What were your goals, objectives and expectations?

At the beginning of my internship period, I was very focused on learning more about sustainability and how this idea connects to economics. I was also quite interested in understanding more about the structure of a business.

How did you visualise your work day? How different was it from your actual experience?

I visualised my work day as involving a lot more meetings than there actually were. I also thought that I would be assigned more collaborative tasks with the other interns. On the other hand, I had not imagined that my interests would be taken into account when I was being assigned tasks, but they were.

How much of your intended goals were met?

I think most of my intended goals were met as I did learn quite a lot about how circular economy leads to sustainable economic growth.

What might have been some strategies that helped you achieve these goals?

What mistakes did you make along the way?

How have these mistakes shaped your learning?

Advice:

Dos and donts, how might you have done things differently, hacks to make the process easier, tried and tested strategies

Express gratitude, appreciate a recommendation letter from you (use a business letter template)

Summary:

 

Reflection:

Rezkallah’s work on identity and representation is extremely important because it opens the audience’s eyes to their own preconceived notions. Today, society is considered to be much more accepting and liberal-minded than it was at any other time. However, when I looked at the image of his work for the first time, I thought that his work was quite unusual maybe even incongruous. Even though, I consider myself to be quite acceptive of others and their ideas, I didn’t react in the same way towards the text. This made me reassess my thoughts and actions internally and to examine if I really am as forward-thinking as I proclaim myself to be. After these events, I realised that I still have a long way to cover on the road of equality.

Unfortunately, the world does too. Even though, a lot of time has passed since the years that the original advertisements had been published in, texts depicting the situations wherein these texts had been inverted are still not widely acceptable and seen as something that is an accurate representation of society (while the non-inverted situations were seen as such).

Perhaps, this is the reason why Rezkallah has chosen to create a sense of superficialness in all his texts. He does this through the use of excessive photoshop and using clear albeit unusual backgrounds. Maybe, the idea of this seemingly “perfect world” actually symbolises how these situations will never be true in the real world, only in the “fake one”. He is right in a sense, as a lot has not changed in society with regards to how men and women are viewed and what is expected out of them even as a significant amount of time has passed.

The depiction of a seemingly “perfect world” could also have been done to comment on how everything on social media has a certain element of “falsehood” to it. As Rezkallah uses instagram to showcase his work, he may have chosen to comment on how everything we see on social media is fake by using studio created photos or photoshopped models to present a fake photograph and through it, a fake reality.

 

Analysis of Rezkallah’s text- “Get out of the kitchen sooner” in relation to Duffy’s poem- “The little Red Cap”

Both “Get out of the kitchen sooner” and “The little Red Cap” are versions of two different texts, so both of them have elements of intertextuality. Rezkallah’s work is a parody of the original “Get out of the kitchen sooner advert” through subversion. On the other hand, Duffy’s work is her own spin on the classic tale of little red riding hood. Both of these texts have introduced ideas that are quite unique. This is because Rezkallah represents a world where men are trapped in the domestic sphere and women are a part of the public sphere, presumably. On the other hand, Duffy has tried to do something idiosyncratic by establishing a reverse power dynamic between the wolf and little red riding hood.

Rezkallah has shown that men are expected to wash dishes in the world that his text is set in by depicting a male model with dishes in his hands and corresponding texts that indicate that he washes the dishes. While Duffy has shown that women may not always be the ones that are being exploited, they may be the exploiters by showing how little red riding hood uses the wolf to gain access to poetry and as that motive is accomplished she grows frustrated by the wolf and decides to leave him. Thus, Rezkallah and Duffy both showcase women as being more dominant than men, an idea which has never been the dominant discourse. The fact that these ideas could potentially be seen as “incongruous” is especially relevant because it shows a mirror to the society which claims to be quite liberal, today.

Rezkallah has created his piece by the inversion of the gender roles that were presented in the original advert while adding his own minimalistic touch to it, which makes the adverts look very clean and easy to read. Duffy’s work utilises her unique perspective in viewing the standard fairy tale. Since there was no overtly visible power dynamic or exploitation in the original tale, it would be fair to assume that Duffy has chosen to present a what if version of the original story. Her work also contains many details that were not mentioned in the original tale.

