I think that emotional intelligence and the testing of EQ is a debatable topic as the reasoning behind the tests are obscure. Of course, if they are publisized then people might change to give themselves a higher score if that is what they want to achieve instead of getting a genuine score. There are lists, however, of behaviours that many intelligent people have and if you can identify with many of these characteristics then it is very likely to have a emotional intelligence. Two that I particularly identify with are the embrace of change and the difficulty to offend.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/fashion/a-millennials-guide-to-kissing.html

• What is revealed about the author?
• How does the writer develop sense of self and their world?

In this article by Emma Court, she recounts moments where she recognizes her generations detachment between what could be considered physically intimate moments and real emotional intimacy. Court was 21 in 2015 and belongs to the millennial generation. Her account of ‘hookup culture’ relates to something that has happened with the idea of love and the ideation of loving. Her attraction to a virtual stranger on a plane through the pre and post events of their kiss reads like a cheesy Top Best Romance book. She then has a situation that juxtaposes the strangers-turned-lovers cliche. The pair of them part ways, literally, and it is revealed the lingering strings from a one-off circumstance. She represents the questioning behind what flirting means and how far it goes, physically and emotionally. Her realistic approach to the situation showed the things a rom-com movie doesn’t. She wouldn’t leave her life as a senior in college in New York for a sophomore in North Carolina just because of the events on a plane. He had settled that by parting ways in a final ‘see you never.’ But in this world by our fingertips, never is a short time. Court found him on Facebook and tapped a simple button that sent her into a turmoil of emotions. Some virtual virtual stranger now had the power to make her question so much. It is a reality in her world, this current one.

The prospect of intimacy has changed. The sense of self-worth in regards to how others deem your worth has become somewhat less important unless they have political power over you. The lack of permanence and ever-changing circumstances create a desire for permanent change. Everything needs to move on quickly and is so easy to do so in this consequence-less reality.

My name is Clarice and I have just completed IGCSE Mathematics in this past year. I always associate curiosity and confusion with maths. As a restless kid, my dad would teach me some maths in the middle of the night, or at 9 pm which I thought was late being 6. It always intrigued me but I now find myself being confused every so often because I don’t understand enough. I’m excited that I got to chose this course as I like the proof part of maths, the how, the why. I think I like to work things out myself when I understand a concept but have someone explain it to me when it is new territory. When I am stuck I tend to concentrate too hard on the problem so I let it sit for a while and get back to it. In maths, I think my biggest skill is inquiring, not only for things I don’t understand but also about associating concepts. My biggest area of focus in the short term would be to be more organised and in the long term would be to be more self-disciplined. 

Students: Tell us about your sleep habits. Do you, or would you like to be able to, take regular naps? How might your school support napping, given its effects on learning? Have you ever noticed that your ability to learn or memorize information improves after sleep?

I sleep irregularly, and it’s not intentional. Sometimes I sink into my bed and just continue sleeping until I subconsciously remember that I have work to do, or when my mom wakes me up. Other times I’m just on my floor, as you do, and unintentionally doze off. So yes, I take naps, probably on average once in two weeks, but it can range from none to once every day of the week, not counting Saturday and Sunday. I if I get home from school early and feel like I need it, or if I know that I will procrastinate so I might as well be somewhat productive in that procrastination. It does affect my work done as I can stay awake for longer and so I sleep in increments. However, this school, like many others, does not have any area that is designated for you to nap. I think that it could be beneficial if people are more rested to then absorb more information.

 

Do you get enough sleep in general?

Nope.

Through Ryan’s presentation, I could recognize the origin, or the first recording, of the theme of limitations of being human. Its shown in anime, books, and modern adaptations of the epic. From then into the following years, as this the first recorded story of anything, the theme is implicated in many different stories and cause more people to ponder upon the notion of immortality. It has a profound and philosophical connotation beyond just logic of capability and this is a popular theme for entertainment in its twists and turns.

Presentation

Evergreen Circle works with the elderly in entertaining them for the hour that we are there for. Students are good.

Previous to this I had never had any service experience where we got to work with the people directly. My expectations were pretty generally positive thinking because I don’t think I had any specific expectations towards the service. Going in I was already comfortable because I was with people I knew and planning activities for people I didn’t. Being new this year, I appreciated knowing and getting closer to the people enrolled in this service as well. As we were planning, I realized to the extent that I needed and wanted the activity to work for those participating that I, unfortunately, didn’t do the greatest job on it as all the other ideas I had were too complicated and required too much equipment to either purchase or collected. This was the first time out of two for which I had to plan an activity and contrarily, for the second time, I was over prepared. Perhaps that was better as I ended up with some excess material I could use for other things or give back to those who needed it for planning a session.

This service confirmed that I could be prepared and productive if and when I wanted to. Otherwise, I think it showed the two extremes of which I could perform as well as a development of from one experience to another in terms of growth and improvement. In participating in carrying out other people’s planned sessions, I learnt of how far I could help someone as well as carry out a conversation minorly blocked by the language barrier we had as many could not speak English and I could not communicate in any other means but demonstration.

“Analyse the ways in Shakespeare evokes contradictory feelings towards his characters.”

Following the previous Shakespeare post, Macbeth has me contradicted. He is displayed as this character who seems so strangely brave in the first act. This is being challenged in the second act as he is “Lady Macbeth-ed” into killing Duncan, though the thought seed originated from him. The contradiction is of him pre- and post-murdering Duncan where he displays everything but bravery.

 

“Comment on the significance of dialogue and ensemble scenes in affecting mood and positioning the audience.”

