KTJWHAT?! Term 1 17/18
Ho]ly pen s of the press team with angels singing in the background.
YOU MATTER House Singing
Mascots
KTJ Debate Competition
Contents
03
Editors’notes
04 House
Singing
07 KTJ Debate
08 KTJ Moot
09
10
Competition
Bad Genius
Competition
Cafe Review
12 House
15
18 Artificial
20
21
22 Tag yourself:
Basketball
Intelligence
PantryMaster
Senior Talentime
You Matter
House edition
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EDITORS’ NOTES We proudly present the first issue of the KTWhat?! this academic year. It’s been a whirlwind of a term – having House Singing, Talent Time, Inter-house Basketball, House Athletics and many other demanding but rewarding events. Amidst all this, we should remember to take a step back and relax sometimes (hopefully reading this will help!). For those of you who are new to the school, let us give you a brief introduction to the KTWhat?!. The KTWhat?! is KTJ’s school magazine, written and designed by KTJ students, aiming to be a relatable and enjoyable read for everyone in the school. It was previously a bimonthly magazine, but we aim to have it published on a termly basis from now on. We write about virtually anything, ranging from artificial intelligence to food in Café Diem to lame puns. If any of you have any feedback to help us improve, or if you’re interested in writing any articles for future editions, feel free to drop us an email at socialmedia@ktj.edu.my. We are one big family that bonds through writing, so don’t be shy!
The Press Team has put a lot of effort into this edition to make sure that our faithful readers are not disappointed. The Exposure column has brought you a recap of most of the events that took place this term and will bring back all the nostalgic memories you’ve made. Pondering over which movies to watch over the term break? The review of Bad Genius might just add one more to your list. For those of you out there suffering from late night hunger, we’ve also included a simple, pantry-friendly recipe that you can try out during your time here or even later on in university. There are too many masterpieces to mention, so be sure to take a look at them in your own time. We’ll also advise you not to take the jokes in this magazine too seriously – they’re only meant to give you all a good laugh! As a message from us, we will quote a keen reader and supporter of ours, Mr Thaw: “Work hard and be kind.” Happy reading!
Valerie & Khalif
Co-heads of the Press Team 2017-2018.
Art by Mae Leen
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29 August 2017. Boy, what a night. But before that, maybe we should recap.
“
We all rush home to practise for the prestigious house singing event, in an attempt to bring glory and honour to our respective houses.
By Jeremy, U6
As the new term of 2017 started, students poured into KTJ after two months of stagnancy, be it returning students or new ones. Students could be seen sprinting to classes after a faulty alarm clock incident, while others could be seen grabbing a glorious chicken pie from the café. Once again, KTJ was teeming with life and it was a truly welcoming sight. Suddenly, a mysterious phenomenon surfaced: students would burst out of class every day and immediately after lessons are over and rush back home. A casual observer might wonder: “Was the lesson really that bad?”, but we KTJ students knew better. We were all rushing home to practise for the prestigious house singing event, in an attempt to bring glory and honour to our respective houses.
”
In the span of those two weeks, all of us were in our respective houses for a few hours each day, swaying our hips until they hurt or singing our hearts out until we croaked. Some might see the competition as a platform to showcase their talents in hip-swaying, whilst others might view it as another burden in addition to the workload from class. The opinions towards house singing practice were undeniably mixed. But that’s the thing about house singing, like it or hate it, the love that all of us have for our houses ensures that maximum effort is put into each practice. 4
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And the results? Well, see for yourself.
“Summer lovin’ having a BLAAAAST” Alia house won a well-deserved third place, with their theme of the night being Music Revolution.”
“Nice to meet you sir!” Nadzimuddin, with their truly enjoyable performance of Magic by B.o.B.
“Rumour has it that we’re gonna win this girlsssss!” Jawahir, which won second place and Best Choreography, with a brilliant mash-up of Rumour Has It and Someone Like You.
“Bow before me, puny mortals :D” Naquiyuddin, covering Viva la Vida by Coldplay. Unfortunately, a large part of Naquiyuddin missed House Singing due to influenza.