Hence, even though both Rezkallah and Duffy have based their works on other texts, their results (their work) have been derived through different processes and while Rezkallah has only showcased what he has deemed to be the most suitable pieces of images/texts that he feels will bring his message across the most clearly, Duffy has added additional details to her own story. This could be because Duffy has chosen to write a poem, which may be enhanced through the use of descriptive elements while a advert does not need a lot of descriptions for the audience to understand its message. Another difference between Rezkallah’s work and Duffy’s is that his work presents a fake world as previously discussed, however, Duffy presents a very real world since the poem is possibly, partly based on her life. The differences in their creation process and their styles of presenting their works emphasise that similar messages may be conveyed through different methods.

To conclude, both Duffy and Rezkallah have their own distinctive styles of creating their works, which share some messages. While, Rezkallah’s style represents a world that doesn’t exist, Duffy sets her work in today’s world and is quite realistic. Rezkallah tells the audience how men are still seen as dominant and incongruous in the domestic sphere. Duffy tells the audience that woman may also be dominant and independent. Nevertheless, both works communicate essential ideas about women being perceived as “weak” and “submissive”, even in today’s society, which should not be the case.

यह एक निर्देशित विश्लेषण है, जिसमें हमारे पास उत्तर देने के लिए १ घंटा १५ मिनिट मिलेंगे।

Going through the transition process from grade 10 to 11 has led to a lot of self-discoveries for me. I think that this process of changing grades with significant changes in terms of subjects and course curriculum could be a tad too stressful sometimes. Thankfully that was not the case for me.

Throughout this time, I learnt more about what I could potentially study at university level and which were the subjects I was really interested in. Outside the classroom, I also began to think about what type of roles I might take on next year in the context of activities and service. Lastly, I also spent some time to think about the various ups and downs I have had in the past 2 years and what I could learn from my mistakes.

Needless to say, I am very excited about grade 11 and the various opportunities and challenges that it brings with it.

As this circuit breaker period continues and I find that I cannot go to school until the 24th of August, it would be fair to assume that I am disappointed. Even as the circuit breaker period gave me the time to reflect on my life, engage in various aspects of wellness and spend more time on my hobbies, it has taken away the joy of meeting my friends every morning.

It has forced me to stay at home, engage in online classes and have no or limited interaction with the world outside. However, even as it has inflicted all of these problems on me, I believe that it has given me something much greater in return. It has taught me to be patient and to understand that everyday is not going to be the same. It has taught me that I must enjoy every moment because tomorrow, I may not be able to experience that moment!

I do hope that a state of normalcy is restored around the world soon and we can go back to our normal lives with a better perspective of the world.

 

The circuit breaker period started on the 19th of March for me. This was because our holidays were brought forward because of the pandemic. Staying inside my house for more than 2 months has changed my life in many ways, and has made it better in some. Staying in, has helped me devote time to my hobbies such as dance and painting.

However, it has also made me a little lazy in many aspects, now I find that I am less willing to do physical exercises. This all changed when I was assigned with the PE task that had minimum requirements to fulfill every week. Now, I find that I am more willing to engage in physical exercises and go outside.

Lastly, remote learning can be a little too stressful sometimes. This is because it may be quite hard to find the balance between “online” time and “offline” time. I hope that I can return to school soon.

Henry Ibsen’s words spoken in the 18th century still hold a lot of meaning today in the 21st century, especially since there is news about  women emerging from all walks of life to tell the tale of their life struggles,  frequently. The biggest challenges that the women of today face are- Sexism and gender bias, laws surrounding their reproductive rights, domestic violence and female genital mutilation amid many others.

Today’s women face the struggle of having a lower pay rate than their male counterparts just because of their gender. Even in developed countries like Singapore, the average income generated by a male is higher than the average income generated by a female with the same  qualifications.

In many countries, abortion is banned or prohibited unless the mother’s life is at risk. In these circumstances a woman has no choice but to give birth. Men do not face any sort of a challenge like this. Women around the world also face significantly higher domestic violence than men. This could also be due to the fact that they are treated like second class citizens in some parts of the world.

In some countries they are counted as only half a witness in court cases, they are only allowed to marry with the permission of a male relative, they can only go out if a male relative accompanies them, they have only recently been given the permission to drive and enter stadiums very recently, etc…

Also FGM is another challenge for the women living in some parts Africa, Asia and in the Middle east, where this practice is common. FGM is a traumatic experience for young girls, which might take years to forget and it causes a lot of physical discomfort as well. Women who have experienced FGM may have difficulty standing, sitting or walking. All in all, the whole experience is extremely scarring.

