Here is a link to the mind map I have created on humour in Act 1 of The Importance of Being Earnest:
https://www.mindmeister.com/1323039620
IfP Peace Day 2019 – a reflection on interpretation
Peace is a word often overused and overlooked in the world around us. Peace is a concept often misunderstood and misinterpreted. Some believe that peace is only achievable through the indoctrination of common concepts which will foster a peaceful environment. However, one’s main interpretation of peace is truly relative to one’s own view, values and vitality. Life has brought us down different paths and passages through the tempest that is time and we have all come out having different perspectives of what the calm would be. We may be closer to the tempest’s eye without realising the calm is closer than it is. We may try to flee the typhoon craving a life without it which we will never get. I do not imply that war is the only way to achieve peace, but rather the opposite. There will never be true peace, it is truly a fact of life. The establishment of government for more than two centuries have been a snippet of this conclusion. There can never be a perfect form of government because there are too many opinions in this place. I do not deny the idea of peace, but rather interpret it differently as someone else might. I would rather interpret as mutual understanding among the human race despite differences because it is easier for me to understand. Peace, for me, is the brainchild of over-idealism. It is the marriage of idealism and realism where we can truly achieve peace. From this harmony of beliefs is where I think true peace can truly be achieved.
Graphic novels with Graphic material invoking Graphic ideas in our Graphic world
There has been a rise in feminism in the past decade and rightfully so as women have been purposely disadvantaged by the misogynistic ideals of society. With this rise, women have been finding new ways of communicating this societal flaw to the world via art and literature, notably through graphic novels. Graphic novels are drawn images accompanied with text immersing the reader a deeper into the literary world which the book has created. Female graphic novelists have shown the need for gender equality in the world through their art. However, some are finding the need to exaggerate female bodies in their art to get their point across, which raises the question of why? It seems as though the world needs shocking, sensational, sacrilegious images to get a point across. It shows through the development of news in the past century. News has been reduced to catchy critiques and captions with people only selecting the most scandalous and shortest. People have gotten impatient with the world, resorting to only the briefest sentences to get their information without ever really delving into an issue. This need for sensationalism is what might be making the analysis of modern media harder. Audiences have shown rave reviews to art which catches the eye rather than one that truly implies meaning. It is possible to have both sensationalism and substance in one’s art which is what graphic novelists such as Alison Bechdel try to do, however, people have a tendency to not like being told what to do, a trait hard to shake off. The need for direct honesty in a world where sensational nonsense rules, is the problem which artists nowadays face. It is a debated point which deserves more reflection on, however, it is often overlooked in our daily lives.
CAS – Plans for the future
CAS, being a holistic requirement for IB has helped me realise the many areas of myself I could unlock. Among all though, I am thoroughly looking forward to the Creative aspect of the whole experience. Being someone who loves the arts and the world around me, I truly cannot wait to use the raw material around me and process it into something I hope will be deemed palatable. Although I know that I should not fill my timetable with overly draining activities, I want to explore the depths of my abilities in different aspects of life. CAS is CAS and I hope to truly balance myself with it, to remind myself that it is what it is and not something else and I hope to have fun.
An Investigation into my Future CAS Journey
My Experience with Maths as of August 2019
Maths has never been my strongest suit. Growing up I never got the best grades in math. However ever since I transferred here I have seemingly got better. I remember being surprised by my grades in IGCSE Maths. I never thought I was capable of that. I would usually be working on the side by myself on problems only ever asking the teacher about problems I didn’t understand, which was more common than I thought. I remember being stuck at a problem during an exam and remembering every single detail after it just so I could solve it (I eventually forgot it). I get fixated on one problem so much sometimes which is something I am trying to improve on. I used to be so afraid of asking questions, however, I’ve now learned that everyone needs some clarification every so often and it is much faster than focusing on one problem for days.