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“Idk, what DID you do in the dark hmm?” Nadzaruddin, covered My Songs Know What You Did in The Dark by Fall Out Boys, with dance moves that won the heart of the audience that night.
“I… I fell in love with a monster” Naquiah with an entertaining performance of I’m Yours by Jason Mraz. In fact, their performance was so entertaining, they actually brought home the award for Most Entertaining Performance that night.
“Do you know why they call me Mr Fahrenheit?” Imran, with a bold and daring rendition of Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen.
“Beat it guys, cuz we gonna win this” Last but not least, Irinah, which indeed taught us not to mess with dynamite as they bagged first place in addition to the award for Best Music Accompaniment. Fun fact: Irinah, who chose to perform Michael Jackson songs, gave their stunning performances on Michael’s birthday anniversary. I’m sure he would be proud!
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|
KTJDC
|
Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Debate Competition | by Shebanee & Anis, U6 |
On the 16th and 17th of September, the KTJ
Kirubaharan and Aniq Hazis) emerging as overall champions. 7 of the 10 best speaker awards were also taken home by KTJ students. The competition made a great platform for beginners and veterans alike to showcase their talents and gain invaluable experience.
Debate Union, alongside the Malaysian Institute of Debate and Public Speaking organised their inaugural debate competition, KTJDC. Over 150 students from 20 different institutions, ranging from local vernacular schools to international schools, participated in the competition As hosts, KTJ fielded 11 teams. Debating in the British Parliamentary format (4 teams of 2), motions on a variety of topics from religious autonomy to affirmative action were debated. Overall, KTJ’s performance was outstanding with 7 of the 11 teams qualifying for the quarterfinals. Two KTJ teams entered the finals with ‘KTJ All 10 Teams’ (consisting of Lower Sixth Students,
Special mention also goes to Mr. Jones as the teacher advisor and Amaar Jeyasothy, the tournament convener who exercised sterling commitment in planning and executing the competition. We hope this will be the first of many distinguished debate competitions battled out in the halls of Kolej Tuanku Jaafar.
Quarterfinalists: SAMBHAVIY & RU XIANG HOI & SHEBANEE
Semifinalists: JITENDRA & RAHUL ANIS ALFADINO & ALAGURAJA IMRAN KAMARRUDIN & ISHAN
Finalists: PARIN & MUSTAQIM
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!!
BISKL vs. KTJ
| The dato’ bill davidson trophy | | by Shebanee, U6 |
On the 10th of September, Kolej Tuanku
It was evident that the hard work and effort of all the participants, from those who spoke at the moot to those who aided with research, had paid off. The members of the Oxford and Cambridge Society were particularly impressed with the amount of detail and effort that had gone into the speeches.
Ja’afar, along with The Oxford and Cambridge Society Malaysia hosted a moot competition for the Dato’ Bill Davidson Trophy. Various Oxbridge alumni as well as Dato’ Bill Davidson himself, had graced the competition. 2 KTJ teams, representing Middle Temple, competed against 2 teams from the British International School of Kuala Lumpur, who represented Inner Temple. Using the same moot problem from the 12th LAWASIA International Moot, the participants worked diligently to defend their clients’ cases. After a lengthy deliberation, the 6 judges from the Oxford and Cambridge society unanimously decided to award the trophy to the 2 KTJ teams.
A special thanks goes to Miss Nina for providing feedback and advice. We hope that the participants had gained a memorable experience, and they should be extremely proud of themselves for winning the first moot competition hosted by the school.
RESEARCHERS:
SPEAKERS:
• LOW SU YI • MYRA
• Parin • Jade • Tsu Jin • Raoul • Jia Man • Amir
upper sixth advisers: • DEBRA • SHEBANEE • MUSTAQIM
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By Wafa, U6
One interesting aspect of the story is the crucial element of money in education. The movie portrays socioeconomic inequality as Lynn had to fight hard for a scholarship to study abroad, which has made her accept the idea of Grace and her boyfriend, Pat, to run the exam cheating-business.