The beginning of Scene 2 Act 3 envokes fear in an ominous way through having one character speak so much and so repetitively. This is the porter scene where he repeats, “Knock, knock. Who’s there?” (2-3,6,10,13) after the knocks, the audience can hear and answers himself differently every time. The first answer, with the question “Who’s there i’th’name of Beelzebub?”(3), was “Here’s a farmer that hanged himself on th’expectation of plenty,” (3-4) which mentions expectation and the devil through the name of Beelzebub. This scene, being before the murder of Duncan is known, is dramatically ironic as he describes gloom even before knowing.

The scene after Duncan’s murder where there is a huge ensemble of characters panicking envokes chaos through merely having so many people present on stage at one time. The audience does not know who to focus on because there is so much to focus on and so much rambling as well as speaking in unison. Saying, “Well contented,” before everyone exits the stage, save Malcolm and Donalbain, makes it an everyone speaks and then no one speaks moment.

You’re discriminatory. Maybe you do not realize it. This is mostly society’s fault, which in turn could be your own; but that is not the matter at hand. Discrimination by definition is the “treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit”. In simpler terms, it is when one sees someone as a solid figure based on, usually, a stereotype which gives “fixed forms” to those people in such categories. I am utterly against intolerant opinions, especially those targeting specific people where no one stands to benefit anything. Stereotypes as a noun are difficult to address as they are a generalization of generalizations: they are hard to pinpoint. There are two types of stereotyping, both are regarding attitudes. The first more obvious one is the explicit attitude where the person openly expresses this opinion; the second one is less recognized, it is the initial reaction from a person, despite what their explicit attitude may be. For example perhaps you are the head of a company and explicitly believes that everyone should have an equal say in decisions so you work with what is best for the company. Then arises a situation where someone explicitly disagrees with you and the rest of the group completely, at that point in time they seem completely unreasonable. In this moment you might start thinking ‘They are my subordinate, I hired them; what do they know?’ Now you might be questioning why you think this, it is only because of how people portray a position of power equating being right about everything. This is a simple scenario of attitude in a not necessarily discriminatory fashion. Implicit stereotyping becomes a society matter and will not change overnight; in light of this, we will focus on the explicit stereotyping.

The greatest difference in Singapore from some other countries would be how diverse it is. A term often used to describe the United States of America is that it is a ‘melting pot’ of cultures. I often relate that to how here in Singapore is our very own melting pot that is massively smaller but a variation of cultures the same. In this instant I think it is most crucial to not stereotype explicitly. Where you ‘look’ like you come from does not mean you come from there. The times have really changed and, though biracial or multiracial families have existed before, there is an abundance of ambiguity in where someone is from. Stereotyping people based on how they look is not only offensive but close minded. Of course it was how the general older population might have been raised to think yet it is most ironic to think this way. Singapore is a young country and has not existed on its own for so long so then includes a twist where you face the question of how can one really pick who actually originates from a country that had not previously existed? How do people react so surprisingly to the idea of immigration and expatriation? They really very much so are general questions to which I could even perhaps stereotype the reactions to such, which is not the purpose of this.

Stereotyping in any sense restricts one’s view on a person and confines them into one word. This and first impressions are different in nature because first impressions are, or should be described as, based on a person’s actions or lack thereof. An example being if someone is quiet of doesn’t put forth an opinion then you see them as reserved. You shouldn’t see them as attributes connected to being reserves like not being interesting. This should definitely be applicable to situations dealing with an appearance. If someone looks caucasian then, congratulations, you have identified feature they you connect with being of this race. You don’t go further and say that they are solely ‘American’ and have a sibling (studies show that 80% of people in the US have a sibling; though the odds seem in your favor, there still remains 20%). Not only does this restrict your view on people as people, and not as words, it impacts those around you because if you are explicit about such behaviours, then it won’t help the ensuing generation’s implicit attitudes. Implicit attitudes you can’t necessarily help, however if you disagree with them then one should help others not have this with how you express things and in turn you will begin to notice how perhaps positive you become. This encourages positive diversity amongst humans where no one feels confined in a stereotype that they do not conform to.

My first hand experience with people assuming stereotypes of me have compelled me to believing what I believe. There are some obvious ones when you hear me speak and realize I do not sound ‘Asian’ and that, yes indeed, I speak English as my first language rather than Indonesian which is the language that I am ‘supposed to know’. All these being actual quotes shows the amount of how unknowingly discriminatory they initially were. I do not of course blame them because if they were not exposed to certain type of culture then one would ask questions. I think the most underratedly relevant stereotype that we need to address is one of age. Just because adults are older than teenagers does not mean they are any smarter or less aware. It is likely that some are, however closing one’s mind to the perspective of another generation obliterates the entire purpose of teaching us that we can help society. An ongoing example of this is the people in Parkland, Florida from the Marjory stoneman Douglas High School were there are students fighting for gun reform and are the most persistent in doing so. Turning a blind eye to a group of people would not benefit anyone in times of crisis; with discrimination based stereotypes, the group of people will either feel collectively defeated or will be even more persistent. This in the long run will not benefit anyone because there will be an uprising of conflict and injustice towards a group.

This comes into a very grey area of

Though forcing people to not speak is illegal, being mindful and tolerant hurts less people and therefore should be completely worth it.

• Highlights = things to consider/revise/edit
• Citations
• Unusual conclusion
• Title? Subtitles?

First and foremost my thoughts and posts will most likely not be complete,, they’ll seem obscure, and waver on the spectrum of my personality. Some posts will be a reflection on actual work; some will have underlying meaning and I encourage whomever to try to decipher a code without a key. Some, like this particular one will be of a more, say, professional manner of writing, SOME WILL BE IN CAPS AND MAKE LIKE ZERO SENSE (SORRY FOR SCREAMING). Either way they’re still a genuine part of the makings of me.

(written 25th of August)