My Journey in Math has just begun and after my first lesson in IB Maths, I realised that there are a plethora of skills I could apply to Maths this year. Coming from IGCSE Art, I have learnt to be creative and to think outside of the box, skills I never thought might be useful in Math. I have always been curious as to how things work (something that has led me through many roads) and how Math equations always have a finality to them. A question left with no answer just waiting to find its elegant end and there is satisfaction in finding that end.
I don’t like myself in photos or videos so I hope this written response is adequate enough.
A Reflection on the Article, “Creating Our Own Happiness” by Wayne Coyne
Wayne Coyne’s essay on the human experience of happiness explores a positive sense of the world through simple experiences. Wayne shares with us his idealistic view on the world and his longing for a happier place to live in through his use of real-world experiences that he shares with us. He sows the realities and horrors of the world into the text such as his holdup while at work and the “dead-end job” which he had to go through. He weaves his brighter experiences in as well, encompassing the wide range of events that take place in our lives. He uses the motif of “I believe” in the beginning to highlight our different beliefs that we, ourselves hold and the immense breadth of perspectives we as a human race hold as well. Although almost becoming an overly optimistic opinion, he reminds us that the world has always been what we make of it, using the motif of “I believe”. He explains that it has always been up to us to be happy, it is only if we choose to be that we truly are.
The First Week: Grade 10
Things change, some things don’t. When I had my first week of Grade 10, I realized that nothing really was different. Popped into the same cycle of the same things of the same day to day subjects. Nothing changed and I didn’t expect them to anyway. I thought about different things, what to do later in the year and what challenges do I face. I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know what really. I signed up for things and started routines, but just like Heisenberg’s principle of uncertainty, when I gain momentum, I lose position and vice versa. There are so many things to do, yet I don’t know what to. The first week helped me to realize that there is so much in life that is not set and there are so many things left undone.
Workplace Harassment: Where do we draw the line?
Throughout the last two years, we have seen an explosion of sexual harassment cases, and it has slowly shifted the mindsets of people. These cases happen everywhere, not only by celebrities and political figures but by everyday people. There a line that we do not cross. But where do we draw it?
Personal Statement: 2018
In the past school year, I’ve realized a lot of things, questioned a lot, and answered most of those questions. Constantly crafting new ideas and complex thoughts while still trying to keep my sanity in a world where there is none.
One time during the year, I planned an expedition. The destination, Orchard Road. The method, walking. I started a challenge for myself and I wanted to see it done, so I walked and continued to walk. On the journey, I realized that it gave me a chance to see a different side of Singapore and I did. I saw alleyways where only dark thoughts lie and restaurants where the distraught are serenaded. A different side of a city where I saw my own little bubble form and morph into something beautiful.
Nothing could stop me on my walk, I got lost on the path but eventually found my way there. My ears, preoccupied with podcasts and my mind with thoughts. Thoughts that helped me explain the world around me and how everything that is on a macro level can also be transposed onto a micro scale. There were many things I wanted to do and I did. I walked the paths I wanted to. But sometimes I stray. Sometimes something puts a wrench in my plans and I end up not knowing where to go. On the journey, I had Google Maps to guide my way, but in real life, I had only my experiences and my values that help me shape my decisions. I always have a guide throughout my life, its choices and decisions, its ups and downs, and its plans. I had all the tools I needed to guide me and to write my own story.
I’ve always asked myself whether it was just sheer luck or something else that helped me notice all of these things and whether I was in my sane mind to walk all the way to Orchard. But I did it and I walked. I felt something different on my walk. Even though I was alone I felt accompanied. By other people who have other lives and on their daily commute. Walking alongside them, made me see that no matter where we step, others have before us. And that every step that we take is a step back into history and a step into the future.
Centuries of human existence have been here before we were even born and yet we look towards the future, towards the people who will step into our shoes. There will always be something to look forward to, an event, food, a movie, or a person, but sometimes instead of looking forward, we need to look back. Each step has been taken, so look for a path untaken. A fresh one in the wood and take it. I took a path on that trip to Orchard, and I saw many things. I took a path that was less traveled because I wanted a change. Because I wanted to step in the footsteps of others and see what they saw and make it my own.
“I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence”
– Robert Frost