100% on Rotten Tomatoes 8.3/10 on IMdB Described by The Jakarta Post as ‘the
movie too good to miss’, Bad Genius or ‘Chalat Kem Kong’ has put itself in a remarkable position as the highest grossing Thai movie of 2017. Directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya, the director focuses on the issue of moral dilemma as the theme of the movie, drawing ideas from an exam-cheating syndicate. ‘A highly entertaining and surprisingly tense Thai caper revolving around a quartet of students who devise a test-cheating scheme for profit,’ captioned the South China Morning Post. What made Bad Genius a highly recommended movie was the way the cheating was done using an integration of Morse Code with classical piano concertos. The fast-paced dynamic tone was compared to the casino robbery in Hollywood’s Ocean’s Eleven after it was aired at the New York Asian Film Festival.
Similar to many countries in Asia, the capability of Thai students is not measured by their application of knowledge but by their memorisation ability which was indirectly criticised in the movie. Lynn, the main character, with the help of her educational nemesis, Bank, flew to Sydney to sit for the STIC test before the other candidates in Thailand, intending to leak the answers to Pat and Grace who are in charge of passing the answers to their “customers” just in time for the STIC test. Sharply directed, with a storyline that delivers tense and highly suspenseful sequences, Bad Genius has captivated a broad group of audiences with the meaningful message that the movie tries to convey.
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U6
CAFE REVIEW
By: Mae Lee
n,
CAFÉ DIEM.
Photo of Cafe
We’ve all been there at some point in our KTJ careers. Maybe you’ve decided to reward yourself for finishing a Lit essay 5 minutes before the end of break time; maybe you need a stressrelieving ice cream after binging Physics past years; or maybe the 4 pm hunger wave when you didn’t eat enough brunch is starting to hit you. Regardless, the café has always been there for us, with its supply of delectable desserts and toothsome treats. Though the café has never failed to satisfy, a question shrouded in mystery has inadvertently birthed itself; which are the best menu items Café Diem has to offer? It is with this question that we took to the vox KTJ, desperate to find answers to the unanswerable.
LET’S TAKE LOOK AT THE PIE PIE CHARTS: A major point of contention between many. Whilst monitoring the results, the beef and chicken pies were neck-to-neck in the competition, and though the chicken pies seemed in the lead for several glimpses of the battle, ultimately the beef pie emerged victorious. Flaky, buttery pastry surrounding a filling of beef with a rich, savoury gravy, proved a surefire way to the hearts of many and has claimed the crown of the people’s pie.
CHICKEN [#2] LAMB MISC
Of course, with the multitude of voices of the school, it’s not rare to find some passionate defenders of the honour of other pie flavours.
BEEF [#1]
“POTATO PIE UNTIL I DIE FAM”
POTATO [#3]
- Mustaqim Iqbal, Deputy Head Boy 10
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“THE STIGMA OF THE POTATO PIE...IS A LIE”
- Maiz and Arif, ardent potato pie advocates Clearly, the student body is (understandably) split on the matter. The support of 23.3% of voters goes to prove that while the potato pie remains an accessible and delicious cornerstone to the non-meat-eating community of the school, its mouth-watering influences know no bounds. By the results of the poll, price has done little to deter our love for the higher-ranking pies (Economics translation: product is price inelastic). Lasagna pies too had a prominent fanbase, especially with the insistent honourable mentions from the further suggestions question. On a side note, niche responses went as far as a throwback to the glorious, albeit short-lived, egg and spinach pie era. Maybe one day, guys!
CAKE AND A SHAKE: Café Diem’s extensive drink menu made rounding up everyone’s favourites a lot harder of a task, but nonetheless the massive cult following behind the café’s Oreo milkshake was loud and clear. The rich, indulgent, cookies-and-cream beverage stayed true to capturing the essence of the iconic cookie, making it an unsurprising landslide win. Others cited the fruit teas to be a particular favourite, lemon and lychee being the two most popularly mentioned flavours.