To conclude, i would say that Henry Ibsen’s quote is still very meaningful today because even though there have been improvements in the lives of women today, there is still a long way to go if we wish to create a world that is equal.

The service leadership workshop today was quite great. I had a chance to explore the service process in detail by answering questions related to the process, along with my peers. It was also quite helpful to be able to explore the process in depth by looking at it from our peers’ perspective. The talk from the guest speaker was also quite inspirational.

Later, we also had a chance to compare our ideas about the service process with the service department’s, which was quite nice. However, I do wish that next year we have the opportunity to volunteer at an organisation for this time, instead of participating in a workshop. Although the workshop was excellent, I think we would be able to learn more about service from our time volunteering and the information provided today could be provided at the start of our college/local service etc…

After getting paper 4/6 back, i feel like i should focus more on getting key words integrated into my answer and also focus more on method writing. I feel like this,  because i lost a lot of marks in the exam because of making mistakes in the method writing and not mentioning key words in my answers.

 

Looking forward, i wish to be mindful of these things as well as practice more past papers. This time i did not practice a lot of past papers but maybe th

NYAA long post

 

I could be best described as a person who loves adventures, is spontaneous and  dependable. My goal for the future is to develop my cooking skills, participate in additional dance activities and read more. These goals have formed because of the experiences that i’ve had in the past.

Reading is something that I’ve enjoyed since a fairly long time. I had always been mesmerised by the multitudinous characters that different authors have created and their life stories. Reading books is something that I wish to continue throughout my life. Reading about different places has also led me to want to see every corner of the world. It is certain that i will not be able to see every corner of the world, but i wish to see as many places as i can. During the trips that i have taken in the past, i have come across various cultures, all of which i have found to be very riveting, in particular the cuisine and the dances. Through these experiences, i have also developed my love for dance and cooking.

Going forward, my plan to achieve my goal is to divide it in smaller parts. My ultimate goal is just to continue these activities alongside academics.  I aim to participate in at least 2 dance events , learn to cook at least 5 new dishes and read 20 books by the end of Grade 10. To achieve these goals i will sign up for 2 dance events in Grade 10. I will learn to cook new dishes either from a cookbook or the internet, once in at least 3 months. Alongside, to attain my goal of reading 20 books in the successive grade, i would strive to read at least 1 1/2 or 2 books in a month. As for travelling, i do not have any set goals in mind that i wish to attain.

To conclude, i feel that the goals that i have set for myself to complete in Grade 10 are quite achievable. I would like to enter Grade 10 with a positive mindset and adequate resources and time to attain these goals. That could be ensured by updating my journals and booklets in each of my subjects now, so that i do not struggle to achieve these goals because of bad time management/academic pressure.

 

Thank You

 

“What thou art promised; yet do i fear thy nature, It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness.” ( Act 1 Scene 5, lines 14 to 15 ). Lady Macbeth uses a metaphor to apprise the audience of Macbeth’s fair nature, where he would not play false to gain anything. This quote is a classic instance of dramatic irony as we discover later, the quote also presents the maniupulative nature of Lady Macbeth and how she is ready to play false to gain the throne.” Your hand, your tongue; look like th’innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t.” ( Act 1, Scene 5, lines 63 to 64). Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that he should act like a flower, sweet and innocent, but be a serpent in reality. She uses a simile to further emphasize on these thoughts. This quote informs the audience of Lady’s Macbeth’s cunning nature and menacing intentions. ” ” Some holy angel, fly to the court of England.” ( Act 3, Scene 6, Lines 46 to 47) Lennox uses a metaphor to tell the lord that he does not trust Macbeth and he wants Scotland to be peaceful again.

Differentiate between the direct and indirect characterisation Shakespeare uses in order to construct his characters.

In Act 1 of Macbeth, Shakespeare uses a lot of direct as well as indirect characterisation to construct his characters. We see an example of indirect characterisation when an injured Captain tells King Duncan about Macbeth’s contribution in their side winning the war and his heroics in the battlefield (1.2.16). This event leads to Macbeth being given the title of “Thane of Cawdor” by King Duncan. This is an example of indirect characterisation as the audience has been influenced by the captain’s words and believes that Macbeth is a valiant man, but is he ?

