naturally escapes out of the confinements of the past and just travel to the future. I have and was born with this " forgiving nature " of mine.
So recently everyone's been talking about a new trendy song called " The fox " by Ylvis. In case you haven't heard of the song or even heard it, here's the MV of the song.
I was at the canteen the other day with my friends and one of my friends was watching this music video. The first thing that came to our mind was, " What has become of our generation? How can a song as stupid as this be trending all over the world? This generation is Fu**** " . All we heard were random imitations of the sound of a fox. We were laughing so hard until we teared. I went home and decided to go to Youtube to listen to it again, for some strange reasons. After listening to it for a couple of times, I realised that although it may sound a little random and stupid, it's actually pretty catchy and hilarious. It may not have a specific meaning, but that's how our generation is right? Just look at Gangnam Style. "Oppa Gangnam style op op op op...." What does that mean anyway????? ._.
I decided to do a research on this song and found that the Ylvis group created this song to promote their upcoming talkshow called " Tonight with Ylvis " on TVNorge. Basically, what they did was sit down and talk about random things while taking down notes on some ideas they came up with. Apparently, they were talking about the sound a fox makes and they decided to produce a song out of it. It was suppose to just entertain their Norwegian audiences but to their surprise, it gained international success and popularity, and I guess that's the reason why our generation is fun. You don't know what to expect. You don't know what people are going to like or listen to. You won't know the next big thing that will be trending on the net. I guess this generation's all about trial and error. So just keep calm, and enjoy the music :)
I'm a teenager. 15 now. Turning 16 this December. Being a teenager, I find that being a little childish at our age is perfectly alright and it's actually pretty normal, If you know your limits and how to balance it of course...
Teenagers, are known as Young Adults. And the reason why we are called young adults is because we are in the process of growing from a kid to an adult. Another reason is because we are both young and mature in different ways. If you're a teenager, I'm sure you and your friends have received complains from teachers and parents for being childish sometimes, we all have. I can understand adults expecting us to start growing up at this age but what they don't know is that there are still some childishness in us. Some teenagers have a high degree of childishness( That includes me... I think ^^ ) , while some have a low degree of childishness and among my group of friends, there are some who are still childish, playing pranks and all that, while some are really matured. I'm not judging any of them because I know that however childish or matured they are, they are actually both matured and young in different ways and all of them will eventually be fully matured as the years go by. If you're wondering what my childishness degree is, well, I think I'm about, 50-60% childish:)
So the thing that I particularly like about my formal class in school is that they know how to balance their childishness. When the teachers are not around, they will play around, playing pranks at each other, but when it's time for lesson, or when there are things to be done, they are actually serious about them. Generally they're really fun. Not to mention, we are now approaching adulthood, and if we do not act childish right now, we would never have a chance to do it anymore :( Being an adult, people will judge you if you're not acting like one. So be childish when it is still socially acceptable :D So those are my views on being childish. If you are a teenager and you are reading this, I hope that you can relate to the things I mentioned... somehow ^.^
We all have taken things for granted, it's human nature. Before we have it, we yearn for it. When we have it though, and becomes a part of us, it's not that special anymore. I remember when I first got my first phone, it was special because it was the first phone that I could finally call mine. Before that, I had to use my parents' or the public phone to call someone, which was definitely troublesome. But when I possessed the phone, It was not special anymore and I did not really treasure it that much. And whenever I saw newer phones outside, I couldn't wait to get rid of my current phone at that time so as to buy a new one. Think about what you have right now, your house, computer, family or a significant other. Treasure these things and people that you have in your life. I know, when it becomes a part of you, it's not that special anymore, but count your blessings, don't take things for granted.
Don't wait until that thing or person is lost from your life, then you realise how important it is or that person is. Sometimes, when things are lost from your life, you can retrieve it back. But sometimes, it is not really easy to take it back and maybe.... It cannot be retrieved back at all. In a nutshell, treasure what you have, count your blessings, and don't take things for granted.
