Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year

In the month of February this year, the two most celebrated events are Valentines Day and Chinese New Year.

The one thing that I disagree about Valentines day is that almost everyone has the mindset that it is that special day to treat their 'other half' to dinner, buying them flowers or giving them special treatment. For me, I think that Valentines day shouldn't be the only day where you make your partner feel special because they are not your partner only on February 14th. It should be an everyday thing. Everyday is Valentines day.

I always look forward to Chinese New Year as it is one of the times where I get to spend with my extended family which I get to see once in a blue moon because of the distance. The present younger generation now are always so caught up with their electronics like their phones, tablets and computers that even during reunion dinners on the eve of Chinese New Year, they spend more time on them rather than talking to other family members. That is the only thing I dislike about Chinese New Year. Not being able to have my cousin's time as they'ed rather use their phones.

August 12

I was born on August 12 1998 but there many other events that took place on that day in different years but the invention of the phonograph is one of the event that caught my attention.

August 12 1877, is the day when Thomas Alva Edison completed the first phonograph,a device that recorded sound onto tinfoil cylinders. It is more likely, however, that work on the model was not finished until November or December of that year, since Edison did not file for the patent until December 24, 1877.

While working to improve the efficiency of a telegraph transmitter, Edison noted that the tape of the machine gave off a noise resembling spoken words when played at a high speed. This caused him to wonder if he could record a telephone message. Edison began experimenting with the diaphragm of a telephone receiver by attaching a needle to it. He reasoned that the needle could prick paper tape to record a message. His experiments led him to try a stylus on a tinfoil cylinder, which, to his great surprise, played back the short message he recorded, "Mary had a little lamb."

Mood

Mood is defined as a state or quality of feeling at a particular time. In literature, mood is a literary component that brings out a certain feeling or expression through words and descriptions to provide the readers with a wider picture of the writer's message. There are various methods where the mood can be developed. It can be developed through setting, theme, tone and diction.

 

Without mood in a story, it is like a painting without colors and a statement without emotions. It becomes monotonous and makes it dry for the reader. This makes it loose its purpose as literature is suppose to introduce us to new worlds of experience. 

In a nutshell, mood makes a story come alive.

High School

It has not struck me yet that I am already in form five, a senior. Back then when I was in primary school, I always looked up to the secondary students in light blue pinafore and dark green pants and thought that it would be a long more time before I would wear that light blue uniform. Those five years felt like yesterday. 

Secondary school life has much responsibilities and molding processes. Even though there are many stressful times where I have to complete piles of homework and projects, there were fun times too where I can look back at and laugh at them. I found the co-curriculum activities useful to see where my strength and weaknesses are. It helped me sharpen my leadership skills and gave me confidence.

 

I was told by my seniors and sister that I should enjoy my high school life as much as I can as life gets harder as I get older and move on to university but I found it hard to be true as I thought I still have lots of time in school. Well, its not too late to realize that I have only 10 more months in this school. Even though I am happy to start a new chapter in life, it saddens me that I have to leave. I hope that the coming months ahead will be fruitful ones and that there will be no regrets at the end of the year.

Reaching Out In Times Of Need

The recent floods in mid December was one of the greatest calamity in Malaysian history. The locals of Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang lost many of their belongings and homes. It claimed the lives of many regardless of young and old. Little children became orphans and many loved ones were lost. This tragedy caused much grieve not only to the victims but also to the other citizens on Malaysia. As the saying goes, when one part of the body suffers, the rest of the body suffers. People from different states and organizations came together and offered help and support to these states regardless of race and religion. Not only basic necessities were donated but emotional support was also provided. The Malaysian government also made efforts to ease the burdens of the flood victims by distributing the BR1M aid earlier than the planned dateline. 

This disaster has thought us all not to take for-granted whether it is our love ones or comfortable lives that we have.