 

An example of direct characterisation would be when Macbeth tells Banquo that his children shall be kings, as prophecised  by the witches. This shows the audience that Macbeth believes people easily and is curious about things that concern him ( like the witches’ prophecies, which he takes seriously unlike Banquo)(1.3.67-83). Another example of direct charcterisation would be when Macbeth is in his aside, ( A dramatic function wherein the character speaks to the audience but is unheard by other characters.) where he thinks that he would be king as that would be after he became the ‘Thane of Cawdor” ( which he did) as the witches had prophecised. The audience understands that he is quite ambitious and disloyal after listening to his murderous thoughts(1.3.26-141).

 

We understand that even though Macbeth is ambitious he would not play false to win and is full of kindness, by Lady Macbeth’s indirect characterisation of him (1.5.17-19). Shakespeare again uses direct characterisation by showing Macbeth’s soliloquy,( A dramatic device wherein the main character is alone on stage, revealing his/her innermost thoughts.) where he contemplates whether he should kill Duncan or not, “To kill or not to kill?” and tries to talk himself out of it in fear of the consequences of doing so. By listening to this, the audience comprehends that Macbeth, even though disloyal, will not kill the king as he is afraid to be caught and somewhat respects the king for his good work and virtues(1.7.1-25).

 

In the case of Macbeth, we see that most of the indirect characterisation done for him is not true barring Lady Macbeth’s. This reveals that Lady Macbeth is the only person who truly understands Macbeth. Macbeth acts as a ” serpent under the flower” for everyone else. As discerned by Lady Macbeth, even though Macbeth does not lack ambition, he does not false play and is kind. The use of direct and indirect characterisation adds a unique dimension to the play and as always Shakespeare produces magic out of his pen.

 

Thank You

 

Creating a better home for the Refugees.

“But in our camp, his story was everyone’s story, a single tale of dispossession, of being stripped to the bones of one’s humanity, of being dumped like rubbish into refugee camps unfit for rats.”

by Susan Abulhawa

 

Refugees are people forced to leave their countries due to war, violence, or in fear of persecution. The only way they can survive is if they go to these refugee camps and relocate to another country. The process of relocation can take weeks or even last a lifetime. Until they are relocated, these camps are like homes for them. They wish to leave these camps soon, because of the pathetic state of these camps and in search of a better life.

A photograph of France’s refugee camps. The photograph shows the unsightly and the unhygienic conditions that refugees live in.

The refugees live in ghastly conditions. Some camps lack electricity and water. Imagine having no water or electricity in your home, would you be able to survive? Diseases spread easily in these camps and one camp was even infested with rodents . Tuberculosis is rampant in such areas. It was also reported that a camp’s water had been contaminated with faeces. The conditions that these refugees live in are inhumane and they are at a higher risk of having mental breakdowns.

This state of living affects the health of refugees in an unpleasant way and takes a toll on their mental health as well. The future of these refugees is unsettled to begin with and because of these conditions, their present also becomes agonising. Many refugees have mental illnesses and many of them have tried to suicide as well. In addition to suicide, there exists high levels of anxiety, depression and PTSD in these camps.

To ameliorate this situation and make life better for the refugees, we must strive to improve their living conditions. Before opening borders, we should open our hearts and help these refugees as much as we can. If their living conditions improve, there will be less cases of suicide, depression etc.. in these camps.Their trauma will certainly not be completely gone ( as they have left their home countries ) but will lessen quite a bit and they wouldn’t feel as suicidal.

Some organisations like the UNHCR or the UN refugee agency, succour refugees by providing tents, disseminating  plastic sheeting and developing emergency strategies, tools and guidelines and rushing in emergency aid to those who need it most. Another organisation called refugee support provides toiletries, clothing, food security etc…. Their aim is to offer humanitarian aid with dignity to the refugees, while also supporting the local economy.

Nevertheless, first and foremost, we should clinch that they have access to clean water and electricity. The government could provide essential help to them and the quantity of food that is rationed could also be increased to ensure that no one remains malnourished. We could also do some voluntary work to help them. If these factors are improved upon, the camps would become an actual refuge for refugees and not just a place that is unhygienic and the abode of diseases.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY-

Cnet. See France’s refugee camps for yourself. Photograph. www.google.com/search?q=refugee+camps&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_56KWnbbgAhWUfn. ( Photograph)

 

Coletta, Olivia. “Refugee Camps: Poor Living Conditions and Their Effects on Mental Health.” Refugee Mental Health, 28 Mar. 2018, sites.duke.edu/refugeementalhealth/2018/03/27/refugee-camps-poor-living-conditions-and-their-effects-on-mental-health/.

