Thursday, August 23, 2007 @9:24 PM
Love at first sight
Love at first sight. Will it bring happiness, or misery, lifelong contentment, or all-time dejection? Maybe it will bring bliss to some, but it is my belief that love at first sight is just a stepping stone to a budding relationship which will blossom only if both parties interact and get to know each other better and eventually develop that special kind of feeling towards each other, called love. To love is to have deep affection for someone of the opposite sex, to want to care for and provide for and spend the rest of their life together with that person, to want that person to have the best, and will do anything just to make that person happy. It is a wonderful fairy tale that perpetuates nearly every culture in the world, but really, how true is it and how many relationships actually start from love at first sight?
Love at first sight can be the beginning of an eventful and exciting relationship, but is it really love at first sight, or actually lust at first sight? Love at first sight means falling in love with someone the first time you see that person. Is that not judging a book by its cover, deciding that you love that person just by looking at their appearance? First impressions often cannot be trusted and are unreliable, thus we cannot know for sure whether we really love a particular person just by meeting them for that one time. Looks can be deceiving, so one should not believe or say that it was ‘love at first sight’, as such a conclusion would have been made just by seeing a particular person for the first time and would thus prove to be an inaccurate judgement or feeling.
On the other hand, love at first sight can be a pretty pleasant experience, especially if the feelings are mutual and the relationship eventually blossoms into a fairytale ending where both parties live happily ever after. However, if the feelings are not reciprocated, which is what happens most of the time, then life just goes on and that kind of feeling can thus be termed as ‘lust at first sight’ as there were no hurt feelings when the feelings were not returned. Therefore, in that case, it cannot be called ‘love at first sight’ as it was just an attraction towards a certain person and not love.
Actually, one should not pair up with another just because it was ‘love at first sight’. I feel that it is not what you see on the outside that counts, but what’s on the inside that truly matters. One should take time to understand the other better, and know each other’s character and heart before further developing the relationship instead of just based on ‘love at first sight’ such a naïve ‘feeling’. I believe that the kind of love that leads to a deep and loving bond between people cannot be developed on first sight. It takes time to get to know someone and allow that love to develop and grow.
All in all, I feel that the best part of love is the unknowable, special force of it which draws one to another from different parts of the world, and for some, that means love at first sight, as “lust is the physical attraction that brings us together, but it is the love that sustains us”.
Thursday, August 16, 2007 @7:47 PM
English Speech
Ladies and gentlemen
Singapore has set a high standard for its education system and is thus well known for our local universities here. As a result, students these days are pressured to do well in their studies, and at the end of school life, attain that piece of paper called a university degree. It is this piece of paper that would guarantee the student a place in the working world, like a title deed for survival. However, it is my belief that students should not be forced to do well in their studies but should instead pursue their interests and strive to do well in developing their niche instead of slogging for twelve years studying something that they are not interested in and would prove to be of no use for them in the future and their careers. Thus, I would like to appeal to all of you not to force the younger generation of today to excel in everything they do, especially for their studies, but to allow them to work towards developing their interests.
Many people will object to my view but look at the scenario this way: What for produce batch after batch of top-class scholars who are unable to think out of the box and only know how to squarely go by the book when these same people can actually turn out to be outstanding, creative and capable people when they are allowed to develop their own interests and eventually carve out a niche for themselves? This will certainly make Singapore a livelier and more interesting place filled with people who are enthusiastic and passionate about their lives, careers and whatever they do.
I am not saying that students should stop studying altogether, just that they should not be pressured to do well in all their subjects. Instead, students should be allowed to further study and focus on their interests in detail. In this way, the students will be able to pursue their dreams and study it, and will thus be more interested in school.
In this way, students are allowed to follow their dreams and study to go towards their ultimate goal, their achievable ambition. Thus, they will be truly be proud of what they have accomplished over the years and be passionate about what they do, instead of having the impression that they have wasted their school life. This will certainly make Singapore a better place to live in where the people truly enjoy and are enthusiastic about what they do. Therefore, I would like to appeal to everyone here to allow your children to pursue and follow their interests and not put pressure on them to excel in their studies. This will make the younger generation a happier and more passionate batch and together, I believe that we can make Singapore a more outstanding and lively country.
Thank you.