DEETS ON THE FROZEN TREATS: The pies at the café are one thing, but if it’s a food item just a stone’s throw away from melting over someone’s hands, it’s Café Diem’s soft-serve ice creams. Dishing up two different flavours on a daily basis, sometimes with rare new instalments, 20.1% of voters picked the wildberry ice cream to be their #1. Truly, the tangy taste of fresh berries coupled with the accents of frozen yoghurt proved a hard match to beat. That said, the one-dollar-extra green tea ice cream, with its bittersweet matcha flavour, showed truly promising throughout the votes.
On the topic of cake, voters showed overwhelming support for the café’s famed Oreo cake. A long-standing item on the Café Diem menu, up to 45.5% of voters expressed their undying love for the café classic. Certainly, an S1 student could point out the correlation between Oreos and the favouritism of the KTJ community. The various cheesecakes available also proved to be fairly popular items, with the café typically serving up three flavour variants of their cheesecake.
#1: WILDBERRY #2: GREEN TEA #3: VANILLA/CHOCOLATE
CONCLUSION? It’s fair to say these items have emerged paramount from the consensus of the members of KTJ, but in all honesty, credit must be given to the other multitude of hidden gems yet to be discovered at the café. So don’t be too swayed by the rankings of this café review! Try out something new, or keep going for what you love—maybe one day the pie hierarchy will be overthrown. 11
HOUSE BASKETBALL - Shamirra and Hoi, U6
With House Singing done and dusted, and the outcome of the night was already inked in the books of KTJ History, it was finally time to unwind after a month of solid work. However, not all quarters of the houses were ready to chill just yet as something else was afoot. The house libraries saw midnight tactical discussions, with countless lists of codenames drawn up, whittled down, refined and backdropped by an alien code diagrams. All this to plan every detail of their march into battle. It was clear that there was much of history yet to be made and everyone sought to etch their names on the victor’s trophy. The arena was set, scorekeepers trained, and as the teams stepped into the cheer-filled MPH, the fierce battles of House Basketball was set to commence. Hats off to Nadzimuddin h ouse, as they emerged champions for both senior and juniorcategories. Employing keen tactical acumen and consistency in every match, the courts saw NAZ field some of the best players in our fold. The senior team in particular showed resolute determination in overturning their mid-campaign loss to NAD, securing overall victory in style.
A deserving round ofapplause for Imran’s Junior Boys (B) team for sending Naquiyuddin and Naquiah packing. The senior team also put up a good performance and exemplary sportsmanship against the other houses.
After months of hard training and steely determination, and amid booming spectator support, Naquiyuddin were poised to take the trophy after winning their first two matches. In the end, eventual winners Nadzimuddin proved superior, with Naquiyuddin seniors finishing their commendable run in third place.
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Naquiah Boys went all out as they showed superior skill, giving their older opponents a run for their money. The ability and showmanship they consistently displayed wowed the spectators as they battled it out in the Junior Matches.
Congratulations to Nadzaruddin house after their sustained solid performance. They even took points from the eventual winner, Nadzimuddin, in their senior match. For their stellar run, they eventually ended in second place for the senior category after beating Imran house in their final fixture.
Alia House proved their dominance in basketball as they marched their way to victory, with junior phoenixes taking the overall title while their seniors clinched the runner-up.
If you could see the solid support from Jawahir girls, the MPH would be screaming purple every match. They played with determination and conviction to show other houses their worth in both senior and junior categories.
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Pipping their rivals by a single point scored in the final 30 seconds of the game, Irinah proved their determination to colour the Senior Trophy orange in the final fixture against Alia.
Naquiah Girls played exceptionally well, seeing off Jawahir and Irinah in their matches to come in second place overall.
