Today, the 6th of August, was the day Hwa Chong Institution had its National day celebration. For most, the day would have consisted of attending flag-raising, attending the concert, leaving for home. For me, it was not so straightforward. Gymnastics, my cca, was selected, or had volunteered, to perform for the YOG torch relay on the 11th. So, we had to attend the rehearsal. Everything there went smoothly, and we were confident of not failing on the actual day. After our rehearsal, we had to rush to the hall, where we made it just in time for our NDP performance, Although i wasn't performing, and instead was one of the helpers that helped to move the mat and such, It was still an enthralling experience to stand there, out of view of the audience, but able to hear the sounds they made.
I fell that the backstage people are the unsung heroes of each performance. Usually, the performance relies on these people to get the props in the correct place and order, without which the performance would drown like the titanic when struck by an iceberg. Without us, the performers would have no safe landing mat to land on after soaring high into the air from the mini-trampoline and performing their gravity-defying stunts. They would have to place the mats themselves, and then perform their stunt, which would have tired them out.
Thus, i feel it not right that only the performers get the credit for a successful performance, for we are every bit as vital to the live of a performance as the performers are.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
YOG Singapore 2010
They said we couldn't do it. wrote us off even before we tried. Well, we have done it, the perceived as impossible, that is, hosting the Youth Olympic Games in our very own Lion City.
This is the time to see if we can host a high profile international competition. Much fanfare has been created, with the most recent being the arrival of the youth olympics flame, direct from Greece. However, many Singaporeans still do not show much enthusiasm about the fact that we are going to play host to many of the best young athletes in the whole world. The situation has not been helped by the fact that the promotional video for the YOG is rather disliked by the majority of the Singapore public, who have criticised it as cheesy.
This attitude shown is sad, as the YOG is a once-in-the-lifetime opportunity for most of us, and we are able to watch it right in our own backyard. Furthermore, being the very first YOG in history, it at least deserves some cheer and enthusiasm, no?
This is the time to see if we can host a high profile international competition. Much fanfare has been created, with the most recent being the arrival of the youth olympics flame, direct from Greece. However, many Singaporeans still do not show much enthusiasm about the fact that we are going to play host to many of the best young athletes in the whole world. The situation has not been helped by the fact that the promotional video for the YOG is rather disliked by the majority of the Singapore public, who have criticised it as cheesy.
This attitude shown is sad, as the YOG is a once-in-the-lifetime opportunity for most of us, and we are able to watch it right in our own backyard. Furthermore, being the very first YOG in history, it at least deserves some cheer and enthusiasm, no?
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Rivals-good? or bad?
This is something that has come across to me as quite shocking; that in Singapore there appears to be rivalry among the top schools. For example, Raffles Institution is seen as the adversary of Hwa Chong Institution, and perhaps Raffles' Girls is the enemy of Nanyang Girls'. It appears that the elite schools in Singapore cannot co-exist in peace.
Furthermore, this is worsened by the propaganda spread by the seniors in the school. I remember during my Secondary One Orientation, one of the cheers was that "Raffles Sucks!" and this was worsened when the Secondary Four seniors decided to create a skit which involved the top schools in Singapore. Basically, the representative of each school entered a race which left Hwa Chong as the ultimate winner, and displayed the participants from other schools as weak, especially the on from raffles, as he didnt't finish the race. Thought this is somewhat true, as Raffles hasn;t been able to beat us at the National Schools Track and Field chanpionships for quite some time, I feel that this was an unnecessary exaggeration of the situation.
I agree that in many sports and academics competitions there are bound to be clashes between Hwa Chong and Raffles Institution. However this does not mean that we must treat one another with great hostility simply because of our desires to win. Each school has their differences and we should accept the fact that we cannot be the best in everything.
I believe that we should treat students from different schools with respect. One must always remember that what makes us improve is the presence of opponents and without them we will stand still as a block of wood. After all, if we cannot get the satisfaction of saying to our old classmates when we meet:" I have better grades than you!" and we cannot enjoy rubbing that fact in, then what motivation is there for us to study hard and do well?
Furthermore, this is worsened by the propaganda spread by the seniors in the school. I remember during my Secondary One Orientation, one of the cheers was that "Raffles Sucks!" and this was worsened when the Secondary Four seniors decided to create a skit which involved the top schools in Singapore. Basically, the representative of each school entered a race which left Hwa Chong as the ultimate winner, and displayed the participants from other schools as weak, especially the on from raffles, as he didnt't finish the race. Thought this is somewhat true, as Raffles hasn;t been able to beat us at the National Schools Track and Field chanpionships for quite some time, I feel that this was an unnecessary exaggeration of the situation.
I agree that in many sports and academics competitions there are bound to be clashes between Hwa Chong and Raffles Institution. However this does not mean that we must treat one another with great hostility simply because of our desires to win. Each school has their differences and we should accept the fact that we cannot be the best in everything.
I believe that we should treat students from different schools with respect. One must always remember that what makes us improve is the presence of opponents and without them we will stand still as a block of wood. After all, if we cannot get the satisfaction of saying to our old classmates when we meet:" I have better grades than you!" and we cannot enjoy rubbing that fact in, then what motivation is there for us to study hard and do well?
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