 

“What is a Refugee? Definition and Meaning | USA for UNHCR.” How to Help Refugees — Aid, Relief and Donations | USA for UNHCR, www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/what-is-a-refugee/.

 

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “Refugees.” UNHCR, www.unhcr.org/refugees.html.

 

Refugee Support, www.refugeesupport.eu/.

 

Through my partner’s presentation- Qixi, i was able to identify various examples of how that particular story had been retold in children’s books, songs and revisioned in movies and TV serials. The story has been an inspiration for 2 festivals in Japan and Korea.The story has also been alluded to in jewellery. The characters are also often represented by birds.

The story is quite significant in China’s culture. It is not losing its significance as it has been revisioned in various popular formats. This story is also significant in Japan and Korea. In a lot of modern versions of the story, there are minor changes as to who has written the plot, who plays the characters, features of the characters etc…

Unfortunately, stories like these are losing the place they once held in society. These stories were also very prevalent around the world but are becoming less prevalent nowadays.Therefore, these stories are sometimes revisioned and retold in various forms to entertain people but convey their message at the same time while also ensuring that important aspects of a culture are not lost in today’s world.

My partner’s presentation-

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1j6BARX2V7DJ4EX0uEKyqPUZ-74DnaYSXLM7XduyfJ5Y/edit?ts=5c049004#slide=id.g487ec6fb57_0_50

Thank you…

This year i have many aims to accomplish and one of them is being a better friend to my friends. Life becomes easier when friends are around, as they fill our lives with hope and happiness.A lot of times, they are the only ones who keep believing in us even if anyone else doesn’t.

 

These are some possible ways of becoming a better friend –

Being a good listener- Listening to what our friends have to say is very important if we want to maintain the friendship. If only one person talks, it gets quite boring and the other person thinks that they are not interested in listening to what they have to say.

Presuming positive intentions-  Sometimes we misunderstand what our friends have said, in this type of situation it is essential to presume positive intentions.

Respecting other’s opinions- It is important to let our friends express their ideas, even if we do not agree with them.

Being kind- Not judging anyone or being rude. Lets be considerate.

Helping and supporting each other- We should help and support our friends through ups and downs, it is wrong to expect help and support but not give it in return.

I will be following these tips to accomplish my aim by the end of the school year.

 

“There is nothing on this earth to be prized more than true friendship.” – Thomas Aquinas.

 

 

 

I had recently read an article about forced language assimilation.It was written by a person whose parents were Spanish immigrants in the United states but had become citizens in due course.The article-https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/10/donald-trumps-fear-spanish-power-language-identity

 

The journalist in the article, feels that forced assimilation requires policing people’s language and that it is liberating and empowering to not give into it. She also feels that forced language assimilation is oppressive.She believes that getting rid of your accent means giving away your identity, If someone tells us to get rid of this identity, they are indirectly telling us that our voice does not matter, that we are powerless.

 

 

The journalist speaks English but her mother tongue is Spanish. Early on she had tried to assimilate as well, as she wanted to feel a sense of belonging. In my opinion, we should try and learn a new language if we have got a chance to. Learning a language can help foster a better appreciation of the culture and ease communication with the locals. But no one should be forced to communicate in a language. The language learnt could just stay as an extra, secondary language.

But having said that, lets consider, “Why do we judge people who speak broken english?”

 

 

I recently took a personality test online, and I was amazed to discover the accuracy of the results. They were precise in almost all the areas. The Test results said that I was an adventurer, which is quite true since I never go by the conventional route. I am absolutely happy to be who I am and really am very spontaneous. I am more of an introvert than an extrovert, I love to observe things and I am full of curiosity.

 

 

I am imaginative as well. The test got it right on all these aspects, however what it didn’t get right was the fact that adventurers couldn’t take criticism in a good way. I am open to criticism and know that criticism helps us develop. We are not the best judge of ourselves and many a times, we are unable to figure out what could make our performance at something better? This is where suggestions or sometimes, criticism helps us.

 

I would definitely recommend people to take the test and discover their personalities. The site also includes some advice for the people taking the test. At the end it also mentions a process to go to their academy. You can try the test out, regardless of whether you want to join their academy or not.

 

The link-  https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test