JUNIOR GIRLS RANKINGS JUNIOR boys a RANKINGS JUNIOR boys b RANKINGS
SENIOR boys RANKINGS
SENIOR GIRLS RANKINGS
DISCLAIMER: POINTS DO NOT REFLECT SCORE DIFFERENCES. 14
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- KTJ Talentime 2017 -
“WILL THE REAL SLIM SHADY PLEASE STAND UP ?” AN EDITORIAL by Hoi Lee Yang, U6
It was the final day of September, and around the world big plans were unfolding. At the Chinese Communist Party’s 68th anniversary, huge red parades of soldiers were rehearsing and marching perfectly in sync. In Turkey, men took turns running into fires with axes and fire extiguishers to compete in the World Championships for Firefighting and Rescue Sports. However, the biggest world event of this day took place in an auditorium in Mantin. Here, 500 spectators froze in their seats, helpless to be captivated by the performances of KTJ’s Senior Talentime 2017!
While many of us would contend to have diplomas in the air guitar, none of us could expect what the event from the get-go showed off: Bryan Lim’s amazing skill in the electric guitar demonstrated that hitting 10 notes of Blackstar a second was a piece of cake.
As people leaked into the auditorium after what was a typical Saturday dinner (actually, above-average seeing as parents were walking around), the expectation in the air was palpably dense. It could have been the hearsay about killer performances from those who had watched the rehearsals the day before, or just dining hall banter, but by 7.30 pm almost everyone had their bets on who was taking home the Talentime trophy. As the lovely Hanna Bador and charming (but not the best jokester) Adrien Rahul took the rostrum, the tune of the night was set.
quite the troupe of young dancers Next came the F5 hip-hop team of Sue Yen, Miranne, Melanie and Zaura whose dance culminating in the energetic Boombayah instantly placed them as one of my personal favourites.
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The next singing and dancing acts segued into a more high-class, ballroom-esque performance with the melodies of the Hungarian Rhapsody delivered by KTJ’s power trio: Tan Mae Leen, Tan Keng Ze and Debra Grace. Mae Leen’s sterling piano accompaniment set the stage for Keng Ze and Debra Grace to compete to see who could play their uncomfortably fast-paced songs the fastest, as their fingers raced across the fingerboards, later playing on each others’ violins with blindfolds on just to show off their musical acumen: absolute braggarts, these three.
MONTI’S CZárdás, DELIVERED à la BLINDFOLD by the hungarian rhapsody trio One of the final acts saw six Irinah L6 artist sing two contemporary hits, Those Years (那些年) and Little Happiness (小幸运) as if they somehow figured out how to inhale autotune backstage. This had set the bar for distinguished but hardly distinguishable Rachel and Isabel Lim who combined forces to play a four-handed Time Travel Medley, doing the chronological moonwalk from the early 1900s of Phantom of the Opera, to the 19th century Les Miserables, back to Moana’s pre-civilisation How Far I’ll Go.
The ballroom vibes were carried on when Parin Siddhartha took to the stage, gingerly clutching a saxophone. One quick glance at accompanist Isabel and they were off, making kings and vagabonds believe the very best with a nostalgic brass rendition of Can You Feel The Love Tonight. The conclusion of the night at this moment seemed quite about foregone, with blindfold acts having a track record of always pushing the right buttons with judges. How wrong we were, thinking nothing of Jitendra Yuvaraja’s black tweed jacket and unassuming fedora. Starting with the famous first verse and with all eyes on him, he belted out line after line of original riposte, criticising laziness to acknowledging others’ perceptions of him, roasting Donald Trump’s excellent administration, of course not forgetting (in keeping to NAQ tradition) to include a shout out to Bapak’s Green Army. In his novel take on Eminem’s The Real Slim Shady, Jitendra dropped bombshell after handcrafted bombshell in class and gusto, without a single slip. The standing ovation at the end of his performance proved that only he had the right to remain standing by the end of his killer rap.
OVERWHELMING TALENT GRACED THE EVENING
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Final Placings 1st
JITENDRA YUVARAJA SINGAM
2nd
KENG ZE, DEBRA GRACE, MAE LEEN
3rd
rachel lim & isabel lim
As the judges were now left to deliberate on second and third placings, the closing performance took to stage, and they did prove in more ways than one that they, in their own right, were a tough act to follow. Major Problem Vol. 2 boasted as much of the overflowing talent that had been shone in all previous performances, but showcased cohesion like none other. With the likes of Ze-Jin, Stefan Simanjuntak, Kieran Sabri, Rachel Lau and Bryan Lim working in unison, the perfect denouement to the night’s excitement came in the form of ‘Versace on the Floor’ by Bruno Mars. With strong vocals, a reliable beat and award-winning bassists, they would probably have nicked an award had they been in contention.
The Real Slim Shady
CZárdás by v. monti
TIME TRAVEL MEDLEY
OTHER PERFORMANCES Adam Esham: Nocturne Op.9 No.2 (Chopin) Rebecca Leong Tian accompanied by Rachel Lau: Voodoo Doll Go Chee Shuen, Adam Esham, Jessica Huang: Perfect (Ed Sheeran) Wong Rong Sze and Tan Jia Man: Slavonic Dances No8 by Dvorak Nicole Tan: Dusk ‘til Dawn Ng Joo En: The Eve, Kokobop, Dubstep (EXO) Christopher Lam and Ooi Sin Yee: Let Her Go(Passenger) Benjamin Tan Jun Yi: Rolling In The Deep Hiew Hui Xin Jadelynn, Pheng Xin Peng: Norwegian Dance (Grieg) Rania Sulfa accompanied by Valerie Wo: Bound to You - Christina Aguilera
RACHEL AND ISABEL LIM, the four-handed musical wonder
JITENDRA, THE ONE AND ONLY RAP GOD OF NAQ
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A R TI F I C IAL I NT E LLI G E N CE by Debra, U6
TESLA'S SELF DRIVING CARS. SIRI. ALEXA. SMART HOME DEVICES LIKE SENTRI AND ROOMBA.
It is no wonder then, that many leading global figures have clashed over the implications of these recent developments. Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), for one, is highly optimistic about the future of AI and what it can do for humanity: Zuckerberg wrote in a recent Facebook post that
Unless you’ve been living under a rock recently, you might have noticed how artificial intelligence (AI) has begun to integrate itself as part of our daily lives. Humanity has come a long way since the days where only business professionals had flip phones to the present day where refugees document their struggles with smartphones.
“ IMPROVEMENTS
in basic research improve systems across so many
DIFFERENT FIELDS, increasing its potential to
MAKE THE WORLD BETTER.”
In spite of all the conveniences it brings to us, the looming question has become more pressing than ever — will AI eventually pose a danger to mankind? Could cyborgs and Transformer-like bots take over the world and exterminate us? The idea of AI has dominated our imagination for centuries. From Frankenstein in the 1800s to the Star Trek, Star Wars and Marvel franchises of today, robots, bots and droids have formed a part of popular culture as we know it today. The reality of AI is likely to be just as fascinating in the years to come.
AI definitely could make life a lot easier for us in the future, as it already has started to do. Amazon has been carrying out beta tests on drones to be used as vehicles for deliveries within cities like London and New York. Even the results that come up when you type a search in sites such as Pinterest, Google and Ebay are all generated by machine learning algorithms. Researchers are developing software which will have the potential to read a person’s genetic makeup and diagnose diseases. The Shanghai Changzheng Hospital utilises AI technology to improve the reading of CT
A survey carried out by Oxford and Yale predicts that AI will be able to translate languages better than humans by 2024, write high school–level essays by 2026, drive trucks by 2027, work in retail by 2031, write books by 2049 and perform surgery by 2053. In 2011, IBM’s Watson AI famously won a game of Jeopardy! against the world’s best players. Computers programmed with chess algorithms have been beating chess world champions since 1997, when IBM’s Deep Blue first defeated Garry Kasparov.
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scans and x-rays to identify suspicious lesions in lung cancer patients. Earlier detection will undoubtedly speed up the process of prescribing treatment, eliminating the repetitive diagnostic work and enabling doctors to come up with more accurate reports and medication. On the flip side, heavyweights such as Elon Musk (Tesla) and Bill Gates (Microsoft) are more cautious about these strides in technology. Musk in particular, has called AI
“the GREATEST RISK
we face as a civilisation”, highlighting the possibility of unethical use of AI under circumstances like war. AI technologies are developing quickly and so is the risk of its misuse, particularly when applied to warfare and policing, which poses a great concern. Autonomous armed robots are programmed to be able to track and target people using facial recognition software; something like in the latest Kingsman movie with Poppy’s robot dogs. If uncontrolled, these machines would keep on killing until they ran out of targets or ammunition. This reminds us that AI has no social awareness, conscience or remorse. It simply does what it’s been trained to do.
Closer to home, Travis Kalanick (Uber) has predicted that automated vehicles will disrupt the transportation industry, Musk predicts it will soon become “very unusual” for non-autonomous cars to be manufactured. While it’s fun to watch machines win board games, automated transportation will have a dramatic impact on the world economy; by being one of the largest sources of jobs, which will cause unprecedented levels of unemployment. Ultimately, whether AI will take over the world remains to be seen. With the possibilities ranging from a Frankenstein-like situation or friendly helpers like R2D2 and BB8, one can only guess at what will happen in the future. One thing, however, is certain — that AI has left an indelible mark on history for generations to come. Whether it will continue to be a convenience, or transform into a curse, will be up to us.
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In the infiniteness of the universe,
Han na
“You Matter.”
Nik h
thought catalogue
dor (F5) Ba
U 6) ( a it
At the end of the day, self hatred will make you feel as if you’re not good enough, but believe us when we say none of those words are true. The words of self-deprecation may seem loud, but self-love is louder. We truly believe that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, and only you hold the eye to your beauty.
there will be times where you may feel insignificant. Perhaps you will feel as if nothing matters, that you don’t matter: but you do. You matter because, according to Google, “matter” is defined as:
matter /’matə/ noun
1. physical substance in general, as distinct from mind and spirit; (in physics) that which occupies and possesses rest mass, especially as distinct from energy.
verb
1. be important or significant.
and fortunately, you fit both descriptions. While the concept of “mattering” in the sense of taking up space is one so easily accepted, the notion of being considered important, especially to oneself, is often easily forgotten. Self-love is often abandoned and in its place, manifests a creature so unforgivingly adverse: self-loathing. Self-loathing is no stranger to most. It’s a creature so well-known, we welcome it with open arms and tend to embrace it, as it disintegrates our self-worth by degrading our appearance. It spouts “too fat” or “too skinny”; “too short” or “too tall”, like a mantra, and we listen. We combat self-hatred not with words of kindness to ourselves, but with habits that destroy the very body we own. We are taught to believe that beauty equates to a certain body type, and that means that if we don’t look a certain way, you won’t be good enough for anyone, not even yourself. This idea is perpetuated especially in social media, where in order to celebrate a certain physique, one must devalue another. This only reinforces the idea that “if you don’t look like this, you aren’t good-looking”.
Self-hatred isn’t just limited to the physical aspects of oneself, many of us are guilty of hating our own ideas or wishing we had a different personality from time to time. How often do we find ourselves hesitating to share an idea with classmates or even friends? Many of us know the way our minds race, over-analyzing the different ways someone could dismiss our ideas or shoot us down. We have let society’s doctrine rule our life. We have let a sense of doubt manifest in our minds, festering into an abscess of self-loathing. We’re convinced that our ideas aren’t worth anyone’s attention, aren’t good enough, that we don’t matter. As a society, we’re too concerned as to how we’re perceived, often allowing ourselves to be told how to think and what to do. It’s impossible for everyone to think the same way, do the same things or even have the same preferences. Without these little differences in our manners and behaviour, what sets us apart from someone else? Perhaps it’s time to take a step back and embrace the quirks that make us, us. We’re all as unique as our DNA, so why try to be someone else? As individuals, we owe it to ourselves to just be us. It’s time we started acknowledging that we can and should never be anyone else; stop this self-hate because at the end of the day, you are a miracle. The probability of you existing is 1 in 102685000, so you matter--way more than you might think.
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PantryMaster - Farhana, U6
Have you ever had days where you feel a little bit more homesick than usual? When
you start to crave some good old, home-made food? Surely a freshly-made meal sounds like the cure when Samyang just cannot suffice. Thankfully, our boarding houses are equipped with microwaves and ovens - so why not take advantage of them with these super-easy recipes? And perhaps when you become a Michelin Star Chef, you can say that your culinary journey started right here: from the humble pantry of your boarding house in KTJ.
French Toast in a Mug
5 Minute Mac n’ Cheese
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
2 slices of bread, cubed 1 egg 1 tbs of butter, melted ½ tsp of sugar (optional) 2 tbs of milk 1 tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp vanilla
½ cup macaroni ½ cup hot water A pinch of salt A splash of milk ¼ cup of grated cheese
1. Place butter in microwave for about 30 seconds to melt, then coat the sides of your mug to prevent the toast from sticking. 2. Whisk the egg in the mug, then add milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix well. 3. Add the cubed bread to the mix and allow it to soak for about a minute. You may need to gently stir the pieces of bread around half way through to make sure all of the pieces get coated evenly. 4. Microwave for about a minute and a half, check it every 30 seconds until the egg is completely cooked. 5. Enjoy it doused with maple syrup or honey!
1. Pour some macaroni into a microwave-safe mug. Add the hot water and salt. Place it into the microwave and heat for 2-3 minutes until the macaroni has softened. Pour out any excess water. 2. Throw in a splash of milk, then add the cheese and pepper. Stir the mixture lightly before placing it back in the microwave to heat for another 30 seconds. 3. Stir again until the macaroni is fully-coated with the creamy and cheesy goodness. 4. Garnish with chives, and voila! A wholesome mug of dorm-made, macn-cheese that brings you straight home (mentally, if not physically). 21
tag yourself: ktj houses edition A I L A
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cacAW - juniors are amazing at house sports - will never understand the true pain of common bathrooms - the rich friend who doesn’t understand why their friends can’t afford gucci - has a fear of rats - stocks enough food to survive a zombie apocalypse
irinAH DYNAMITE DON’T MESS WI - will kick anyone’s butt - will kick ur butt - will kick their own butt - hYPerCoMpETItivE - can do every sport - really good dancer - probably vegan
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robowasps - really just a bunch of honey bees - last person to get noticed in the room - fluent chinese - enjoys basketball and badminton on the weekends - people named imran have a 1000% chance of entry 22
john hughes’ green army - hypermasculine but secretly insecure - only works out when ppl are watching - will fight anyone who says they can’t dance (yes they can dance) - amazing at sports, unfortunately singing is not a sport - would die for rugby - plays drums
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shark^16 - constantly tired because dining hall coffee is decaffeinated - never does prep during prep time - really good at maths despite constantly slacking off, probably could get 1800 if they tried - the life of any party - makes obscure comic book references - a surplus of PDA
scorpion babies - social butterflies - super aesthetic instagram feed - puts in a lot of effort to seem cool - Very Dramatic™ - favourite sport is dodgeball
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hot 2 go - house of mom friends and manic pixie dream girls - can be pretty pretentious without realising - “i made brownies for everyone!” - good at music and super artsy - aggressively enjoys hamilton + dear evan hansen
bois in pink - does wild things but remains unfazed - hockey + athletics = yes - always has a broken leg - “he’s a super geek, super geek (he’s super geeky)” [it’s like super freak, like the song] - emotional reactions of a noble gas 23
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KTWhat?! Term1 o
Memes by Sarah, F5
Got any dank memes or comics? Submit it to us at socialmedia@ktj.edu.my and we might feature it in the next issue of KTWhat?! \(^_^)/
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KTJ Social Media Club Press team